Shale Gas in the United States: Transforming Energy Security in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

The United States is the biggest energy consumer in the world, accentuating its energy security priorities in twen- ty-first century geopolitics. As an alternative to oil, shale gas has modified today’s economic and global political scenario, providing Washington with new capabilities for redesigning its national and foreign energy policies toward innovative, self-sufficient development. The U.S. economy is highly dependent on energy resources; however, in the last decade, the shale revolution has aided it in gaining relative economic stability in a volatile global economy. Shale gas has encouraged economic development in the North American region, while raising important environmental concerns about the extraction process called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”