173
imports has been drastically reduced, mainly due to increased domestic production
of energy following technological improvements, in particular in both the hydraulic
fracturing and horizontal drilling sectors of the shale oil and gas industry, as well
as through reducing energy consumption with the implementation of energy savings standards in the country.
The issue of shale reserves
is a fascinating item currently on the agenda of the resource economy. At each
stage of the history of energy developments in the world, abrupt changes in the price
of human energy carriers have led to new technologies gaining in prominence, or
the use of new energy transit methods. For this reason, with rising prices and the
challenge of balancing supply and demand of energy, importers have two main
ways of offsetting energy security concerns:
1. Use of internal energy sources.
2. The trading of new technologies.
Countries that could be potential markets for natural gas and LNG have been
interested in shale gas and are seeking to trade these technologies in the United
States. India and China, two major energy consumers in Asia, are seriously looking
into shale gas and have carried out major research in this area (www.diplomacy.iies.
ac.ir 2017). Given the widespread moves to reduce shale gas in the US energy sector
over the past decade, the United States government is moving to export the technology out of the country. Apparently, the purpose of this action to promote global
energy security and offset climate change due to what the White House Believes is
a cleaner fuel, an “intermediate fuel” between pollutant coal and renewable energy,
in the form of natural gas (www.diplomacy.iies.ac.ir 2017). However, the main
motive for the development and transfer of shale gas technology to Eastern Europe
and also to the rapidly growing economies of China and India are part of its strategic
planning. It is the foreign policy of the country which has led to a reduction in the
dependence of Eastern European countries on gas from Russia and the prevention
of China and India from investing in Iran. This strategy involves much in the way of
geopolitical, economic, and environmental risks, and there is no guarantee that
shale gas can, as in the United States, cause a marked shake-up of the energy profiles of these countries (www.diplomacy.iies.ac.ir 2017).
US self-sufficiency in the field of energy is only practicable through reliance on
oil and shale gas, which is widely available in the United States at a very cheap
price. This change can bring American factories and industrial production into a
golden age. Energy prices in the United States are cheaper than in Europe and Japan.
At the same time, rising production prices in China and increasing industrial productivity in the United States have recently led many US companies to recall their
production sites from outside the United States. A number of large manufacturing
companies, including GE, Ford, Caterpillar, and BieSAF, have announced that they
will relaunch or establish new factories to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars
in investment in the near future. Even Apple, one decade after shutting down its new
factory in the United States, recently announced that it will soon open a new production line in Arizona (www.bbc.com 2017a, b, c).
Shale Gas Revolution
imports has been drastically reduced, mainly due to increased domestic production
of energy following technological improvements, in particular in both the hydraulic
fracturing and horizontal drilling sectors of the shale oil and gas industry, as well
as through reducing energy consumption with the implementation of energy savings standards in the country.
The issue of shale reserves
is a fascinating item currently on the agenda of the resource economy. At each
stage of the history of energy developments in the world, abrupt changes in the price
of human energy carriers have led to new technologies gaining in prominence, or
the use of new energy transit methods. For this reason, with rising prices and the
challenge of balancing supply and demand of energy, importers have two main
ways of offsetting energy security concerns:
1. Use of internal energy sources.
2. The trading of new technologies.
Countries that could be potential markets for natural gas and LNG have been
interested in shale gas and are seeking to trade these technologies in the United
States. India and China, two major energy consumers in Asia, are seriously looking
into shale gas and have carried out major research in this area (www.diplomacy.iies.
ac.ir 2017). Given the widespread moves to reduce shale gas in the US energy sector
over the past decade, the United States government is moving to export the technology out of the country. Apparently, the purpose of this action to promote global
energy security and offset climate change due to what the White House Believes is
a cleaner fuel, an “intermediate fuel” between pollutant coal and renewable energy,
in the form of natural gas (www.diplomacy.iies.ac.ir 2017). However, the main
motive for the development and transfer of shale gas technology to Eastern Europe
and also to the rapidly growing economies of China and India are part of its strategic
planning. It is the foreign policy of the country which has led to a reduction in the
dependence of Eastern European countries on gas from Russia and the prevention
of China and India from investing in Iran. This strategy involves much in the way of
geopolitical, economic, and environmental risks, and there is no guarantee that
shale gas can, as in the United States, cause a marked shake-up of the energy profiles of these countries (www.diplomacy.iies.ac.ir 2017).
US self-sufficiency in the field of energy is only practicable through reliance on
oil and shale gas, which is widely available in the United States at a very cheap
price. This change can bring American factories and industrial production into a
golden age. Energy prices in the United States are cheaper than in Europe and Japan.
At the same time, rising production prices in China and increasing industrial productivity in the United States have recently led many US companies to recall their
production sites from outside the United States. A number of large manufacturing
companies, including GE, Ford, Caterpillar, and BieSAF, have announced that they
will relaunch or establish new factories to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars
in investment in the near future. Even Apple, one decade after shutting down its new
factory in the United States, recently announced that it will soon open a new production line in Arizona (www.bbc.com 2017a, b, c).
Shale Gas Revolution