181
energy prices because Qatar and Saudi Arabia are faced with a deficit problem
(Taheri and RostamAghai 2016:176).
Generating energy and disconnecting America’s direct dependence on the Gulf
oil will provide space for increased US maneuvers. In the United States, there is
very little vulnerability to oil shocks and interference in oil and gas supplies.
(Madani 2014:12).
John Deutch believes that with regard to radical increase in the global gas market
after shale gas revolutions governments need to make boost adjustments to their
policy (www.foreignaffairs.com 2015). The US, as a country with huge shale oil
and gas reserves, also has to adjust its foreign policy in line with this reality (www.
foreignaffairs.com 2015).
A clear global gas market would be beneficial for the US, with private profits
possibly preventing major gas exporters from exploiting their resources for political
goals. The US, it has been opined, could thus join with other countries in the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the new major
natural- gas importing countries (India, China) in an effort to boost open markets
and prevent long-term bilateral arrangements (www.foreignaffairs.com 2015).
The recent dramatic development of the shale gas industry in the US has changed
the US from an energy importer to an energy exporter, which has had a major effect
on energy prices worldwide, as well as planning for approaching the future of
energy markets, especially in the USA. There are too many potential results to discuss here, but one can say that every aspect of planning for development and use of
energy resources now must be rethought, in view of the effects of the shale revolution. The effect on thinking about the Caspian Basin is also affected, and it will take
some time to understand the impact on future development in the region (www.
foreignaffairs.com 2015).
If Obama’s 2012 speech can be an indicator of the direction America is to take in
the long-haul, then it signals higher dependence on renewable energies, further
detaching the country from energy concerns in its international pivots:
Last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. But with only 2% of
the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above
strategy that develops every available source of American energy—a strategy that’s cleaner,
cheaper, and full of new jobs. We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly
100 years. Developing this energy will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the
decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the
chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety
of our citizens at risk. (www.ontheissues.org 2016)
In the opinion of a former ambassador, the implications of this on US diplomacy
will be less focused on how to maintain independence and more focus on how we
ensure market dominance for US energy exports (Author’s interview with
Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich 2017). The US shale gas revolution is having a
significant impact on US energy policy and energy diplomacy, and the precise ways
in which shale will affect policy over the long term will have yet to be seen. However,
while much has been made in some quarters about new US energy independence
and the implications of decreased reliance on the Middle East, the fact is that the
US Energy Policy and Shale Gas Revolution
energy prices because Qatar and Saudi Arabia are faced with a deficit problem
(Taheri and RostamAghai 2016:176).
Generating energy and disconnecting America’s direct dependence on the Gulf
oil will provide space for increased US maneuvers. In the United States, there is
very little vulnerability to oil shocks and interference in oil and gas supplies.
(Madani 2014:12).
John Deutch believes that with regard to radical increase in the global gas market
after shale gas revolutions governments need to make boost adjustments to their
policy (www.foreignaffairs.com 2015). The US, as a country with huge shale oil
and gas reserves, also has to adjust its foreign policy in line with this reality (www.
foreignaffairs.com 2015).
A clear global gas market would be beneficial for the US, with private profits
possibly preventing major gas exporters from exploiting their resources for political
goals. The US, it has been opined, could thus join with other countries in the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the new major
natural- gas importing countries (India, China) in an effort to boost open markets
and prevent long-term bilateral arrangements (www.foreignaffairs.com 2015).
The recent dramatic development of the shale gas industry in the US has changed
the US from an energy importer to an energy exporter, which has had a major effect
on energy prices worldwide, as well as planning for approaching the future of
energy markets, especially in the USA. There are too many potential results to discuss here, but one can say that every aspect of planning for development and use of
energy resources now must be rethought, in view of the effects of the shale revolution. The effect on thinking about the Caspian Basin is also affected, and it will take
some time to understand the impact on future development in the region (www.
foreignaffairs.com 2015).
If Obama’s 2012 speech can be an indicator of the direction America is to take in
the long-haul, then it signals higher dependence on renewable energies, further
detaching the country from energy concerns in its international pivots:
Last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. But with only 2% of
the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above
strategy that develops every available source of American energy—a strategy that’s cleaner,
cheaper, and full of new jobs. We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly
100 years. Developing this energy will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the
decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the
chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety
of our citizens at risk. (www.ontheissues.org 2016)
In the opinion of a former ambassador, the implications of this on US diplomacy
will be less focused on how to maintain independence and more focus on how we
ensure market dominance for US energy exports (Author’s interview with
Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich 2017). The US shale gas revolution is having a
significant impact on US energy policy and energy diplomacy, and the precise ways
in which shale will affect policy over the long term will have yet to be seen. However,
while much has been made in some quarters about new US energy independence
and the implications of decreased reliance on the Middle East, the fact is that the
US Energy Policy and Shale Gas Revolution