When former vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin called for America to “drill, baby, drill” in a debate with Joe Biden in October 2008, the chant was mocked. Mr Biden said it would take 10 years for one drop of oil to come out of any US wells.
Since then, the shale revolution has meant the US has become a leading global oil producer and net exporter of natural gas. Extraction from shale rock has upended global oil and gas markets, but could also have geopolitical ramifications. For most of the 20th century, western powers were locked in a scramble for oil across the globe. So what happens when technology unlocks substantial supply on home turf?
According to Meghan O’Sullivan, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, the answer is a geopolitical shift that should benefit the US. She provides a powerful argument for how America should capitalise on the “New Energy Abundance”. Having a domestic supply of oil and gas not only strengthens the US economy, it can also provide leverage globally. It reduces Russia’s sway over Europe and could help US-China relations: “In modern history, it is rare for the strategic position of a single country to change so dramatically in such a short period.”