In economic terms, the US has been the clear winner from the dramatic changes in the global energy market over the past decade. Shale gas and tight oil produced from shale rocks have driven up production and reduced the need for imports. Some 1.7m jobs have been created as a result and, along with the reduction in energy costs, that has contributed to steady economic growth since the crash of 2008.
Shale developments in the country have helped to produce a fundamental shift in the world market — instead of being scarce, and ever more costly, energy is plentiful and prices have fallen. The only remaining question is whether the shift to an “age of abundance” is changing the global political landscape as well.
That is the theme of a new book by Professor Meghan O’Sullivan, who works at the Belfer Center in Harvard. Ms O’Sullivan is an optimist. She sees in “abundance” the chance for significant positive changes in the balance of power around the world, all of which would support the foreign policy objectives of the US government.