The left hates fracking. They’ve gone to great lengths to stop it, from legislation to movies funded by Saudi Oil Sheiks to mobs and rants and scam science. And had they succeeded the recent disputes with Iran would have driven gas prices through the roof.
Why? The Democrat party is all about dependency.
But it makes zero sense to rely on your enemies to power your economy or your military. But thanks to better ideas (and President Trump) we are enjoying the benefits of fracking right now.
Drones shot down. Oil tankers getting seized or running into mines. In the past, these events alone would destabilize the market and send prices shooting upward. Combined with growing tension, or at least the media-sold perception of it, would have us spending more at the pump every week. So, have you noticed? Oil has barely budged.
What’s up with that? Fracking!
America is the global leader in oil and gas production. Fracking has made that possible. A reality that has changed the geopolitics of energy. And not just in the United States. The world has been freed, more or less, from the stranglehold of OPEC. Something I discussed back in 2016.
Shale oil 1.0 changed the global oil game. The Saudis responded by increasing production. That increase has forced shale production down, but the US shale-oil industry isn’t idle. It is getting ready for round two. Round two will come the moment the Oil Producing nations back off just enough, and Shale ramps right back up.
Does it mean that oil spikes will be less volatile and shorter in the future? It could. With Shale-oil looking for a way to turn the spigot on an off as demand requires, price spikes and production shortages could become a thing of the past. Shale deposits could become part of our affordable energy future, and act as an in ground strategic reserve.
That innovation got us to Shale Oil 2.0.
Private investors and industry experts have found ways to stop-gap spikes in global energy prices. We no longer need to endure podium pounding panderer’s postulations on the production of crude (or natural gas) or its alternatives. As I hinted at above, shale oil is our vast on-demand in-ground strategic reserve, and if we leave well enough alone, they’ll take care of it for us.
Middle East unrest is the norm, but the events with Iran have demonstrated that Shale Oil is everything we’d hoped. (And none of the things opponents claimed.)
On June 10, benchmark crude oil sold for about $53.25 a barrel. On June 20 in the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian missile downed a U.S. drone aircraft — an act of war if the plane was in international air space but a classic Iranian chokepoint threat tactic. Over the next few days, prices rose from $56.60 to $59 … And on July 19, the U.S. downed an Iranian UAV.
Oil hit $60.60 July 10. On July 19, the day Iran seized a British oil tanker, the price moved from $55 to about $56.60 — about 2 percent.
The Frackers are probably ramping up production, just in case. And thanks to free-market innovation they can still make money, even when oil is under 50.00 a barrel. A number they are working on lowering as soon as they’ve developed the technology to make it happen.
The left didn’t want any of that, and they’ll try to undo it the first chance they get.
| Townhall