The New Geopolitics Of Energy Essay

In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon

In recent years, the subject of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking has been a constant subject of interest in the news media. The pros and cons of fracking are passionately debated. However, the public should become educated on the subject of fracking prior to choosing a side of the argument. In the scholarly article, “Super Fracking,” published in 2014, by Donald L. Trucotte, Eldridge M. Moores, and John B. Rundle, a detailed description of fracking is provided, followed by their analysis of current issues surrounding the controversy. According to Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle, fracking saves the consumer money. The wellhead cost to produce natural gas in January of 2000 was two dollars and sixty cents per one thousand cubic feet. At an alarming rate, the cost at the wellhead to produce natural gas had risen to eight dollars per one thousand cubic feet by January of 2006. Comfortingly, the wellhead cost dropped to two dollars and eighty-nine cents by the end of 2012. Impressively, gas production increase and price decrease over the time period are a result of fracking. In their article, Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle describe in great detail that hydraulic fracturing, most commonly referred to as fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to fracture the layers of rock so that a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the oil or natural gas inside. This method of fracking has been used commercially for the last fifty years.

If John D. Rockefeller, one of the first oil tycoons, were to look at the oil industry today, would he believe his eyes? With millions of oil barrels being imported and exported each year, the oil industry has changed dramatically since the 19th century. At the forefront of the oil industry is the emergence of an oil drilling technique known as fracking. Fracking is an unconventional drilling process that is accomplished by using high-pressured water to release oil and natural gas from rock formations, known as shales. The use of fracking in the United States has made it one of the top oil producing countries in the world. However, this newfound oil and gas drilling method has not come without its costs. Despite the economic boom near drilling locations, politically, fracking has caused some international relationships to be strained. Also, fracking is seen as highly controversial by conservationists because of the environmental threats that it poses. The drilling method of fracking has deeply impacted the United States from an economic, a political, and an environmental standpoint.

But not everywhere is fracking a viable extraction technique. Blackwill and O’sullivan’s paper states, “The fracking revolution required more than just favourable geology; it also took financiers with a tolerance for risk, a property-rights regime that let landowners claim underground resources, a network of service providers and delivery infrastructure, and an industry structure characterized by thousands of entrepreneurs rather than a single national oil company.” The paper declares that although many countries around the world have the shale gas, aside from the USA and Canada, no other countries have the right industrial environment in order to have hydraulic fracturing expand as rapidly.

Natural gas is the transitional fuel that is cleaner than coal and oil that has been experiencing a boom in the United States for the last few decades. Natural gas is most familiar to us in the form of heating and cooking on gas ranges. It is abundantly available and modern technology has made it much more accessible and cheaper than other energy sources. Hydraulic fracturing, known short as fracking, is the combination of technology with water and chemicals, and high pressure, that breaks through shale rocks to capture energy. The Climate One podcast titled “ Fracking Boom,”explains America’s recent obsession with fracking, surrounding its history, economic stimulus, construction, and community opposition among other issues. Presenting the talk were Russell Gold, author of The Boom: How Fracking Ignited American Energy Revolution and Changed the World, Mark Zoback, professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, and Trevor Houser, co-author of Fueling Up: The Economic Implications of America’s Oil and Gas Boom. The three guest speakers shared their expertise on how the fracking boom can power America’s economy, but can only be successful if the process in making the wells for fracking, are done along guidelines within the regulations.

Fracking refers to the process of drilling into the earth, which is commonly referred to as hydraulic fracturing. This injection of water, sand, and chemicals especially in shale deposits releases oil or gas that has been trapped for many years that was initiated many years ago for the purpose of oil and gas extraction from the earth (Anderson and Bosselmann, 2013). The process can be carried out both vertically or horizontally such that it creates new pathways or extend already existing ones. The process causes a lot of controversy and at the same time, it acts as a potential key that will someday in the future unlock greater sources of energy (Bamberger and Oswald, 2014). This research therefore seeks to look at the positive aspects of the

The global crisis surrounding energy needs grows in severity as time goes by and in order to solve it, scientists have created the innovative solution known as hydraulic fracturing (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a process that injects water, chemicals, sand, and other materials into layers of shale. The injected mixture cracks the layers of shale, releasing trapped natural gasses that can be collected (Source 1). Fracking occurs deep under the surface of the earth, miles below the groundwater that is accessed from drinking-water wells. In the mid-2000s, “fuel prices were rising rapidly” (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing was a cheap solution that not only brought the world out of a state of emergency but made oil prices drop. The new method of gas collection grew the oil and gas industry, benefiting people all around the world. Fracking is a cheap, effective solution to global needs, but is under attack from skeptics who worry about environmental hazards. The claims against fracking not only have no real evidence but also risk destroying the jobs in the oil and gas industry as well as support for energy needs. Hydraulic fracturing is not only a cheap but a safe method that supports global needs surrounding both energy and jobs.

In his speech before the Bloomberg Energy Conference in New York on April, last year, former Canadian Minister on Natural Resources Joe Oliver outlined the significance of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in meeting the growing demands of the United States for an environmentally safe and secure energy source and distribution. He argued that North America’s continued growth as a global superpower depends on how it can meet its energy demands without depending so much on offshore sources such as the Middle East which are mostly in conflict and are therefore unstable. Oliver seems to present a compelling argument in favor of Canada’s energy projects especially when he cites independent third party reports made by the International Energy Agency

fluid 8,000 feet into the ground to extract oil and natural gasses from shale plays. Although fracking has been around for nearly 60 years, the controversy surrounding it didn’t begin until approximately 2008, when oil and natural gas in the United States hit an all-time low. As a result, we depended heavily upon other countries like Saudi Arabia for our oil. The situation was less than ideal and the U.S. was seeking new ways to gain independence. On December 19, 2007 the Energy Independence and Security Act was signed into legislation thus, marking the beginning of the search for natural gas and oil in the United States otherwise known as the “Fracking

In this comprehensive research paper from a journal, Benjamin Sovacool provides both the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing and outlines how shale gas extraction is a potential for growth or decline. He provides the idea that fracking costs significantly less than other fossil fuels, which is growing exponentially lower in price over the years. Sovacool also mentions that fracking has a cleaner environmental footprint than coal and oil. In contrast, towards the end of the journal he proposes a holistic view on how to improve fracking.

Advocates for the Keystone XL pipeline claim that it would permit the United States to upsurge energy security and diminish foreign oil as a necessity. The United States alone requires more than eight million barrels of imported oil per day and the dispute over the projected Keystone XL pipeline isn’t a dispute of fossil fuels against alternative resources. An ample percentage of the produced oil that will flow through the Keystone XL pipeline will most likely wind up being used up outside the U.S. This project will raise the weighty value of oil in the Central region of the U.S. by rerouting oil from the refineries located in the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico and other exporting

One of the major issues in global affairs today consists of the supply of energy and other minerals and commodities. Michael Klare in “The End of Easy Everything” argues that the transformation from an effortless to a more resilient resource period will be financially, environmentally, socially, and politically costly. Looking at the state of the supply of energy oil and natural gas today, I tend to agree with the findings as presented by Michael Klare.

Firstly, the future world globalization provides a challenge in U.S. foreign policy in striking a balance between its domestic need and foreign policy. This conflict is visible in its aspiration to be energy independent while at the same time working with other countries to mitigate the effect of climate change. The U.S. has been dependent on the middle for its source of oil; about 17 percent of U.S. oil imports come from

There is a significant change in the order of energy in the world, and there is the need of China to enforce its ability in becoming one of the major forces in global markets, and in the geopolitics that occur regarding energy. There are opportunities and challenges that are created as China aims to expand its global and regional linkages as they look for security in the supply of energy.

This paper is meant to demonstrate how that fragile balance between energy security and climate change is taking form in the smallest member country of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In order to do this, I will start by creating a profile for the country in terms of its political economy, with special