The Shale Revolution

It is incredible to see how the United States has been transformed from the largest importer of oil in the world to the one of the largest exporters of oil over the last 20 years.

None of this would have been possible without The Shale Revolution.

In the 2005-2010 period the United States was importing as much as 450 million barrels of oil per month while exporting less than 50 million. A trade deficit of 400 million barrels per month.

Today the United States is a net exporter of oil that totals about 100 million barrels per month.

This is largely due to the shale revolution that, more than anything, has made the United States energy independent. 

The United States has also become the largest oil producer in the world.

 

In fact, the United States now produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia (#2 and #3) COMBINED.

It is also allowing President Trump to negotiate deals with Europe, China and others to buy our oil and gas and reduce our overall trade deficit.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-says-china-wants-buy-oil-us-2026-05-15/

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-share-europes-lng-imports-increased-60-january-2026-01-30/

Natural gas from shale drilling has also saved American consumers trillions of dollars in energy bills over the last 20 years.

A recent analysis by UC Berkeley's Energy Institute at Haas concluded that cheaper natural gas due to shale drilling in the United States had resulted in around $5 trillion in savings for natural gas consumers since 2007.

Let it not be forgotten that none of this would have occurred if liberal Democrats had their way.

When Donald Trump ran for President in 2016 he often referred to his energy policy this way,

"Drill Baby Drill".

At the same time, Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were opposed to exploration of shale oil and gas.

Democrat-run New York is one of the liberal states that bans fracking exploration for shale oil and gas despite having some of the largest reserves in the United States within its borders.

When Barack Obama was President in 2012 he said that "we can't just drill our way to lower gas prices".

He said that at a time when gas prices nationally were $3.72 per gallon.

The Shale Revolution proved Obama wrong.

We did drill our way to lower prices. 

This chart of U.S. crude oil production shows how it was done..

The United States is producing over twice as much crude oil as it did in 2012.

Source: https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_crude_oil_field_production

Natural gas production in North America has increased from 65 BCF (billion cubic feet) in 2010 to 110 BCF day.

That increase is almost entirely due to The Shale Revolution.

This is the major reason as to why natural gas consumers in the United States saved $5 trillion over the last 20 years.

 

Credit: https://x.com/jackprandelli/status/2056845087653417019

For most of the last 15 years gas prices at the pump have been well below that $3.72 Obama-era price due to U.S. drilling of shale oil reserves.

Increased supply kept gas prices in check.

For some portions of the first Trump term, gas prices actually were below $2 per gallon.

Source: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&f=W

Adjusted for inflation, that $3.72 price for a gallon of gas in 2012 would be $5.40 today.

Yes, gas prices are high right now due to what is going on with Iran but the enhanced national and economic security that the shale revolution has provided to the United States cannot be overstated.

It is yet another reminder how important it is on who we elect as our representatives.

If you think it is bad right now, you really have no idea how bad it could have been if the shale revolution was never allowed to evolve.