The U.S. went from being a net importer of natural gas, to being the world's largest exporter
By Steve Moore
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — The University of California at Berkeley's Haas Energy Institute, hardly a a right-wing source, has released blockbuster findings on the Shale Gas Revolution. The paper calculates how much shale gas has saved U.S. natural gas consumers.
It may seem like a distant memory now, but as of the mid-2000s, U.S. natural gas production had been flat for a decade – and the U.S. was importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), with plans to import much more.
Then shale gas happened.Advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling caused U.S. natural gas production to increase significantly – and the U.S. went from being a net importer of natural gas to being the world's largest exporter.
Using price differences between the United States, Europe and Japan, we calculate that U.S. natural gas consumers have saved $3.1-$4.3 trillion between 2007 and 2025, equivalent to $164-$227 billion annually.
We at Unleashing Prosperity were sharply criticized for saying at the early stages of the Shale Oil & Gas Revolution a decade ago that fracking was the energy policy equivalent to curing cancer. Back then, critics warned that fracking would cause earthquakes, toxic drinking water, and floods from rising oceans.
This study's findings of trillions of dollars of benefits from fracking and horizontal drilling is sweet vindication.
History is now repeating itself, as many of the same crowd that took to the streets to fight fracking have come out guns blazing against AI and data centers. They are even using some of the same discredited arguments and scare tactics.
Steve Moore – a former Wall Street Journal Editorial Page writer – is Chief Economist for The Texas Insider and a former Senior Economic Adviser to President Donald Trump. A Senior Fellow at FreedomWorks, with Steve Forbes & Art Laffer he is Co-Founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. Using compelling charts, videos, and maybe even a little humor, Moore and the Committee's free Daily Newsletter provides information not readily available anywhere else – with short, timely inside updates on the economy, D.C. politics, and numerous other issues to help you stay informed and be the smartest person in the room.
