"I appreciate your optimism about the potential for shale gas & oil being a game changer for the US, however I also cannot overlook your observation that politics is also very important. Our current administration has a near religious aversion to carbon based energy & although it does not clearly state such, its regulatory stances (current EPA efforts to limit carbon production) clearly indicate this conviction.

"Unless there is a serious reconsideration of its position on this administration's part, we can be drowning in this stuff to no apparent benefit. At present, I would say the jury remains out on this issue & I would not hold my breath for a favorable outcome."

David Fuller's view I appreciate your perception on this but my impression is that despite the rhetoric, the USA is already awash in shale gas, and with shale oil to follow shortly. Is the low price of natural gas in the USA, compared to Europe or Asia, not evidence of this? 'Needs must' usually outweighs ideology, in deed if not word, and one's own oil and gas is infinitely preferable to the more costly imported variety.