Nations tailspins from America’s ‘Fracking 2.0’

By Sonny Atumah

When the Yom Kippur war otherwise known as the Arab Israeli War broke out in 1973, it was not envisaged that oil, a veritable source of energy would become a geopolitical weapon to settle old scores.

The Arab members in OPEC led by Saudi Arabia used oil supply against the United States, accused of re-supplying the Israeli military that had two-frontal attacks by Egypt and Syria on the Yom Kippur, when the Israelis were off guard celebrating the holiest day of the Jewish year.

For the first time all countries including the United States and its allies that supported Israel had an oil embargo slammed on them from October 1973 to November 1974.

The restriction on oil trade brought fuel queues at every pump for the first time in the history of America. The then United States President, Richard Nixon’s “Address to the Nation about National Energy Policy” on November 25, 1973 restated his overall objective of America on energy in Project Independence 1980 summed up in one word, “independence.” It was the pain of a president who reeled out plans to ensure that America did not rely on any source of energy other than America.

There was a ban on U.S. oil exports and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, SPR was created. The political scars have not disappeared despite the hobnobbing between the United States and the Middle East bloc.

Global oil shocks have been pretentiously woven around market share and price control whereas the oil geopolitics has been for neither love nor money. Successive presidents built on Nixon’s policy through researches, technologies and innovations culminating in the Shale revolution that fuelled global oil instability. President Donald Trump’s ‘’America First Energy Plan’’ is also a fulfillment of the Nixon’s war chest for energy independence.

Research is what America used to conquer the world. Mack Mills, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute and a Faculty Fellow of the Northwestern School of Engineering and Applied Science believes that the American oil production from shale at volumes and prices has dislocated global energy landscape. The expert’s calculation is that if the U.S. shale industry were a country, it would have ranked the fifth world’s largest hydrocarbon producer.

Today, America is the largest global petroleum producer, having overtaken both Saudi Arabia and Russia. America is now exporting crude oil having lifted the ban in 2016. Its current crude export is about 1.3 million barrels per day which is 15 percent of its domestic production with import terminals now being converted to export terminals.

Research is the methodical investigation in to a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory or to develop a plan of action on the facts discovered. With advanced and incredible strides in technology in shale drilling, cementing, fracking fluid formulas, and spacing, break-even prices are reducing. In fracking for oil and gas, chemicals are injected into the earth as deep as underground water for up to two miles.

Discoveries are that the injected chemicals seep into rivers, lakes, wells and reservoirs and contaminate drinking water. There are threats that the cracking of the deep earth rocks causes earthquakes.

Shale technology otherwise known as Fracking 1.0 is being challenged in another frontier known as Fracking 2.0. Latest revelations are that the crude from shale is thick, heavy and of low quality; has not exactly solved the problem it was intended. The Fracking 2.0 is believed to be safer than any other source of electricity including solar and wind. The energy produced from Fracking 2.0 is zero zip with no carbon dioxide emission; meaning it is clean. Fracking 2.0 may also be a fantasy because it is uranium and the method is different from that of oil and gas according to the Forbes magazine.

Fracking for uranium involves injecting oxygenated water in to the sand for between 400 and 800 feet to dissolve out the uranium. Although this method poses no problem the uranium extracted is the radioactive raw material for nuclear weapons. The promoter Uranium Energy Corporation, UEC is a Canadian company that has extensive operations in the uranium belt of Southern Texas. Nick Hodge who discussed this issue of Fracking 2.0 extensively in his Wall Street’s Underground Profits shied away from it nuclear content and also not emission free oil.

Uranium if ingested can cause serious health problems including liver and kidney cancer. For America, it is a matter of the chicken and the egg. We have been told that the new fuel is more powerful than fossil fuels; with 10,000 times the energy potential of oil by weight and enough to generate power that could power New York City for 14 and half years. This technology would make America independent of foreign sources of uranium, a privilege its power rival, China with adequate local sources enjoys.

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