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Commentary
The Wall Street Journal

A Fossil-Fuel Boom in the Americas

The US is leading a revival of exploration and drilling in the Western Hemisphere.

walter_russell_mead
walter_russell_mead
Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship
Oil pipelines and storage facilities are seen at Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas drilling, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina February 15, 2023. (Matias Baglietto via Getty Images)
Caption
A gas well drill is seen at Campo Maripe, a field claimed by the Mapuche indigenous community, in Anelo, Argentina, on November 27, 2019. (Getty Images)

Of all the goals President Trump has set in his norm-shattering second term, the goal of restoring what he calls America’s “energy dominance” may be the closest to realization. Global progress toward what the Biden administration hailed as the energy transition to a net-zero future has been largely derailed, and, as the Journal reported Monday, developments in the U.S.-dominated Western Hemisphere are increasingly shaping global energy markets.

The result won’t be exactly what Mr. Trump expected. More new oil and gas production is likely to come from Canada, Guyana, Argentina and Brazil than from the U.S. Nevertheless, the geopolitics of energy are shifting in Washington’s direction even as fossil fuels appear poised to play a larger role than green climate campaigners hoped.

Read the full article in The Wall Street Journal.