Ecuador on alert due to the oil-shale reserve of the United States

The news about the possibility that the United States could turn into a net oil exporter (seller), has generated expectation and concern among the members of the Organization of  the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and especially in Ecuador and Venezuela, its partners.

A half-yearly report issued by  the International Energy Agency (IEA), indicates that the production of oil-shale (non-conventional petroleum obtained from rocks through a technique of hydraulic fracturing) would generate changes in the relations of power between producers, because, between 2012 and 2018 it will increase at a rate of 3.9 million barrels per day.

According to the former Minister of Energy in Ecuador, Fernando Santos Alvite, in recent years, production of oil-shale has become an oil industry revolution, within which USA already use the production of oil and gas that results from this new applied technique.

Higher production brings as consequence that the United States stops importing oil and gas from the OPEC countries. Thus, according to the specialist, traditional buyers (industrialized countries) lower their profile in the international market as new buyers such as China and India, gain prominence.