Free from Foreign Oil at Last? Not So Fast

The U.S. is on the cusp of an era of domestic energy abundance that could finally end the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, according to some energy industry officials and analysts.

The opening of Canada’s vast oil sands to exploration could turn our friendly neighbor to the north into the next Saudi Arabia. Fracking for shale-based natural gas, meanwhile, has exploded in Ohio, Pennsylvania and upstate New York. Other states with shale deposits are lining up to open their fields and forests to further exploration. It could turn a handful of U.S. states into an OPEC-like gas cartel, especially if, as hedge fund operator T. Boone Pickens hopes, an increasing share of the U.S. vehicle fleet converts to flex-fuel engines that can run on liquefied gas.