North America will likely achieve energy independence by the end
of the decade, according to a study by UBS. "The American energy
extraction techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing — combined with a structurally high relative price of
crude oil — has encouraged widespread development of America's
energy resources," said the report titled "North American Energy
Independence: Reenergized." "Natural gas is so oversupplied in
the U.S. that developers are curtailing production, while
domestic oil producers are working to circumvent infrastructure
bottlenecks to transport their supplies to refineries,"
according to the study's authors, Chief Investment Strategist
Mike Ryan, Thematic Research Head Kurt Reiman, and analyst
Nicole Decker. "As a result, natural gas in North America costs
less than a fifth of the cost of oil on an energy-equivalent
basis." Ryan, Reiman and Decker forecast that the increase in
crude oil and natural gas production will lead to a boost in
economic activity in the U.S. Ho