Death march for US shale?
The incoming Biden administration has ambitious plans for low-carbon energy but must negotiate the Senate first
President-elect Joe Biden’s defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election is unwelcome news for the fracking industry. The only question that remains unanswered is how unwelcome that news will be. The Democratic Party’s relative lack of success in the Congressional elections was a silver lining for the shale industry, however. The Democrats had expected to increase their majority in the House of Representatives, but instead their number of seats fell from 233 out of 435 to 222 or 223 (depending on the outcome of a recount). This is just a few seats above the 218 needed for a bare majority. In the Senate, Republicans hold a 50 to 48 majority (down from 53 to 47). The two races in Georgia are t
Also in this section
24 March 2026
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system






