Oil Price: Will Europe pass on a shale gas revolution?

U.S. supermajor Chevron last week halted work on an exploration well in the Romanian town of Pungesti after protesters rallied in opposition of hydraulic fracturing.  The company had only secured the rights to explore in three areas near the Black Sea earlier this year, just months after a fracking moratorium was lifted. Romania, like many of its neighbors in Eastern Europe, may have enough natural gas locked in shale deposits to meet domestic demand for more than 100 years.  The European Union said it was mindful of the shale natural gas phenomenon in the United States but needs to remain committed to its long-term goals of a future less dependent on fossil fuels.  MORE