For decades, the Eastern Hemisphere had been the biggest driver of global oil production growth. Until a decade ago, when the Middle Eastern oil producers – bound by the OPEC cartel – started yielding the growth momentum to the Western Hemisphere with their pursuit of high oil prices and unwittingly helping the first stage of the U.S. shale revolution. Sure, the Eastern Hemisphere, mostly the Middle East, continues to be the most formidable force in global oil production and markets. But the Western Hemisphere – led by…
