OPEC leaders tend to minimize the U.S. oil and natural-gas shale revolution, but they may have reason to be more attentive after U.S. production eclipsed imports for the first time in 16 years. U.S. domestic oil production last exceeded imports in the week of Jan. 3, 1997, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations such as Angola and Nigeria has seen a precipitous decline of exports to their best customer as shale takes over. Although OPEC has generally downplayed U.S. shale success, the cartel will begin studying the U.S. shale boom, leaders said at a May 31 meeting in Vienna. Separately, Saudi Aramco said on May 8 that it is exploring its own unconventional resources.
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