The drive behind extreme energy is extreme concern over the loss of western economic power in the next two decades as demonstrated by new research from the US intelligence community.

The most recent US National Intelligence Council Global Trends report predicts the possibility by 2030 of 'a major impact on oil-export economies' as a result of US energy independence through fracking.

NIC Global Trends 2030 PDF - application/pdf 23M

The report notes:

US Energy Independence

With shale gas, the US will have sufficient natural gas to meet domestic needs and generate potential global exports for decades to come. Increased oil production from difficult-to-access oil deposits would result in a substantial reduction in the US net trade balance and faster economic expansion. Global spare capacity may exceed over 8 million barrels, at which point OPEC would lose price control and crude oil prices would collapse, causing a major negative impact on oil-export economies.