Opportunities of the Shale Revolution for the European Union's Regional Energy Security Complex

Abstract

Developing and economizing the unconventional energy resources extraction or, in other words, the Shale Revolution, is a new global capacity that could change the current situation of economic relations and security of energy in the world. This new development has created opportunities for the European Union to strengthen its energy security. This article aims to identify opportunities associated with the Shale Revolution for the EU and evaluate the EU's capacity to exploit these opportunities. The main question is, what opportunities does the Shale Revolution provide for enhancing the energy security of the European Union? This study hypothesizes that exploiting of Shale resources reduces the possibility of securitization of energy within the EU's regional energy security complex. By using the descriptive-analytical approach, it was concluded that the extraction of Shale resources would not be possible at least in the short time within the EU. However, using the benefits of Shale extraction in other states, by diversifying imported energy sources and suppliers, reduces the possibility of securitization of energy within the EU's regional energy security complex, and by stabilizing global energy prices due to the increment of supply, could further strengthen the EU's energy and economic security.