Few compounds play as large a role in the world economy as petroleum. Whether the price is high or low, it makes headlines and starts water-cooler conversations. The most recent petroleum boom lasted about 10 years and upended many traditional notions about crude oil and the petroleum industry. For example, the higher-than-usual price over the last decade made tar sands extraction viable, allowing Canada to solidify its position as the U.S's largest supplier (it exceeds all of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC combined). Second, the calls for energy independence from every politician over the last three or four decades quieted as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fractur-ing helped to expand domestic production, which pushed the domestic supply over the 50 percent mark.
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