Since approximately 2007/8, the United States has seen rapid growth in the domestic production of "unconventional" fuels, driven in particular by the exploitation of significant but previously inaccessible reserves of "shale gas and "tight" oil. The new unconventional reserves are changing the landscape of domestic US energy markets. This development has triggered the interest of other countries in applying the technological breakthroughs that led to the US unconventional oil and gas revolution. This in turn could have impacts on global energy markets.