The oil industry in the United States is booming with the shale gas revolution — a major technical breakthrough for extracting oil and gas trapped within shale formations. This led President Barack Obama on June 24 to lift the 39-year-old ban on petroleum exports.

In August, Cosmo Oil Co. of Japan started shipping shale oil to Japan from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal area. Volume is expected to reach 300,000 barrels in October. Thereafter, Japanese trading firms will fall in line, boosting the volume to half a million barrels per month.

The news is being welcomed by those engaged in the energy-related business in Japan, since the American shale oil is said to be priced about $3 lower per barrel than Mideast crude oil.