Strategy of cartel has helped to deplete half surplus stocks Bolstering prices is emboldening American shale-oil drillers The clash between OPEC and America’s oil industry is reaching a day of reckoning. The U.S. shale revolution is on course to be the greatest oil and gas boom in history , turning a nation once at the mercy of foreign imports into a global player. That seismic shift shattered the dominance of Saudi Arabia and the OPEC cartel, forcing them into an alliance with long-time rival Russia to keep a grip on world markets. So far, it’s worked — global oil stockpiles are draining and prices are near two-year highs. But as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia prepare to meet in Vienna this week to extend production cuts, ministers have little idea how U.S. shale production will respond in 2018. “The production cuts are effective — it was […]