How the US fracking boom almost fell apart

The wild tale of America’s energy revolution, and the cowboy who made and lost billions on shale. By Bethany McLeanBetween 2006 and 2015, the energy world was turned upside-down by an epic development in the oil industry few had foreseen. From the low point, in 2006, when it imported 60% of its oil, the US became an oil powerhouse – eclipsing both Saudi Arabia and Russia – and by the end of 2015, was the world’s largest producer of natural gas.This remarkable transformati