Oil and politics have been historically intertwined and have created focal points of soft power. Today, Europe is being held hostage by Russia leveraging its natural gas supplies to deter European involvement in its ongoing war in the Ukraine. Europe, lacking its own hydrocarbon energy sources, is forced to contend with a hostile nation to ensure its citizens can keep warm this upcoming winter. Fossil fuels and hydrocarbon production continues to be used as political currency in geopolitics and wars. Until recently, America faced a similar fate. For decades, America was tied to the whims of Middle Eastern leaders dating...