This New Year, an old trend may become a new trend as conventional drilling in North America is once again in the spotlight at a time when oil prices continue their slump and the unconventional becomes increasingly uneconomical.

With all the conspiracy theories surrounding OPEC's November decision not cut production, is it really not just a case of simple economics?

As we ring in the New Year, let's take stock of where we are at with the oil markets.

Low oil prices today may be setting the world up for an oil shortage as early as 2016.

The oil price drop that has dominated the headlines in recent weeks has been framed almost exclusively in terms of oil market economics, with most media outlets blaming Saudi Arabia, through its OPEC Trojan horse, for driving down the price, thus causing serious damage to the world's major oil exporters – most notably Russia.

New oil projects are being scrapped in Norway amid falling production and low oil prices.

The oil and gas boom in the United States was made possible by the extensive credit afforded to drillers. Not only has financing come from company shareholders and traditional banks, but hundreds of billions of dollars have also come from junk-bond investors looking for high returns.

Not gone and not forgotten, China is ready to solidify its claim to the South China Sea (SCS).

When it takes up to four million pounds of sand to frack a single well, it’s no wonder that demand is outpacing supply and frack sand producers are becoming the biggest behind-the-scenes beneficiaries of the American oil and gas boom.

With oil prices low and showing no sign of an immediate rebound, the industry is beginning to pull back on spending.

I discussed last week about the municipal approval of restarts for two nuclear reactors in Sendai, Japan. With one of the knock-on items to watch for being further approval from the regional government here. We didn’t have to wait long.

The shale revolution’s sweet spot is oilfield services, the lower-risk backbone of the American oil and gas boom that pays off regardless of a play’s economics.