Two Late Imperial Oil Booms: A comparison of the constrained national energy imaginaries of the UK’s North Sea and US hydraulic fracturing

Abstract

The UK and the US dominated global oil production for nearly a century. Imperial power was central to their control over the extraction and flow of oil; coups, wars, and price controls have long accompanied this ‘violent’ commodity. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, both countries experienced major oil and gas booms—North Sea production in the UK and hydraulic fracturing in the US—late into their lives as global hydrocarbon powers. This paper develops a comparison of the energy imaginaries that shaped these two cases, advancing the concept of the late imperial oil boom. In both instances, national hydrocarbon endowments were reframed as sources of energy security and geopolitical renewal amid growing instability in global markets. We emphasize the specific geographic, technical, political, and economic conditions that shaped the development of each boom. By contrasting these two ongoing extractive sectors, we offer a novel comparative account of national energy projects under conditions of imperial decline—highlighting how material constraints shape hydrocarbon imaginaries, even in the richest and most technologically advanced states. Despite considerable differences, both booms were animated by a shared imaginary: that national fossil fuel resources could restore energy security, revive economic strength, and reassert global political influence.