The Secretary of Russia’s Security Council announced that the production of shale oil and gas has become a risk to the economic security of Russia.

The United States stepped up the production of shale gas and oil and reduced its imports of liquefied natural gas. The United States also started exporting coal, since the country is now using gas to generate electricity.

Meanwhile, Russia is now concentrating on European exports. Russian exports of gas to Europe decreased in 2012. The Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily newspaper recently published a commentary as to the concerns of Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Russian Security Council regarding the development of shale resources. According to Patrushev, the Chinese market is expected to show more demand for oil and gas during the period of years from 2016 to 2020, which will offset possible losses in Europe. Competition between China and the E.U. may become fiercer after 2020. Mr. Patrushev’s conclusion was that Russia needed to play a more active role in developing its on-land production of oil and gas. Offshore gas extraction, according to Mr. Patrushev, is also a priority. Mr. Patrushev said that a do-nothing attitude under the particular circumstances in which the global industry now finds itself would be a threat to Russia’s economic security.