[NEWS.INVESTORS] The statement concealed the anything-but-tranquil tone of the meeting, in which members were attacking each other and warning of a split.

Nigeria Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke declared U.S. shale oil "a grave concern," according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

African nations sounded the sharpest warnings because they have been the first to see the impact of our fracking revolution on their exports, which fell 41% in 2012 from 2011.

There are comparable figures elsewhere in OPEC, as well as in nations with state, rather than private, oil companies, all of which are showing big downturns in buying from the world's biggest retail oil buyer.

Fact is, fracking has made U.S. oil production skyrocket 20% in just the last year, according to the Energy Department. That's the biggest increase in 21 years, and it is expected to soar another 21% in the next five years.

The growth has curbed the U.S. need for energy imports. America is expected to end its dependence on imported liquid fuels by 2025, according to a recent study by the American Petroleum Institute. And worse still for OPEC, the U.S. has become a net energy exporter -- read: competitor -- with oil now its top export.

This has the potential to shake the current global energy infrastructure to its foundation.

OPEC, which controls 35% of global supplies, has different members which, contrary to cartel lore, do not all have the same interests.

Fracking is probably a down-the-road threat to OPEC kingpin producer Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, which will probably continue to see demand for its oil in the foreseeable future, given that its production costs remain low, its reserves are still there, and its management good.

But it's not a small threat to newer producers, such as the Africans, whose light sweet compounds are comparable to current fracking products in the U.S. and therefore are finding themselves confronted with the need to find new ways to compete in global markets.