Opposition to hydraulic fracturing in this country may stretch from upstate New York to Hollywood, but the controversial method of extracting oil and gas from sedimentary shale rock has the capacity to substantially reduce the U.S.’s reliance on oil imports by 2030—an economic fact that has kept energy lawyers at many leading Am Law 200 firms and their colleagues in related practice areas busy for the past several years.

Now, fracking is making its latest big move on the global stage.