But since the break-up of the Soviet Union, it's been eyeing a potential new source of oil and gas -- the Caspian Sea.

BBC: Oil flows from the Caspian Sea

Fuels would be taxed according to their CO2-generating potential (ie, coal more than oil, and oil more than gas) rather than the miscellaneous system of duties to which they are now subjected.

ECONOMIST: A cooling off period

While Australia is the best part of 10-years behind the U.S. in terms of exploring for and developing its unconventional oil and gas potential it is a country which featured prominently in a 2011 analysis of world shale gas potential by the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

FORBES: Chevron Gets A Sniff Of Australian Shale Gas