If technology is an undeniable catalyst for progress, then energy is its inevitable

basic food. It is no coincidence that since the industrial revolution, economic growth

has been fuelled first by coal, then by oil & gas. Although energy intensity reserves

are still sizeable in emerging economies and the technological catalyst can partially

dematerialize growth, it is unrealistic to separate growth from its basic food. And,

even if the "fossil energies share" (oil/gas/coal) will lose a few percent to nuclear and

renewable energies over the next decades, all the indicators point to a world mix in

which the fossil energy share will still top 75 % by 2035.

Driven by growth in emerging countries, the demand for oil and gas will continue

to grow steadily. Even if there are enough oil and gas reserves to see us through the

next three decades, will the industry be able to exploit and produce new resources

that are increasingly complex to develop at a sufficient rate and which are often

located in politically unstable countries? Not to mention the added challenge of the

growing numbers of stakeholders who are increasingly insistent on industrial safety,

environment and societal issues? In particular, will non-conventional resources, whose

production growth could defer the oil & gas peaks by several decades, be able to

withstand political and environmental lobbies?

The evolution of oil & gas landscape over the past few years reveals a disturbing

increase in the time required to develop large new fields and an accelerated decline

of the production base due to the ageing of most of the mature-field facilities.

This book aims to analyze all the critical factors (technical, political, economic,

social and human) that could potentially accelerate or delay the maintenance and

re-development of mature producing fields as well as the discovery and development

of new conventional and unconventional resources.

Insofar as in 2035, oil and gas still account for more than half of the world primary

energy consumption, the appropriate management of these critical factors is crucial

to ensuring, at least in the medium term, the "Grail of Growth".

However, the hope of achieving the 450 ppm targets of Copenhagen has been

shattered - bad news for the human population which is becoming more concerned

with ensuring its short-term growth than with its long-term survival.

Our energy future is not set in stone.