6 Project Management for the Oil and Gas Industry

12,500 Renewables

10,000 Coal

Hydroelectricity
7500
Nuclear
MTOE

5000 Natural gas

2500 Oil

0
1965 1974 1983 1992 2001 2010

FIGURE 1.4
World energy consumption as of 2010 in millions of tons of oil equivalent. (Based on data from
BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2011.)

to mitigate the climate change problems. Fortunately, the dire energy situ-
ation often creates new innovation and creativity that can facilitate a rapid
­convergence of technological, political, economic, and managerial ­processes.
Figure 1.4 shows the distribution of world energy consumption by sources as
of 2010 in millions of tons of oil equivalent. As in the case of production, the
data show that the oil and gas industry is a major responder to world energy
demands.

Some Case Examples

Some case examples of the world system of the oil and gas industry are pre-
sented here. Figure 1.5 shows a typical small-scale “pecking” oil well on a
private land in Oklahoma.
As the world’s known oil and gas reserves are running out, the hunt
for more is on, even in more remote places on Earth. One such area is the
Barents Sea, off the northernmost tip of Norway and neighboring Russia.
Both Norwegian and Russian authorities say that the potential for future
fossil energy exploration in this region is quite enormous. Meanwhile,
environmentalists warn of the danger to the fragile Arctic environment.
Norway’s StatoilHydro had won the right to join in developing the vast
Shtokman gas field. This ended the long uncertainty over one of the world’s