ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 describes the ambitions, perspectives and content of the book. The overall goal of the book is to provide a new perspective on ongoing transitions in the petroleum industry. Empirically, the book addresses the transformation of the upstream petroleum industry over the last two decades and the role of technology-intensive supply companies in this process. Three transformations are particularly emphasised: increased focus on innovation and technology, globalisation and diversification of competences and markets.
The empirical content of the book is predominantly based on data from Norwegian petroleum and supply companies, but an international perspective is also provided in several chapters in order to foster a discussion of what can be learnt about industrial development in natural resource economies. The book also has a forward-looking orientation, discussing the opportunities and challenges for diversification of older natural resource industries during phases of declining output. This is an important question for fossil-energy-producing countries during the global energy transition process involving de-carbonisation of energy systems.
