CHAPTER 1

Introduction

There may be no other industry in the world that requires a more diverse set of competencies and skills: human, political, technical, mechanical, and financial. This is an industry that is intimately entangled with national strategies and global power. This chapter will provide an over-view of the evolution of hydrocarbon demands and the industry that has subsequently developed to cope with those demands.

1.1 Early History

This is an industry with a long and complex history, starting as far back as 4000 BC people used oil obtained from ground seeps to waterproof boats and to act as an adhesive in the construction of buildings. We know that crude oil was refined in minor ...

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