Oil & Gas: Crises and Controversies 1961-2000, Volume 2: Europe's Entanglement (Electronic book text)

Volume 1 of Professor Odell's collected studies and commentaries, Oil & Gas: Crises & Controversies - Global Issues, has been warmly received. It is concerned partly with issues of resources' availability and exploitation, but it also charted how the structure of the industry changed since the early 1970s; and with the implications of the changes for the western world's economy. Now comes Volume 2 on Europe's Entanglement with the issues of international oil and gas. This volume looks at the astonishing story of a succession of fundamental changes in the European energy economy during the last 40 or 50 years. First, as to how and why imported oil replaced indigenous coal as the primary energy source in the early post-World War 2 period. Second, in the evaluation of the extraordinary saga of the discovery and exploitation of the North Sea basin's hydrocarbons resources. Third, on the evolution of the continent's natural gas markets from the early 1960s, when it accounted for under 2% of total energy used, to the current contribution of over 25% and an expected eventual share of 35% of Europe's energy supply. These powerful and complex dynamics of Europe's energy sector are then put in the context of the broader political and economic structures and policies which have emerged over the last four decades.