Introduction: Background Of The Study

Energy has always been a key component of the human development process since the very early first steps of humanity in its quest to fulfill its basic needs for food, mobility, communication and production. The sources of energy have historically evolved from the simple human and animal muscle force to the use of the forces of nature like water and wind for mills and ships, followed by the use of coal for the production of steam and power the industrial revolution that started in the 18th century in England. The beginning of the 20th century has witnessed the introduction of oil as a source of energy and has led to a rapid transition in the world energy system, during which oil surpassed coal and became the main energy source of the modern world.

The dominant status of oil in the world economy is mainly due to its very low cost of production and liquid nature, which makes it easy to transport and transform. However, since the introduction of oil as a source of energy, humanity has been more concerned than ever about the availability of the necessary levels of reserves in order to sustain the ever-increasing world demand for energy, especially since the rise of emerging economies like China and India. Indeed, one of the main characteristics of oil and gas is that they are finite resources, as the speed at which they are consumed is much faster than the natural process that produced them over millions of years. There is also increasing concern about the pollution of the environment resulting from the combustion process of hydrocarbons, which is considered by the scientific community to be the main factor behind the climate change issue. The above-mentioned two main concerns have led humanity to reconsider its relationship to nature and its approach to development and ask a number of central questions that we can summarize in the two following main ones: Can we continue to develop indefinitely without taking into consideration the consequences of our model of development on nature? Can we keep consuming natural energy resources without compromising the needs of the future generations?