Introduction

Abstract

The efforts of Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère have influenced the way in which we understand natural resources, in particular oil and natural gas. They have worked for more than 15 years to raise awareness about the implications of resource constraints for oil and gas production at the global level. Even though they are not the first analysts to study oil data and forecast a decline in global oil production, their work, especially the 1998 article titled “The End of Cheap Oil,” represents an important milestone in the long-term debate about resource availability. The results presented in the article stand out from many other works due to their extensive and careful analysis. With a combined international experience of nearly 70 years inside the oil industry, in addition to their experience as external consultants after retirement, Campbell and Laherrère earned the trust of a growing community of analysts, scholars, and activists that assembled the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO), an international network of professionals from different backgrounds who are concerned with the depletion of the world’s endowment of oil and gas and its possible impacts.