Petroleum industry

The surge in Chinese investments in Africa has brought about a flurry of questions expressing concern over their ecological impact in the host countries. till, the principles and implementation of environmental management by Chinese firms remains largely unknown. This work is an attempt to provide some insight on this subject, based on a case study in Chad, on a project that was initiated in 2009 by the leading Chinese petroleum firm, CNPC.

The situation is alarming and irrefutable: within thirty years, even by conservative estimates, we will have burned our way through most of the oil that is readily available to us. Already, the costly side effects of dependence on fossil fuel are taking their toll. Even as oil-related conflict threatens entire nations, individual consumers are suffering from higher prices at the gas pump, rising health problems, and the grim prospect of long-term environmental damage.

This publication considers the crucial question -- how to reconcile the modern world's unceasing demand for energy with the absolute necessity to preserve the integrity of the biosphere.

"Shell International builds a set of global scenarios every three years to explore the overarching challengest arising from changes in the business environment that need to be faced by its businesses. These scenarios provide a useful context for testing our strategies and plans and help us to anticipate significant changes in the world around us. This booklet contains a summary of our most recent scenarios, which look out to 2020.