Crude oil and natural gas are fundamental to both the global economy and our future prosperity. By fuelling mobility and providing lighting, heating and electrical power—as well as the basic inputs for petrochemicals, plastics, and other materials—oil and gas become the building blocks for our culture and our lives. Driven by China, India, and other developing economies, energy demand is expected to grow dramatically. According to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2007:

• By 2030, the world’s primary energy needs are expected to grow 5 percent, and developing countries are forecast to contribute to this increase by 74 percent
• The demand for crude oil will reach 116 million barrels a day, up from 87 million barrels currently
• To meet this growth in demand, an investment in the energy-supply infrastructure of roughly US$22 trillion will be required

Companies and organizations involved in hydrocarbon extraction and processing face increasing uncertainty, as well as difficult and conflicting challenges, including:

• Powering economic development while, at the same time, responding to increasing concerns among regulatory agencies and consumers about sustainability and the environment
• Managing conflicting stakeholder and shareholder demands while maximizing value along the supply chain—from gaining access to oil and gas reserves to providing consumers and governments with safe, dependable refined products
• Meeting the need for more effective stewardship and use of major assets such as offshore oil facilities, refineries, storage and transportation systems, and wholesale and retail networks
• Sustaining and developing robust and agile organizations that can access and allocate scarce knowledge-based skills and resources on a global basis, while responding to the challenges that arise from an ageing workforce

The Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group can help energy companies understand the business benefits derived from developing strategies and implementation roadmaps for using the network and associated technologies to meet these challenges and transform their organizations, workflows, and business processes.