The Upstream Oil and gas sector is an international market, with investment and operational decisions increasingly determined against world norms, heavily influenced by both the current world oil and gas price and anticipated price for its impact on new offshore and inshore field developments. The volatility of the oil price has led to changes in the structure of the oil and gas sector, encompassing both the oil companies and their various suppliers and contractors. In particular there has been consolidation both horizontally and vertically in the traditional contracting oil and gas supply chain.

Every day the world consumes over 75 million barrels of oil and 6 billion cubic metres of gas. This rate of consumption further depletes the planet's finite quantity of fossil fuel.