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As 2013 came to an end, the International Energy Agency issued its World Energy Outlook 2013, which included a short but revealing sentence: 'Many of the long-held tenets of the energy sector are being rewritten.'1 Among other things, Outlook 2013 noted that 'major importers are becoming exporters' while major exporters 'are also becoming leading centres of global demand growth'.2 Outlook 2013 also called attention to how 'the risk of unconventional oil and gas and of renewables is transforming our understanding of the distribution of the world's energy resources'.3
Perhaps most tellingly from the standpoint of the Journal, which of course focuses on energy and natural resources, was this cautionary observation: 'Those that anticipate global energy developments successfully can derive an advantage, while those that fail to do so risk making poor policy and investment decisions'.4
As 2014 proceeds, the Journal remains committed to continuing its worldleading effort to make its readers aware of the risks and opportunities that lie ahead in the energy and natural resources sectors, while considering the nuances associated with these sectors.
In this issue
This issue begins with further consideration of the domestically and globally important South African mining sector. In a fascinating article, Professor P J Badenhorst analyses...