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The oxymoron of ‘sustainable oil production’: the case of the Norwegian oil industry
Author(s) -
Ihlen Øyvind
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.563
Subject(s) - petroleum industry , sustainability , oxymoron , production (economics) , rhetorical question , resource (disambiguation) , sustainable development , norwegian , natural resource economics , business , economics , sustainable production , rhetoric , industrial organization , law , political science , microeconomics , computer science , engineering , ecology , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , environmental engineering , biology
Many oil companies have adopted the concept of sustainable development and claim that their production is sustainable. This might seem odd given that the oil industry depletes a non‐renewable resource and that oil production also contributes to climate change. This paper analyses how the industry attempts to resolve this paradox, using the Norwegian oil industry as a case study. It is demonstrated how four rhetorical operations are used. By employing the topic of definition, the industry argues that it is sustainable because it (1) strives to cut its emissions and (2) manages oil resources with a long‐term perspective until such time as technology will provide solutions. The industry then uses the topic of comparison to (3) discredit other energy sources as ‘unrealistic’ options and (4) compare the production in Norway with more polluting oil production elsewhere. Understanding this type of rhetoric is crucial for validating or criticizing the sustainability claims of the industry. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.