This book does not presuppose a technical background: it does assume a general awareness of the E&P industry; it also assumes thorough familiarity with concepts of economic analysis such as discounted cash flow, net present value and the like. Portions of the book require a modest knowledge of mathematics to follow the augment in full; however the maths can be skipped without penalty if the reader is willing to accept its conclusions on trust. While there is no doubt that this book is intended primarily for oil industry practitioners, a number of the chapters look at topics that may be common to many international businesses.