The book was Launched in Paris at Hotel d' Avaray on 30 June 2023 and presented to Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA.

This book intends to provide a personal assessment of Noe van Hulst of the economics and politics of resource-rich countries, based on a review of the vast academic literature, as well as on personal memories and reflections gathered in roughly 35 years of working for the Dutch government (Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and international organisations (IEA, IEF, IPHE). Although he originally focused on the possible adverse economic impact of exploiting natural resources like oil and gas, he gradually discovered it is impossible to ignore the wider political ramifications of what is often called the Resource Curse. In this book, it is highlighted how closely these two concepts are intertwined. In the final part of the book, he discusses to which extent the global energy transition towards a net-zero emission world will impact the economics and politics of producer economies.