[atemerev]

No, it is much easier than you'd think. Energy breeds energy. You start with a smaller energy source, use it to extract resources and make parts for the bigger energy generator, rinse, repeat.

Wind turbines and small hydroelectric dams are simple. Megaprojects are harder, but it is easy to start small and extend from here. It is easy to make electric energy, and with enough electricity, everything is possible.

[maxander]

Oil drilling is one of the most technologically advanced industries that exist, if not the most, and the existence of such technology is predicated (currently) upon the existence of globally-available cheap energy. Non-oil-based development would likely hit a ceiling where there just isn't enough energy to progress long before you could recreate such an elaborate system.

[atemerev]

We only burn oil for energy because it is dirt cheap (yes, thanks to the economy of scale). Electricity can be produced by many other ways if oil becomes too expensive for that.