"That's a lot of work for not a drop in the bucket" says Stewart Lawrence, Vice President of Energy XXI, standing atop an off-shore oil rig. Men clad in greasy UV jumpsuits attend to the rust-coloured pylon which seems to float above the choppy seas off the gulf of Mexico. It is a platform upon which fortunes have been made and lost in the risks of oil drilling. Although now, as one off-shore roughneck explains, it seems to be a different story. These once plentiful oil sources are now drying up, unable to satiate the growing global demand for this nectar from the ground. Oil production and oil consumption are now running completely out of proportion to each other.

Houston We Have a Problem explores the heart of the infamous Texan oil industry, long entrenched as a source of America's dominance, yet now facing dramatic changes in view of the evolving global environmental and political climate. "Societies don't last forever, I mean, when was the last time you met a Roman?", says Beau Bisso ominously, COO of Bisso Marine, as he tries to capture the way America, once the oil capital of the world, is now dwindling in the face of other emerging global powers, most significantly Iran, and the mighty depths of their oil supplies.

Yet what becomes increasingly clear is this is not just about oil; this is about power. Through in-depth personal testimonies of oilmen and industry CEO's alike, this film gives a frank insight into the turbulence of the recent decades, the highs and lows of prices and supplies, as tumultuous it seems as the risks of oil drilling itself. The influence this fickle material has upon global politics, prompts questions over what the end of this century will look like compared with the last. How will the West fare in a climate where their cars, their homes, and their military could be thrown into darkness at any moment if the Middle-East cut off their oil supply, upon which we are now so heavily dependent to lead the lives that we lead?

In parallel to these concerns, the film also explores the birth of a clean energy revolution, bringing together both the oil companies and the environmentalists to seek solutions to save the planet, and human kind from ourselves. There's a new thrill of the gold rush to be had. Environmental awareness is giving rise to a new breed of 'wildcatters', fuelled by the same gambling spirit inherent to the oil industry yet now in search of underground steam: "ain't nothing around like riding that drill bit into the ground" says geothermal entrepreneur Steve Munson.

Unsettling our preconceptions and bringing the need for change to attention, Houston We Have a Problem is an important film at this critical time for both the oil industry and for the environment.