A new day for you, a new day for us
Dear Reader, The last thing you need right now is another dreary recitation of industry statistics that show how hard hit the global oil and gas industry has been in the past eighteen months. The fact is that amazing new technologies over the past two decades have produced a glut of both oil and natural gas. Shale technology, offshore developments in 3,000 metres of water, and new technologies applied to conventional reservoirs have created supply of more oil and gas today than the world consumes. The industry has endured massive dislocation recently, with lay-offs, a scaling back of capital investment that is unprecedented in percentage terms, and an existential scramble to lower costs. But
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
