Banks remain reluctant to invest in oil and gas companies
Banks retain oil and gas lending caution
The Ukraine crisis has not yet seen Europe’s financial institutions shift gears on lending to producers of domestic oil and gas
Francesco Dixit Dominus, CFO of North Sea new entrant Viaro Energy, is still waiting for any newfound enthusiasm for supply security to impact on the appetite of Europe’s financiers towards lending to oil and gas producers. “I do not know if, over the course of the next month, banks’ attitudes will change,” he tells Petroleum Economist. “But I do find it funny that the banks love my money when it comes from production revenues. Yet they remain so reluctant to invest in oil and gas companies.” On the finance side, what are the challenges in moving from being a trading company to an upstream company with its own production? Dixit Dominus: Before we entered the upstream, we were a pure trading
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
