Oil companies focusing on being oil companies
Persistent demand and the importance of the bottom line bring hydrocarbon investment back into focus
From its earliest days in the mid-19th century, oil and gas has always been an industry of trends. Most often, the trends develop due to new resource discoveries, technological advancement or, as we have seen in 2023, in response to evolving market pressures. One of the most remarkable takeaways from this year’s Ceraweek conference was a shifting trend in the messaging by industry senior executives who spoke at the event, which took place in Houston in early March. The messages from big company execs in previous years had gone out of their way to focus on ESG scores, emissions reduction and allocating more capital to investments in green projects outside of their firms’ core competencies. Ho
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






