Jan 2016

The Saudi Arabia-Iran crisis will result in prolonged sectarian tension in the Gulf and an escalation in the region's conflict. However, a deliberate military conflict between the two can be discounted

Southeast Asia's largest hydrocarbon producer has always thought carefully before acting and the present regime, now more than a year old, shows no signs of breaking with tradition

Hopes for the UN's unity government are fading, IS is capitalising on the chaos, renewing its assault on energy infrastructure, and the drumbeat for Western intervention is getting louder

Output from the Netherlands’ giant gasfield, a stalwart of European gas supplies for decades, is falling sharply, increasing the continent’s need for imports

The reserves are big, the government supports it and frackers are keen. So where is the country's shale gas production?

The Brazilian rig builder once had a bright future. Now the Carwash scandal and mounting debts have left it on the brink of bankruptcy

COP21 served as a reminder that the energy paradigm is changing, and fossil fuel producers would be wise to stay ahead of the curve

Oil-market analysts have forecast a $25 a barrel range in average Brent prices in the first three months of 2016. But all agree that the global crude benchmark will rise by at least $5/b by the end of the year

Buyers, not exporters, are now in command of an oversupplied market, as a new Qatar-India supply agreement shows

Muhammed bin Salman gave an interview with The Economist this month - here's what Petroleum Economist picked out

Don't expect a new Gazprom-Naftogaz crisis out this year. At least that's the message from Kiev

Oil-market analysts have forecast a $25 a barrel range in average Brent prices in the first three months of 2016. But all agree that the global crude benchmark will rise by at least $5/b by the end of the year

Sanctions are about to be lifted but Iran is finding it difficult to convince foreign oil companies to invest in its ambitious oil and gas programme

Economic troubles across the continent have opened the door to a new crop of leaders who could be much friendlier to foreign investors

Margaret McCuaig-Boyd has one of the toughest jobs in global oil - reviving Alberta's oil sector in the face of wilting prices and persistent opposition. In an exclusive interview, Shaun Polczer meets the province's energy minister

Export options will be limited for now, but America's crude producers could eventually lay down new trade routes to Europe and Latin America

The partial lifting of fuel subsidies included in the kingdom’s 2016 budget represents a change to the assumptions on which the economy is based, and could eventually prompt calls for greater public representation

Difficult trading conditions bring uncertainty to M&A activity in a tense oilfield services sector

A pipeline to ship oil from Kenya and Uganda to Africa’s east coast has become essential, but agreements on the route are far from settled

Home to the marginal barrel, Canada’s energy patch is hurting from the price collapse. But oil sands output is still rising and resistance is building

Production defied expectations last year. But weak prices, sanctions and higher taxes will start to hinder the country’s oil sector in the coming months

Despite low oil prices and extensive job losses, UK North Sea production isn't going into meltdown

Jakarta wants to clean up its energy sector and hopes big Mideast exporters take up the investment opportunities it creates

The company’s $4.5bn deal for Canadian Oil Sands makes it the undisputed champion of the oil sands. It’s a big bet on a recovery in prices

Signs of weakness abound. But the country's robust consumption of gasoline remains a wildcard for the market

The Italian major faces a number of headwinds, but its upstream focus should leave it primed to capitalise on any oil-price revival

IEA and Opec see a grim 2016 for oil markets due to oversupply

The new pricing system in global liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets was intended to offer a lower-cost alternative to oil-linked sales contracts. As oil prices have slumped and a global LNG supply glut persists, it has become a buyers’ market

Margins will remain healthy in northern Europe and the US Gulf Coast until September. But a slide is coming

Low natural gas prices will add to US producers' pain in the year ahead