Dec 2018

Tullow Oil is to pay a dividend once more. But can it find the barrels to sustain its improving balance sheet?

The West African country’s most recent effort to find offshore oil came up short, but explorers hope to drill more wells in 2019

The Gulf state’s departure will not damage Opec’s operations, but will cement intra-Gulf divisions

The UK and Norway upstream sectors have benefitted from a rush of private equity cash, but the key question is what next?

With assets in Europe, North Africa and Asia-Pacific, the London-based firm sees value in its broad international portfolio

Appointment of ‘Chicago Boy’ to head state-owned giant reinforces reform agenda optimism

Broad collaboration is essential if a new wave of Australian LNG projects is to be competitive

The new administration is turning to shale deposits to hold back the threat of imports

The December 2018/January 2019 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!

The oil-rich country is the world's biggest new deep-water play. But can the government develop a transparent energy policy?

The island nation hopes it can emulate hydrocarbons finds in neighbouring Mozambique

Major investments in the civil-war ravaged country are likely to depend on the success of a recently signed peace deal

Outlook 2019 is out now!

Prices rose, Trump hollered, supply signals were mixed, Iran was hit by sanctions and then prices fell back

The mood music at year-end 2018 was increasingly gloomy, as economic and political factors spook oil and gas markets

The region experienced decisive additions to oil and gas capacity in 2018, with soaring natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica basins outpacing the infrastructure required to move it to market

The country was at the centre of activity in the Asia-Pacific region, boosting production and imports—though some showed wariness about Beijing’s growing power

Iranian deliveries have dropped significantly despite exemption, but it is not as simple as Saudi Arabia stepping in

Egypt, Israel and Cyprus all saw progress in their ambitions to develop the prodigious East Med basin in 2018

Oil prices recovered, but old conflicts remained unresolved

Russia ramped up production in 2018, with Arctic developments playing a major role

Sanctions scrape the remaining shine off tarnishing sector

Iran’s downstream sector is almost as important for the country’s economic and strategic goals as the headline-hogging upstream

Drillers began to renew their interest in African projects that were once deemed too costly and risky

Norway and the UK showed increasing appeal for E&P firms in 2018, with M&A moves propelling investment into the North Sea—but Brexit was a concern for some in the UK side of the play

Brazil was hoping to start a new page in 2018, while Mexico’s new president also announced changes. But Venezuela continued its precipitous decline

Equinor, ExxonMobil and Shell are among the interested parties

The upstream benefited from higher spending in 2018, thanks to higher prices; but this increase was tentative, and signs of lower prices towards year-end forced a downturn in rig counts

Non-fossil fuel energy projects saw further momentum in 2018, thanks to falling costs and increased comfort with the technologies

Refining expansions were focused East of Suez, as the likes of China and India ramped up processing capacity and rubber-stamped new projects

Saudis want the world in 2019 to refocus on economic investment, after unwelcome and distracting publicity

Amid rising production and surging demand, investment in global oil and gas infrastructure increased in 2018

The country is no stranger to its energy industry blowing in the political wind

The world has a new entrant to the select group of LNG exporters

As the superpower spat continues, can the US close the trade deficit by targeting China's booming energy needs?

Technology's growing importance in building resilience to volatility means that digital capabilities will likely be a notable driver of acquisitions in 2019

The growth in China's LNG imports is fundamentally driven by government policy

New Delhi unexpectedly emerged relatively unscathed from this year's oil price volatility, currency fluctuations and geopolitical tensions

Gas supply to the domestic market is a hot topic in Nigeria. Producers want to monetise their gas and need to find credible buyers