Upstream

Spiralling costs and energy security concerns spark major policy reversal

Haunted by environmental goals and bogged down by regulatory challenges, the oil and gas powerhouse could fail to turn ambition into reality

Oslo has urged oil companies to pursue more frontier discoveries, but operators still see near-infrastructure prospects as the main exploration target

The major is pushing into Central Asia, where declining production in Uzbekistan and underexplored areas of the Ustyurt Plateau have created a new opening for IOCs

A major new discovery by Eni and BP that can likely be fast-tracked to production is welcome news for Egypt as it scrambles to plug a widening supply gap and deal with rising import risks

E&Ps are increasingly looking to the Vaca Muerta as regulatory certainty, high oil prices, growth opportunities and imminent midstream additions boost the investment landscape

Chevron’s agreement to boost output is a positive sign, but there is much more work to do for a national recovery

Shell made the play-opening discovery in Namibia’s Orange basin back in 2022, but its next well could decide whether the project can actually be commercialised

The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya

Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions

Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive

The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term

Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally

Canadian independent’s evolving portfolio in Trinidad and Tobago gives it access to the Atlantic LNG market and a close-up view of developments in neighbouring Venezuela

The deepwater sector must be brave by fast-tracking projects and making progress to seize huge offshore opportunities and not become bogged down by capacity constraints and consolidation