A protest against fossil fuels in London
Social licence needed in a decarbonising world
Oil and gas producers can become part of the solution. But only if they can maintain, or regain, public trust
The UK oil and gas E&P industry and its continuing social licence to operate came under significant scrutiny in the run-up to and aftermath of Cop26 in Glasgow. Never before have the names of hydrocarbons projects or their owners been so front and centre of people’s consciousness. The recent unprecedented rise in prices for gas—and more recently also for oil—has also loomed large in the consciousness of the general public and the media. Thus, the role of firms operating on the UK continental shelf (UKCS) in a decarbonising world has come into ever sharper focus. The UK oil and gas sector has long accepted the need to reinvent itself as an integrated energy and carbon capture and storage
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The December 2025/January 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
16 December 2025
Abdullah Aljarboua serves as a senior fellow in the energy macro & microeconomics programme at KAPSARC. His work spans macroeconomics, energy-economic modelling, large-scale optimisation and advanced computational techniques for modelling complex energy policy dynamics. Here he speaks with Petroleum Economist about the Gulf region’s role in shaping the energy landscape over the coming decades
16 December 2025
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh in April 2026 brings together global leaders, scientists, policymakers and innovators at a pivotal moment in the world’s energy evolution.
15 December 2025
As contradictory as it might seem, US oil output has continued to grow over the last several years, even as drilling in the shale plays has maintained a slow decline. This improbable dichotomy is a testimony to the industry’s technological prowess
