Can US political deadlock benefit oil and gas?
Potential two-year gridlock in Congress following the mid-term elections may be a good thing for the domestic oil and gas industry
The oil and gas industry generally endorses the logic contained in a quote often attributed to US President Thomas Jefferson: "The government which governs least governs best". On 6 November, the country's voters, by creating a once-again divided federal government, also signaled their endorsement of it, at least for the next two years. For the most part, a divided government is the best kind of federal regime as far as the upstream industry is concerned. This is an industry that places a high degree of importance on regulatory and statutory certainty, and a divided government tends to result in a slower pace of change in these areas. The unified, Republican-controlled government of the past
Also in this section
14 April 2026
The GECF has warned it may revise its projections for demand this year downwards in light of conflict in the Middle East, although it maintains its forecasts for 2027 and onwards
13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
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
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
