Newsletters | Request Trial | Log in | Advertise | Digital Issue   |   Search
  • Upstream
  • Midstream & Downstream
  • Gas & LNG
  • Trading & Markets
  • Corporate & Finance
  • Geopolitics
  • Podcasts
Search
Related Articles
Saudi Arabia and Russia pull OPEC+ in different directions
The two oil heavyweights’ diverging fiscal considerations are straining unity within the group
Trump creates new risk dynamic
US policies may have lasting effects in sectors such as energy, that rely on predictable rules and long-term planning
Momentum builds for Alaska LNG
Asian and European interest gathers pace as Trump throws his weight behind frontier state
Letter from the US: Energy needs require a rethink
Tariffs, AI, critical minerals and emerging markets all raise fundamental policy questions
OPEC+ still showing restraint
Petroleum Economist analysis shows OPEC bringing back some barrels in May, but fewer than expected, while OPEC+ continues to see output fall
Lower oil prices fuel US driving season
US gasoline consumption is at its highest level since before COVID, but while stocks remain healthy, the hurricane season threatens
Woodside adopts considered approach to Louisiana LNG
CEO Meg O’Neill explains the virtue of patience in offtake discussions amid tariff tensions
US AI to power gas growth
Datacentres to drive demand for gas and position the fuel as more than just a bridging solution
OPEC++, the sequel, has arrived
It is time to acknowledge that the US-Saudi Arabia nexus is driving a fundamental shift in OPEC strategy
Saudi-US energy ties adapt to multipolar world
Saudi Arabia and US relations can construct a new ‘field of dreams’, but opportunism may be the new rules of the game
Could oil and gas go the way of the landline phone?
Markets US
Philip K. Verleger
Denver
16 March 2023
Follow @PetroleumEcon
Forward article link
Share PDF with colleagues

Letter from the US: The bigger they are, the harder they fall

The oil industry is facing the same kind of seismic shift in consumption that rocked telecommunications with the arrival of the cellphone

“The reality is, [fossil fuel] is what runs the world today. It is going to run the world tomorrow and five years from now, 10 years from now, [and] 20 years from now,” Chevron’s CEO Michael Wirth told the Financial Times in October last year.   His statement bears some similarity to what John deButts, chair of AT&T—once the US’ primary telecommunications supplier—said about his industry in 1977: “Our business in this industry is to provide people with communications of all forms. We think down the road we should continue to provide all people with all forms of communications using whatever technology is available at that particular time.” Back then, AT&T employed one out of every ni

Also in this section
The long road to African energy finance
16 June 2025
The launch of the much-needed yet oft-delayed Africa Energy Bank remains shrouded in questions and funding constraints, but its potential is clear
Azerbaijan enjoys rare upstream FID
16 June 2025
BP and partners have reached a $2.9b FID on a new phase at Shah Deniz, but slow progress on other gas projects is attributed to a lack of European support
Saudi Arabia and Russia pull OPEC+ in different directions
13 June 2025
The two oil heavyweights’ diverging fiscal considerations are straining unity within the group
Trump creates new risk dynamic
13 June 2025
US policies may have lasting effects in sectors such as energy, that rely on predictable rules and long-term planning

Share PDF with colleagues

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: PDF sharing is permitted internally for Petroleum Economist Gold Members only. Usage of this PDF is restricted by <%= If(IsLoggedIn, User.CompanyName, "")%>’s agreement with Petroleum Economist – exceeding the terms of your licence by forwarding outside of the company or placing on any external network is considered a breach of copyright. Such instances are punishable by fines of up to US$1,500 per infringement
Send

Forward article Link

Send
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Project Data
Maps
Podcasts
Social Links
Featured Video
Home
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Reaching your audience
  • PE Store
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact us
  • Privacy statement
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap
All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws © 2025 The Petroleum Economist Ltd
Cookie Settings
;

Search