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Kazakhstan lays groundwork for transformation
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
Letter from Iran: Testing times for Tehran-Beijing crude dynamics
Growing pressure from the Trump administration continues to threaten a resilient China-Iran oil nexus
Nigeria in upstream charm offensive
The country has opened bidding on 50 blocks in a new licensing round but will face competition for attention and will need to address concerns about security and legislation
Letter from Saudi Arabia: Big oil meets big shovel
As Saudi Arabia pushes mining as a new pillar of its economy, Saudi Aramco is positioning itself at the intersection of hydrocarbons, minerals and industrial policy
Explainer: Iran’s indispensable energy role
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
Venezuela mismanaged its oil, and US shale benefitted
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
Outlook 2026: Peru 2026 – A confident step into a new energy era
The South American country offers stable, transparent and high-potential opportunities and is now ready for fresh exploration and partnership
Europe’s rising energy security challenge
Across Europe, countries have grappled with balancing ambitious energy transition plans with realities about security of supply
Outlook 2026: A new chapter for Namibia – Building an energy future with purpose
The country’s hydrocarbon resources offer a strategic and social opportunity that could see it becoming a leading light in Africa
Outlook 2026: Renewal and growth in Nigeria’s upstream sector
Government reforms are restoring investor confidence in the country’s oil and gas industry
Petroleum Economist, formerly the Petroleum Press Service, has been reporting on oil and gas for 90 years
PE 90th anniversary
Upstream Politics
Paul Hickin,
Editor-in-chief
24 September 2024
Follow @PetroleumEcon
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Lessons from oil’s past

Today’s policymakers should keep in mind the history of oil and gas as they look to remake the future of energy

Historians like to tell the story of the industrial revolution, with the second phase—the technological age—starting around 1870. Oil barely gets a mention.   With rapid economic growth from innovations around mass production, assembly lines and electrification, hydrocarbons hide in plain sight. But transformations in lighting, then transportation, in petrochemical products like paint and plastics, in improvements in living standards, oil breathed—and continues to breathe—life into the modern global economy.    We could sit back and marvel at the many accomplishments. But the world does not stand still. Instead, this prosperity is often taken for granted in the West and is still sought out b

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Kazakhstan lays groundwork for transformation
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
LNG, a strategic safeguard
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
A dual-coast LNG strategy
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
Cheniere’s disciplined expansion
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment

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