Powerful new players enter the utilities sector
Oil and gas companies are entering the utilities market—aiming to take advantage of rapid market transformation
In the last few years, an increasing number of International Oil Companies (IOCs) have entered the utilities sector—especially those with headquarters in Europe. Shell, for example, has taken a series of strategic decisions to grab a share of this market. The company has now installed more than 10GW of generating capacity in North America, of which one-third is from renewable resources. It has also invested in offshore wind near the Netherlands, acquired First Utility in the UK to supply gas and energy services to domestic consumers, and entered the US supply market through MP2 Energy, while also buying into US and Asian solar power generation through EV vehicle charging and battery technol
Also in this section
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
13 April 2026
For GCC producers, the ceasefire may prove more destabilising than the war itself: exports remain constrained, and control over Hormuz has shifted in ways that could endure






