Building growth strategies on shifting sands
Supply and demand fundamentals are being disrupted by trade tensions and uncertainties over the energy transition
Although the oil and gas industry has always been volatile, there was nonetheless a comfortable predictability to the boom and bust pendulum. Those days, however, appear to be over, at least for now. A combination of erratic and sometimes inscrutable commodity price fluctuations, ambiguity about the future of fossil fuels and increasingly contentious trade negotiations around the world are upending traditional supply and demand fundamentals, bringing a host of new challenges with no clear answers. It could be said that this year, oil and gas executives are essentially trying to set a growth course for their companies on shifting sands. Additionally, ambiguity surrounding the future of fossil
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
