Oil and gas now has green licence
The hydrocarbons industry must start to deliver in 2024 on the quiet approvals granted at last year’s COP, which was also dubbed ‘Conference of the Petrostates’
The COP charade finally ended in 2023. After decades of talks on energy and emissions without the folks responsible for both being in the room, last November’s COP28 showed what happens when proper discussions are had with the people that matter. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, COP president and CEO of Emirati oil firm Adnoc, managed to get over the line both a strongly worded statement for the fossil fuel industry to transition and avoid the absurdly unrealistic ‘phasing down or out’ language so many were keen to employ. Some have suggested this still marks the beginning of the end of fossil fuels, but in reality it marks the beginning of the end for emissions. The view coming out of COP28 was
Also in this section
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
