OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a conference in Washington
Oil’s fragile AI trillions
Prices risk hitting $10/bl should the tech bubble burst amid worrying economic fallout
The global oil market will confront a surplus of 3m b/d for the rest of 2025 and 2.4m b/d in 2026, according to the IEA. By the end of next year, world stocks will be 1.1b bl higher if these projections are correct. This assumes, of course, that someone will buy the oil and that there is adequate storage capacity to hold it. More significantly, it assumes the current AI ‘bubble’ does not pop. Thus, today, one person, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, stands between the current oil price and oil at $10/bl. Altman founded his firm just ten years ago. Although the company is privately owned, various estimates put its value at around $500b. In contrast, ExxonMobil, which has existed for more than a century
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
