Banks retain oil and gas lending caution
The Ukraine crisis has not yet seen Europe’s financial institutions shift gears on lending to producers of domestic oil and gas
Francesco Dixit Dominus, CFO of North Sea new entrant Viaro Energy, is still waiting for any newfound enthusiasm for supply security to impact on the appetite of Europe’s financiers towards lending to oil and gas producers. “I do not know if, over the course of the next month, banks’ attitudes will change,” he tells Petroleum Economist. “But I do find it funny that the banks love my money when it comes from production revenues. Yet they remain so reluctant to invest in oil and gas companies.” On the finance side, what are the challenges in moving from being a trading company to an upstream company with its own production? Dixit Dominus: Before we entered the upstream, we were a pure trading
Also in this section
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
1 April 2026
The US-Iran conflict demonstrates the need for diversification in several senses of the word. It also exposes the limits of Washington applying pressure on major oil and gas producers it considers geopolitical adversaries
31 March 2026
Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally






