Majors mull power puzzle
Financial and regulatory challenges are curbing the ambitions of major oil companies' ambitions to invest in the electricity supply sector
Industry and political posturing over the direction and speed of the global energy transition, which many hope will limit climate change and encourage carbon-neutral energy consumption, is pitting oil and gas firms against the electricity supply industry. Each sector seems to be encroaching on the other: some major oil companies are taking steps to enter the power sector, while utilities are taking aim at the transport fuels business. But underlying the rhetoric is the reality that these steps are so far largely marginal; enormous technical, and commercial challenges face each sector as companies migrate from their traditional sectors. For the oil industry, the challenges are further complic
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”






