Emergency personnel work at the site of a strike on a residential building in Tehran
Middle East chaos creates new oil and gas trends
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
The global oil and gas industry is in a state of structural reconfiguration. A confluence of macroeconomic pressures, geopolitical upheaval, technological disruption and evolving capital markets is reshaping the operating environment for all of its stakeholders—producers, traders, financial institutions and governments. The trends that characterise the current shape of the oil and gas business signify a resilient sector that is simultaneously doubling down on hydrocarbon production and grappling with the complex realities of a world in energy transition, all against an unstable geopolitical landscape. US foreign policy is more internationally interventionist than in the first Trump administr
Also in this section
14 April 2026
The GECF has warned it may revise its projections for demand this year downwards in light of conflict in the Middle East, although it maintains its forecasts for 2027 and onwards
13 April 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis highlights sharp shift from crude oversupply to market deficit, with Iraq and Kuwait badly affected and key producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE also seeing output sharply lower
13 April 2026
Turkmenistan is moving ahead with a modest expansion of the giant Galkynysh field to sustain gas deliveries abroad, but persistent delays to other key pipeline projects and geopolitical risks continue to constrain its export ambitions
13 April 2026
Expensive electricity has forced out swathes of energy-intensive industry and now threatens the country’s ability to attract future investment in datacentres and the digital economy
