Out to sea
There is still potential for offshore upstream around the world. Our series of articles investigates the challenges and opportunities in depth.
OFFSHORE upstream is now a game of two halves. Production continues apace in many regions, founded on investment made at $100 oil, while offshore licensing rounds have generally been met with lukewarm responses. Despite some bright spots, there is no disguising the dramatic downturn. Baker Hughes’ international rotary rig count shows a sharp decline in active offshore rigs from 334 in November 2014, when oil prices were starting to slide, to 211 in March this year. That collapse accompanies a sharp drop in expenditure, which isn’t going to recover soon. In a recent report, consultancy Douglas Westwood forecast subsea hardware spending will total $94.3bn in 2016-20 – a 19% fall from the 2011-
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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”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
