Independent E&P journey ‘can be done again’
Ex-Tullow man thinks that doom and gloom about the global upstream business is overdone
“Are you asking me if a Tullow growth story could be done again in current environment? Yes, with no doubt whatsoever. And now is the best time.” So says Brian Larkin, CEO of five-year-old producer United Oil & Gas, who spent the previous five years with Tullow. Given the short-term price collapse driven by the coronavirus pandemic and longer-term concerns about hydrocarbon demand in a low-carbon future, optimism about E&P has been in short supply of late. And the prospects that have traditionally attracted smaller E&P firms looking for growth—in more frontier or under-explored provinces—have had a particularly gloomy prognosis, with doubts that some discovered resources or promi
Also in this section
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent






