Australian developers scale up investments
High prices bolster Australian upstream developments
Australia’s largest upstream companies—Woodside, Santos, Oil Search and Beach Energy—have been buoyed by this year’s surge in oil and gas prices, encouraging a major ramp-up in planned investments. Investment bank Jarden predicted in June that the four firms would more than double their annual spend on new projects, rising from an average of $2.9bn over the last five years to $6bn between now and 2026. The four remain committed to new production projects. That growth will also be accompanied by consolidation, as Woodside and Santos prepare to wrap up their mergers with Australian conglomerate BHP’s petroleum division and Oil Search respectively within the next six months. Woodside Woodside h
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”






