High oil prices have spurred investment in reserves
Gulf oil producers dust off costlier projects
The market upswing is driving investment in untapped reserves and field redevelopments previously considered commercially unviable
Oil price booms typically spur investment in reserves with challenging economics. And the current boom is proving no different, despite intensified global decarbonisation pressures. The Mideast Gulf’s leading producers, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, resumed spending on key development projects almost as soon as the recovery took hold early last year. Now with prices at eight-year highs and showing scant prospect of receding soon, the region’s smaller players are also investing anew while mothballed schemes with relatively high breakeven costs are back on the agenda. In March, state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) awarded a contract to Netherlands-based Fugro to “de-risk” the long-delayed redevelopment of
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”
