No country for oil men (and women)

• 30 January 2025

UK and EU energy policies risk undermining energy security and economic growth by discouraging domestic oil and gas investment, increasing reliance on costly imports and jeopardising net zero goals. Discover how regulatory uncertainty, high taxes and declining North Sea production threaten the future of Europe’s energy transition.

Data consortiums signal the future of oil and gas

• 07 August 2019

Wood Mackenzie believes that discovering new value requires going beyond isolated datasets. The solution lies in data consortiums – cooperative platforms where companies can safely share quality data.

Has Covid-19 changed the economics of plastics recycling?

• 25 August 2020

The global pandemic sent a shockwave through the plastic recycling industry. The impact of lockdown, industry closures and sudden shifts in product demand can be felt in every part of the recycling chain. What will the picture look like as the clouds begin to lift?

Industry slashes spending as price rout deepens: Can companies cope?

• 19 March 2020

Survival mode has returned to the oil and gas sector as the oil price rout deepens. Corporate financials are in better shape than during the 2014/2015 crash, but room for manoeuvre is limited. Can companies cope with prices this low?

Threats to oil supplies show the limits of US production growth

• 08 October 2024

The US is sometimes thought to be immune to the impact of a steep rise in crude prices, because of the strength of its oil industry. But that view is an oversimplification. How might US E&Ps respond to disruption to global oil supplies?

Oil price rout: which supply is most at risk of shut-in?

• 27 March 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is reducing oil demand. The OPEC+ production restraint agreement fell apart on 6 March and Saudi Arabia is rapidly increasing supply. The result: Brent crude has plunged to less than US$30/bbl. This will have a significant impact on currently producing fields and future supply. How low can the price go before different sources of production become uneconomic? Where are production shut-ins most likely? Can governments influence the result?

Global energy storage set to triple in 2021

• 07 October 2021

New research from global natural resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk business (Nasdaq: VRSK), shows annual global storage deployments will nearly triple year-on-year, reaching 12 GW/28 GWh in 2021. Across the world, economic recovery is top of mind for politicians, with renewable energy integration taking centre stage. Despite disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic, Wood Mackenzie’s Global Energy Storage Outlook, released today, forecasts nearly 1 TWh of total demand from 2021-2030.

The changing global crude trade landscape

• 28 November 2018

Over the next five to six years global crude trade is expected to significantly change. This will impact the entire chain, from producers to investors. In this three part series, we look at the global story, the six key themes and finally, we focus on the likely impacts for Asia.

Brazil’s PSC Round 6 disappoints as Petrobras lodges sole bid

• 07 November 2019

Speaking after this morning’s PSC round, Juliana Miguez, from Wood Mackenzie’s Latin America upstream team, said: “Petrobras has returned to the headlines. One day after it dominated the Transfer of Rights Surplus round, the NOC placed the only bid of today’s auction."

Brazil, giant oil projects and the Majors

• 26 November 2019

Big Oil’s risk appetite has changed. It needs to continue to replace reserves for the foreseeable future but is looking for lower risk options than exploration. Discovered resources can be part of the solution, though opportunities to develop a giant oil field such as Buzios in Brazil, in the heart of an industry hot spot, only come around once in a blue moon. So why the lack of bids from the Majors?

OPEC+ ‘no deal’ a blow to the market

• 06 March 2020

The OPEC+ meeting broke up without a deal, what does it mean for the markets?

Why Brent isn’t reacting to escalating geopolitical risk

• 08 February 2024

Today’s geopolitical temperature is close to boiling point. So why haven’t oil prices leapt in response, as we’ve seen in the past?

Is the Southern Cone gas industry finally ready for lift off?

• 05 November 2015

Brazil’s natural gas industry and that of its neighbors in the Southern Cone, such as Argentina and Chile, have labelled gas the ‘fuel of the future’. Has that future finally arrived?

The changing face of global energy: Latin America takes centre stage

• 14 May 2018

As market share for renewables gains momentum, key players are entering the scene across Latin America. With Mexico's Energy Reform enabling solar and wind capacity to grow, Brazil making a comeback in wind power and Argentina emerging as the fastest-growing regional market for renewable energy, it's clear that these countries will continue to dominate the spotlight.

Brazil and ExxonMobil win big at oilfield auction

• 05 October 2017

Following Brazil's record oil field auction yesterday, where ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) vastly expanded its presence in the country with winning stakes in ten blocks, including eight deepwater blocks in the Campos basin, Horacio Cuenca, Research Director, Upstream Latin America at Wood Mackenzie offers the following commentary.

The US puts up the barriers to Chinese products

• 20 May 2024

China takes only a tiny share of the US markets for EVs, solar modules and steel. The Biden administration is signaling that it intends to keep it that way.

10 factors that influence upstream production shut-in decisions

• 23 April 2020

How do oil and gas producers decide when to shut in production? Asset economics are critical, but are not the only factor leading to production being shut-in. Here we look at 10 factors that influence upstream shut-in decisions.

What technology is winning the global energy storage race?

• 26 November 2019

What is winning the global energy storage race? Lithium-ion is the clear winner, but it has one major drawback. Rory McCarthy, senior analyst, energy storage, looks at lithium-ion's role in the energy transition.

Energy appointments signal Trump administration goals

• 18 November 2024

“Personnel is policy” is what they say in Washington, and President-elect Donald Trump’s first two nominations for senior energy roles in his administration send a clear signal about the policies he hopes to pursue.

High quality oil and gas supplies are scarce, threatening emissions targets and a healthy energy transition

• 16 February 2023

The energy transition will require oil and gas for decades to come, but the supply of lower-cost, lower-carbon “advantaged” barrels remain scarce, threatening emissions targets and causing upstream providers to pivot to new strategies, according to “Scraping the Barrel” a new Horizons analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

The limits to resource nationalism for lithium

• 12 May 2023

Chile’s president is moving to take greater control of the country’s lithium resources. It still needs to attract international companies.

US Energy Storage Monitor

Delivered quarterly, the US Energy Storage Monitor provides the industry’s only comprehensive research on energy storage markets, deployments, policies, regulations and financing in the US

The inverter security turn

• 11 August 2026

Inverters are becoming a strategic security issue, reshaping how Europe and the US approach solar procurement

Is the competitive power market model broken?

• 04 August 2026

AI and data centre growth are reshaping America’s electricity system

US LNG export restrictions underline the case for blue ammonia

• 02 February 2024

The Biden administration’s pause in LNG project approvals points to new political risks for US gas exports. Blue ammonia could be a solution

Latin America: 5 things to look for in 2025

• 07 January 2025

The Latin America upstream sector will continue with its successful track record of expanding production but will also face challenges in 2025.

Five themes shaping the energy world in 2025

• 08 January 2025

What opportunities, challenges and risks does the world of energy and natural resources face in 2025? From geopolitics to Big Oil M&A and innovation in power. Our experts share their thoughts.

How the worst oil price crash in history changed the upstream industry

• 24 June 2020

The oil price crash has wiped US$1.6 trillion off our valuation of the global upstream industry. This captures the impact of our downgraded long-term Brent price assumption – now US$50/bbl (2020 terms), previously US$60/bbl – and much more. Which regions and players have been hit hardest? What measures have been taken to survive?

US low-carbon energy manufacturing booms

• 01 November 2024

Tariffs and tax credits are leading to a surge in US production capacity for solar equipment and batteries, but put upward pressure on costs

Guyana – global oil’s new king of the heap

• 10 March 2020

Guyana’s oil, only just being commercialised, promises to transform the nation’s wealth. How can the South American country make the most of it? Find out more in this week's Edge.