Chevron loses second major production asset in South East Asia

• 13 December 2018

Following today's announcement by Thailand's Department of Mineral Fuels (DMF) that PTTEP has won the auction round for both G1/61 (Erawan) and G2/61 (Bongkot) PSCs after putting an aggressive bid on the gas price and the profit share, Wood Mackenzie's research analyst Jean-Baptiste Berchoteau shares some insights.

How digitalisation transformed the US Lower 48

• 12 November 2018

Upstream oil and gas companies are accelerating the implementation of big data applications and digital technologies to help transform their businesses. But how close is industry to achieving this? Where does the US Lower 48 stand in this transformation? A new study drills down into digitalisation in the upstream sector and identifies the technologies and applications being employed today and evaluates their potential impact.

Explorers hit the jackpot in sub-Saharan Africa

• 06 November 2018

In the past 10 years, explorers in sub-Saharan Africa have turned up more giant discoveries than any other region. But converting volume into value is undoubtedly sub-Saharan Africa’s Achilles heel.

FID bonanza, upstream cost curves, US solar markets: this week's featured insights

• 02 April 2019

What's new in store? Get the highlights from some of our most popular insights across the entire natural resources value chain. This week, upstream cost curves, FID bonanza and US solar markets.

Could clean energy be the winner in the oil price war?

• 24 March 2020

How will the oil price crash affect the embryonic energy transition efforts of oil and gas companies? Renewable energy economics suddenly look far more attractive.

How the oil market plays out in 2021

• 15 January 2021

Oil prices are on a roll, the 10% jump in January means Brent has tripled since the dark days of April 2020. How will the oil market develop in 2021 and can the price rise further still?

How much value does refinery-chemicals integration add for Total and Shell?

• 13 October 2020

Integration has become a strategic imperative, but measuring value is notoriously difficult. Our experts crunched the numbers for Total’s integrated portfolio and looked at how that compared to Shell.

Biden administration and what it means for China and rest of Asia Pacific

• 20 January 2021

As Biden’s inauguration approaches, Wood Mackenzie experts share how his administration could impact trade, climate change goals, and changes to the energy sector in Asia Pacific.

Reducing the emissions of US LNG: looking for ways to move the needle

• 01 May 2021

Wood Mackenzie’s Ed Crooks recently highlighted the increased scrutiny placed on the carbon footprint of US LNG by the Biden administration, and the importance of proving the “green” credentials of LNG export projects. Rising awareness of the climate implications of LNG is a rapidly growing globa...

Upstream growth back on the agenda: the M&A ‘barometer’ is signalling better climes ahead

• 23 January 2017

A strengthening flow of deals is a clear indicator that the M&A market is getting back to business as usual, and companies are starting to think of growth again.

Energy transition represents a US$14 trillion uncertainty for upstream oil and gas

• 20 May 2021

The energy transition represents US$14 trillion worth of uncertainty for upstream oil and gas, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie.

Global upstream update: a review of key industry themes

• 29 June 2023

The upstream oil and gas industry continues the push to decarbonise production but faces increasing regulatory uncertainty

Can the energy industry rise to the challenge of climate change?

• 02 August 2019

Our energy transition experts take on some of the trickiest questions about how to meet the world’s future energy needs while managing climate change.

Energy Pulse: in brief (29 September)

• 29 September 2023

The Biden administration plans the "fewest offshore oil and gas lease sales in history", and the rest of the week’s key energy news.

Global upstream update: diverging development strategies in Latin America, investment at risk in Africa, and Kazakhstan supply tensions explained

• 17 June 2025

Our Global Upstream Update presents timely analysis of key industry topics from our regional experts situated around the world.

Santos announces Barossa project FID

• 30 March 2021

Santos has sanctioned the Barossa project, which extends the life of Darwin LNG (DLNG) beyond 2040.

Nord Stream 2 and the battle for gas market share in Europe

• 24 July 2020

The US administration and Congress are trying to prevent the completion of the new gas pipeline from Russia to Germany

Plastic circularity: how much will recycled plastics displace oil-based feedstock?

• 05 June 2023

Chemical recycling is one route to a more circular plastics economy, with increasing interest in leveraging pyrolysis technology to produce feedstocks.

Three forces weakening US dollar’s grip on commodity pricing

• 04 November 2019

In the commodity world, the US dollar is king. The currency dominates pricing and payments of energy and metals. In this new piece of research Principal Economist Perter Martin asks whether dollar dominance is set to end.

Macri reforms reshape Argentina's gas sector

• 28 February 2019

When President Mauricio Macri took power in Argentina in 2015, one of his flagship energy policy programmes was to “normalise” the country’s gas and power markets. Macri set in train moves to gradually reduce government intervention, restoring free market dynamics and pricing driven by competition. The progress the Macri administration has achieved in reshaping the gas market environment has remarkable, helped in no small part by the prolific shale gas resources of the Vaca Muerta.

Where next for exploration in Asia Pacific?

• 18 February 2020

Reports of the death of exploration have been greatly exaggerated. Since the 2014 oil price downturn, the industry has re-imagined exploration. Spend has halved since its peak, and only the boldest exploration teams now take difficult wells in tough locations to their investment committees.

Unconventional Play Service

Compare unconventional plays against key producing plays in the US and beyond, and explore their potential using metrics such as costs, economics and risk.

Global upstream M&A picks up the pace

• 01 September 2021

In the first half of 2021 upstream M&A deal activity recovered to 2019 levels and more than doubled in comparison to the low point in the first half of 2020.

Refinery-chemicals integration: how to benchmark success

• 17 September 2020

The growing trend of integrated refinery-chemical facilities is intensifying. Standalone oil refineries, focused only on fuel, are looking increasingly outdated as the energy transition takes hold.

Equinor carves Gulf of Mexico niche with Monument discovery

• 06 April 2020

Norwegian operator Equinor today announced it struck 200 feet of oil pay at the Monument exploration well, in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Aramco's $10bn bond underscores its vast global ambitions

• 01 April 2019

Saudi Aramco’s decision to issue a $10 billion bond underscores how serious the company is about transforming itself into an international powerhouse across the oil and gas value chain, from upstream to petrochemicals.

Permian operators cash in ... by thinking inside the box

• 21 August 2019

As the tight oil sector continues to mature, producers are looking for ways to optimise their operations, improving efficiency of both production and costs. It's a battle to win back investor confidence. New research from Wood Mackenzie underscores the fact tight-oil operators are no longer chasing growth at all costs. Development strategies have firmly shifted to focus on scale: drilling sections instead of wells, with compressed paybacks, at the lowest possible cost. Many are favouring a “cube” development strategy, viewing it as the most efficient way to capitalise on cost savings.

Japan to invest additional $10 billion in global LNG infrastructure projects

• 26 September 2019

Japan is planning to invest an additional $10 billion to develop infrastructure mainly in new and developing markets in the India sub continent and Southeast Asia, reflecting a shift in priorities.

Asia’s demand engine fires up global LNG supply

• 02 December 2021

Indeed, it is confidence in the resilience of long-term Asian gas demand, even in our accelerated energy transition scenarios, that has been key to the 50 mmtpa of new LNG supply that has taken FID in 2021 compared to only 3 mmtpa in 2020.

Why upstream operators must accelerate cost reduction measures

• 01 April 2020

It’s time for the rapier as well as the broadsword. Better visibility of third party spend may be vital