Improving upstream performance and winning over investors

• 27 February 2018

Delivering production growth after three years of low oil prices is an achievement, and combined with higher oil prices, was the primary factor behind good upstream earnings.

Growing pains – diminishing returns from tight oil wells

• 07 November 2017

US tight oil’s second phase of growth is well underway. We expect tight oil production to double from 4.7 million b/d today to around 9.5 million b/d in the mid-2020s – and our view is by no means the most bullish.

Digitalisation’s place in upstream’s future

• 21 September 2017

The biggest current recruiter in upstream? Digitalisation, by a distance. Technology is already playing a part in downstream’s recovery from its lows a few years ago.

The shrinking scale of greenfield oil and gas projects: slowing growth prospects outside the L48 bubble

• 26 January 2017

Despite the uptick in numbers, investment in greenfield conventional projects is stuck at a low ebb.

Going digital in upstream - seizing technology-led structural cost cutting opportunities

• 16 January 2017

Digital technology has a major part to play in the next stage of structural cost reduction, but oil and gas production is far removed from the leading edge of the 21st century tech revolution.

Global upstream investment – set to rise in 2017

• 08 December 2016

Chief Analyst Simon Flowers expects prices to rise and US tight oil to lead the industry out of the downturn.

For a few dollars more – OPEC’s shifting stance

• 13 October 2016

OPEC’s plan for production cuts signals a desire to support prices, even if the battle to wrest control of the market seems barely half won.

Majors' capital allocation in a stuttering energy transition

• 03 March 2025

As energy transition challenges mount, oil and gas Majors are pivoting back to upstream - while NOCs step up their low-carbon commitments. What does this mean for the industry's future?

How AI can unlock an extra trillion barrels of oil

• 15 October 2025

How much new oil is needed? Can AI analogues help unlock the additional barrels and close the supply gap? Will AI make subsurface teams redundant?

What could change in Venezuela mean for oil production?

• 05 December 2025

US energy policy, geopolitics and market pressures collide — here’s what they mean for oil supply, gas prices and the future of global power

Predictions for energy and natural resources in 2025

• 13 December 2024

The impact of Chinese EVs, ambitious NOCs, the Saudi storage boom and more, as Wood Mackenzie analysts look ahead to next year

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.

Ten predictions for 2023

• 16 December 2022

After a tumultuous year, Ed looks ahead to 2023 with a selection of Wood Mackenzie analysts predictions

President Biden aims for higher employment and lower emissions

• 01 April 2021

Two announcements this week showed the administration attempting to deliver on its promise that a key goal of climate policy is job creation.

OPEC+ strikes a deal to avoid oil glut

• 04 December 2020

The production cuts agreed by the OPEC+ group in April have been highly effective in rebalancing the oil market after the pandemic sent demand plunging. With hopes growing of a stronger rebound next year, some countries, led by the United Arab Emirates, have been calling for OPEC+ to stick to its plan to allow almost 2 million b/d of extra production in January. But demand is expected still to be weak in the first quarter at least, as the Covid-19 vaccines begin to be rolled out. An OPEC+ production increase of that size would have risked an oversupplied market and falling crude prices. Facing that risk, the OPEC+ ministers pulled back from the brink and agreed a production increase of just 500,000 b/d, to be reviewed for possible further increases every month.

Emissions Benchmarking Tool

The Emissions Benchmarking Tool provides transparency at the asset and corporate level for Upstream, Downstream and Metals & Mining.

North America Key Plays Service

Discover recent activity, identify trends, assess value and highlight critical issues in North America's key plays.

Energy transition outlook: Middle East

• 18 February 2025

Energy transition progress slows in our latest update – but uncertainty around pace and duration pushes the Middle East to prioritise resiliency.

Crude For Thought

• 11 December 2018

Join our experts for a sometimes unconventional perspective on unconventionals and upstream as a whole.

Webinar | Delivering CCUS potential in APAC: Policy efficacy and ecosystem dynamics

• 24 April 2024

Join us at our webinar in partnership with the Asia CCUS network where we discuss CCUS policy efficacy and ecosystem dynamics in APAC.

Webinar | Global Oil Market Implications

• 09 March 2020

Rapidly reacting to the oil market price crash, our experts discussed the immediate drivers influencing the market today and what we expect to happen as this continues to unfold. Our Vice Chair - Americas, Ed Crooks was joined by a panel of Wood Mackenzie’s experts to discuss: Immediate repercussions of the OPEC+ group failing to reach a deal Lessons learned from previous oil price crashes - what's different this time? The Lower 48 fallout - what happens next? The Corporate response - what does it mean for the industry's biggest players

Webinar: What oil supply is at risk of shut in?

• 09 April 2020

During the last downturn in 2015/16 supply was relatively unaffected. Even the highest cost wedges kept producing; the associated shut-in costs were deemed too high. But prices only dipped below US$45/bbl for a year, and below US$35/bbl for one quarter. Storage levels were of less concern. There is no precedent for the scale of potential shut-ins for today’s asset classes, if oil prices remain low for a prolonged period. The industry’s ability to keep higher-cost barrels flowing is being severely tested. This downturn, there could be a significant impact on currently producing fields as well as future supply.

Webinar: Oil price crash: navigating the impact on activity, supply chains and cost

• 08 April 2020

In this webinar we bring together experts from Wood Mackenzie’s Lower 48, upstream and upstream supply chain teams as well as our sister company, Power Advocate, to discuss the impact of the oil price crash on activity levels, the service sector industry and costs.

Webinar | Oil price crash: fiscal responses

• 30 April 2020

Oil price crash: what next for fiscal terms? Petroleum investors, producers, suppliers and governments are coming together to try and find solutions to the current industry crisis. The oil revenue cake that they all feast on has shrunk, dramatically.

Webinar | Global exploration before and after Covid-19

• 28 May 2020

Our annual survey of the global exploration industry, conducted largely before coronavirus hit and the oil price crashed, showed signs of cautious optimism. Despite the threat posed by the energy transition, explorers were looking forward to another 30 years of exploration. There was, however, a keen awareness of the challenges ahead – the fight to remain investible, the need to increase capital efficiency and the opportunities and risks presented by deepwater exploration. Join us for a webinar discussing the results on the 2020 survey both in the context of the pre-COVID-19 view and in light of the new world we live in. We’ll cover which exploration companies stood out from the pack in 2019, the changing focus of explorers and the role of exploration in today’s energy companies.

Webinar | Extracting value from CCUS: how does it work?

• 26 February 2024

Join Wood Mackenzie on February 26th, 2024, for an introduction to CCUS project valuations.

Carbon Capture, Utilization, & Storage Conference 2026

• 07 October 2026

The Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Conference is on October 7-8 2026 in Houston, TX where you will have the opportunity to hear insight on the global CCUS landscape and why the US stands out. Find out how evolving carbon markets and technology will drive CCUS beyond 2030.

Webinar | Upstream Global Deepwater

• 02 December 2025

Join our webinar on the 2nd December as we discuss the global deepwater state of the industry

New mid-caps in Brazil aim to increase mature asset reserves almost 1 billion boe by 2035

• 06 December 2022

With Petrobras divesting in many of its mature assets, new mid-cap upstream operators entering the Brazilian market will invest US$10 billion in capital investments during the next decade, boosting the production from these assets through 2027 and increasing remaining reserves by 980 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) by 2035, according to a report from Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk business.

OPEC underpins oil markets into 2018 - green light for tight oil growth

• 29 May 2017

The firmer oil price we expect can only embolden the already resurgent US tight oil industry which is on course to displace the 1 million b/d OPEC has cut within the year. Three main aspects of the decision stand out.