Issue: February
COLUMNS
World Oil marks its 100th year of forecasting with a special February issue featuring in-depth regional and global outlooks for 2026 drilling, production and spending trends. Editor-in-Chief Kurt Abraham reflects on a century of forecasting, and what lies ahead for the upstream sector.
A major shift in U.S. climate policy is reshaping the ESG landscape. This month’s column examines the EPA’s decision to rescind the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, what it could mean for carbon markets and regulation, and how evolving policy debates may influence upstream strategy and investment.
Can Venezuela rebuild its oil sector without repeating the mistakes of the past? In this Executive Viewpoint, Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian argues that a transparent, market-driven regulatory model—not OPEC-style centralized control—offers the most credible path to restoring investment, stability and long-term production growth in the world’s largest resource base.
Is petroleum coke the next big proppant innovation—or a rediscovered idea? This column explores how legacy concepts like petcoke and other lightweight materials are re-emerging in modern fracturing designs, highlighting the technical merits, cost advantages and historical context behind today’s “new” production technologies.
FEATURES
With FPSO deployment rising in nations like Brazil, there is even greater emphasis on the must-run nature of key equipment on board. For the gas turbines that help provide electrical power, as well as mechanical drive for key equipment far from shore, the critical denominator of performance and reliability is effective combustion air intake filtration.
Digitalization in the oil and gas sector still has a long way to go. Given the benefits to safety, efficiency, emissions reduction and compliance, it is only a matter of time before the industry will need to go completely digital.
New pipeline capacity, surging AI-driven power demand and continued consolidation are reshaping development across the Marcellus and Utica shales. With takeaway constraints easing and data center construction accelerating, the Appalachian basin is entering a new growth phase that could drive U.S. gas output higher for years to come.
SPECIAL FOCUS: 2026 FORECAST & REVIEW
The U.S. upstream industry has seen significant improvement in the federal regulatory structure that it must deal with. The outlook for this year suggests that the progress made by the Trump administration will continue and expand.
The Canadian oilpatch always seems to be in flux—if the fundamentals are strong, then there’s political uncertainty or intervention. And when the political support lines up, they are at the mercy of global commodity prices. Still, 2026 is lining up to be a decent year—for now.
Saudi Aramco’s suspension of dozens of jackups continues to reshape the Middle East offshore drilling landscape. This analysis examines how redeployments, cold stacking and shifting investment plans are tightening utilization, pressuring dayrates and redefining global jackup fleet strategy heading into 2026.
While the U.S. market remains flat, international E&P remains a source of optimism, with a number of large-scale and long-term projects under way in some places. Out of eight regions, seven will have increased drilling during 2026. Offshore activity will again fare better than onshore work, particularly in deepwater plays.
U.S. drilling enters 2026 with fewer rigs but resilient production, as operators prioritize capital discipline, consolidation and LNG-driven gas demand. Regional trends across shale and offshore basins point to steady output, measured investment and a continued shift toward efficiency over expansion.
