CERAWeek 2025: Resilient upstream strategies for the future
CERAWeek 2025 by S&P Global maintained momentum into the middle of the week with a panel discussing some of the long-term challenges facing the upstream. Featuring executive representatives from bp, Repsol, Baker Hughes and Cairn Oil & Gas, the panel presented a range of perspectives from upstream production and exploration to upstream services and emerging markets.
Two key topics emerged over the course of discussion: securing capital and securing talent or “human capital,” in the words of Executive Managing Director of Exploration and Production for Repsol, Francisco Gea. In the case of the former, Gea highlighted a unpredictable market that made fiscal outlooks difficult to predict. While bp’s Executive VP of wells Ann Davies emphasized that “we’re not short of…opportunity to get returns on capital,” the ever-changing market presents complex challenges.
Perception is one such challenge, and how its negative aspects so often affect the upstream. In the words of CCO of Cairn Oil & Gas Andrew McIntosh, “we [the oil and gas industry] weren’t exactly the flavor of the month for a while,” and subsequently, “we probably have not invested enough to meet the demand forecast.” That investment is critical, as Executive VP of Oilfield Service and Equipment for Baker Hughes Amerino Gatti added that around 70–80% of global production is coming from mature assets. Even so, global CAPEX is down 30% from 2015–2025, per Gatti, and the task of increasing spending in an unfriendly environment is a daunting one.
Even so, majors like bp and Repsol are planning on increased growth. Davies announced a total 40 wells planned by 2027 for bp’s operations, and she highlighted increased exploration activity in the Gulf of America (GOA) and offshore Egypt. Meanwhile, Gea noted Respol’s aims to have 40% of production coming from their portfolio of U.S. assets, while McIntosh emphasized India’s rapidly expanding role in the energy landscape. Amid the massive growth anticipated for the region overall, India’s individual growth is anticipated to be substantial, with energy demands increasing exponentially, according to McIntosh, with more investment-friendly legislation encouraging “the finance people” to return.
According to McIntosh, India is also a growing solution for the other major issue discussed in the panel: acquiring talent. “You have to take the work where the talent is,” he emphasized, citing the growing number of tech training centers in the South Asian country. Meanwhile, Davies mentioned similar programs in the U.S., where talent from all technical backgrounds are integrated into the energy industry via training programs.
As with many sessions, A.I. was also a persistent topic, overlapping with the challenges of acquiring new talent. Though not discussed in detail, the panel was largely in agreement that the development of technologies like A.I. and similar tools needed a new generation of professionals to improve efficiencies. Davies encapsulated the broader idea in a simple statement: “drilling is not a dying industry.” From geothermal to traditional oil and gas, upstream operations present an opportunity that must be communicated to the future energy workforce.
Header image: Repsol offshore operations
