01Exploration made the oil majors. But who still knows how to do it?
Comparing ExxonMobil, Eni, TotalEnergies, BP, Shell and Chevron to ask who preserved the capability to find new resources—and who ultimately had to buy them.
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Clear-eyed analysis of the strategic decisions that create—or destroy—shareholder value across the oil and gas sector.
23 analyses in the archive
01
02Shell’s Trading Machine
Shell wants investors to place greater value on its trading and supply business, but outsiders still cannot see clearly how much it earns, how risks are controlled or how durable its advantage really is.
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03ConocoPhillips got bigger, but did it get better?
A closer look at a company reshaped by disposals and successive acquisitions—and whether greater scale has created a stronger business.
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04How Oxy Monetised California Without a Buyer
How a high-stakes corporate separation unlocked value for some shareholders, transferred risk to others and exposed the danger of leverage.
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05A Fortune Too Heavy to Carry: The Rise and Fall of Tullow Oil
Tullow built one of the industry’s most admired exploration franchises, but debt, development risk and operational underperformance eventually overwhelmed its discoveries.
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06Thirty-Three Days at BP
Albert Manifold was removed just thirty-three days after shareholders confirmed him as chairman, exposing a deeper struggle over BP’s strategy, board and future direction.
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07Chevron’s Different Bet
Chevron spent the last decade moving from megaprojects to the Permian and then to acquisitions. What worked, what did not and what comes next?
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08Shell’s Big Bet: Can a Focus on Gas, Not Oil, Work?
The oil majors have faced one major disruption after another. This analysis asks whether Shell’s strategic focus on gas can deliver durable value.
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09The Oil Majors: Strong EPS, Strong Returns — but Is the Business Getting Stronger?
Similar earnings, dividends and shareholder returns can conceal fundamentally different trajectories in value creation and future earning capacity.
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10Exxon, Shell and the Price of Strategic Freedom
A comparison of two major companies and the strategic choices, capital discipline and corporate recovery behind their very different positions.
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11How Palliser Reshaped Capricorn: From Boardroom Battle to a Takeover Premium
How an activist campaign, capital returns and a recommended cash offer transformed the outcome for Capricorn Energy shareholders.
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12How Eni Kept its Oil and Gas Strategy While Placing Transition Bets That Are Paying Off
Eni preserved its oil and gas identity while making selective transition investments—an alternative to the strategic confusion seen elsewhere.
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13What Stabroek Taught the Market About Exploration
A look at what one of the industry’s defining discoveries taught investors about exploration capability, risk and strategic value.
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14When Big Oil Mistook a Bubble for the Future
How cheap money, inflated valuations and policy momentum persuaded European oil majors that exceptional conditions represented a permanent shift.
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15Control Is Becoming the Strategic Premium in Gas
Gunvor’s backing of a US natural-gas producer illustrates why control over production, infrastructure and market access is becoming increasingly valuable.
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16The Globalisation of Gas
From the Methane Princess arriving at Canvey Island to today’s interconnected LNG market: how natural gas became a global commodity.
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17ExxonMobil and the Discipline of Doing Nothing
Why acquisition rumours are really a test of ExxonMobil’s capital discipline after Pioneer—and whether strategic patience remains an advantage.
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18BP, Shell and Why the Right Barrels Matter
BP’s reported Gulf of Mexico farm-downs reveal why the quality, timing and strategic fit of future production can matter more than headline volume.
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19AIM oil and gas has lost its way. Can it be rebuilt?
A market once known for funding ambitious junior explorers has changed. What would it take to rebuild AIM as a credible home for oil and gas companies?
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20Why Malaysia Makes Sense for North Sea Operators
EnQuest’s acquisition of Malaysian production assets shows how Southeast Asia can reshape the scale, risk and opportunity set of a North Sea operator.
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21If BP Sells UK Upstream, Equity May Matter More Than Cash
As UK North Sea consolidation approaches its final phase, the structure of a BP transaction may matter as much as the price paid.
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22The Evolving Investment Case for UK North Sea Mid-Caps
Fiscal uncertainty and scarce capital have depressed valuations, but the same conditions may create opportunity for disciplined operators with scale and liquidity.
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23Two Funds, One Oilfield: Hurricane Energy as a Case Study in Capital, Timing and Technical Risk
The rise and fall of Hurricane Energy offers a revealing study of technical ambition, investor timing, reservoir risk and capital allocation.
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