Geopolitics to outweigh other disruptive themes for oil and gas in 2026, says GlobalData

Moreover, US tariffs might continue to weigh on the global economy, despite a slight easing of these worries in the recent past. It is therefore important for the industry to assess the impact of these macroeconomic themes while charting out their growth plans, says GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

GlobalData’s Strategic Intelligence report, “Top 20 Oil & Gas Themes - 2026,” identifies the top 20 themes that will impact the oil and gas industry in 2026, with geopolitics as the biggest disruptive theme.

Ravindra Puranik, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The renewed conflict in the Middle East has led to a spike in oil and gas prices and has throttled maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This has severely disrupted energy supplies through the Persian Gulf, with oil prices spiking to around 44% above their pre-war levels in March 2026. Countries have reacted with a mix of emergency fiscal measures, supply rationing, and a pivot to alternative fuels. However, it remains unclear whether these efforts will be enough to meet energy needs, as it could take months to re-establish steady export volumes through this choke point.”

Although the US and Iran have recently reached a ceasefire, the failure to achieve a permanent end to this conflict will keep the region on edge. The severity of the impact will depend on the full extent of damage sustained to oil and gas facilities across the Middle East. It will likely prove an inflection point for key countries, starting with the Middle East itself, which has seen its energy exports drop and expat workers flee. Although the global economy is now relatively less dependent on Middle Eastern energy than in the past, it still contributes considerable volumes of crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum fuels to global markets.

Themes enabling the transition towards clean energy, such as renewable energy, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), biofuels, and electric vehicles (EV) are also discussed in the report. These are evaluated for their potential impact on oil and gas operations in 2026 and beyond.

Besides, the report also evaluates core oil and gas themes, namely LNG, and shale that continue to feature prominently in the capital plans of top oil and gas companies. Lastly. the report also highlights disruptive tech themes, such as, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics.

Puranik concludes: “GlobalData’s research shows that companies that invest in the right themes become success stories, while those that miss the big themes ultimately fail. Given that so many themes are disruptive, it is very easy to be blindsided by industry outsiders invading your sector. So, to help clients gain a competitive advantage, GlobalData has developed its Strategic Intelligence Solution, a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework to track all strategic issues—or themes—impacting all companies across all industries.”

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/special-reports/05052026/geopolitics-to-outweigh-other-disruptive-themes-for-oil-and-gas-in-2026-says-globaldata/