World Energies Summit Comes of Age: Key Commentary and Insight from the Global Summit
Two days, 400 delegates and countless valuable outcomes. The World Energies Summit welcomed 30 governments holding some of the world's most promising acreage, alongside the companies with the capital and expertise to develop it, and the investors and service providers who turn ambition into producing assets. Conversations of that calibre rarely happen by chance - and this year they carried particular weight.
Like its sister event, the Africa Energies Summit, WES is where the global upstream industry converges to connect, collaborate and get deals done.
Our Post-Summit Report gives a comprehensive overview of the insights, outcomes and connections from the conference. Highlights are below - request your copy for the full picture.
Exploration as Strategy: Competing for the Next Generation of Resources
For our panel of IOCs, independents and service companies, three drivers stood out. First, demand expectations have risen, with the IEA projecting 2050 demand around 20% above today's levels. Second, a healthy oil price is freeing up budgets, and some expect prices to stay elevated for longer given the industry's heavy reliance on inventories. Third, reserve lives are shrinking: most E&Ps now work with six to eight years rather than the 10 to 13 of the past, adding real urgency to the search for new resources.
AI, Data and Digital Advantage
AI now features in almost every conversation across every industry, and upstream is no exception. This briefing made a compelling case that the real advantage lies in the data AI depends on - and that data has never been better.
For explorers, the message was emphatic: this is the most exciting time in a generation to be hunting for hydrocarbons. Better kit, better imaging and far larger datasets mean companies are pursuing bigger, lower-risk prospects than ever before.
From Discovery to Development: Building the Projects the World Needs
Exploration dominates the conversation at most energy forums, but day two's Leaders' Panel turned the spotlight on what happens next. The consensus was clear: FID is no longer the benchmark. Success is now measured by pace to production and time to market.
Governments Open for Business
Thirty governments from every corner of the globe travelled to London to put their upstream opportunities in front of the international industry. Over 48 packed hours, ministers, regulators and national oil companies made their case - including Sri Lanka, Gabon, Bangladesh, Newfoundland & Labrador, Greece, Grenada and Libya.
The message was unmistakable: when nations want to open their acreage, attract capital and build partnerships, WES is where they come to do it.
Sri Lanka Licensing Round 2026: Investor Briefing Now Available On Demand
Having opened its investor roadshow at the World Energies Summit, the Sri Lanka Licensing Round is bringing the opportunities of the Mannar Basin directly to international investors, explorers and technical specialists.
Last week, the Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka (PDASL) and SLB hosted a live investor briefing. For upstream investors and exploration companies weighing up frontier acreage, it is a valuable chance to assess Sri Lanka's offshore potential, get to grips with the subsurface data and hear directly from the authorities and technical experts behind the round.
Watch the briefing on demand - the discussion covers:
The blocks available and the licensing terms attached to them
The investment case for entering Sri Lanka's upstream sector
Technical insight into the subsurface, including geological prospectivity and exploration potential
Sri Lanka in Malaysia
Meet the team at next month's Asia Petroleum Geoscience Conference & Exhibition (APGCE), where a dedicated data room will give investors and E&P companies the chance to review subsurface data and engage directly with PDASL and SLB.
Global Upstream Update
Frontier developments to watch this month, from the Atlantic margins to the Timor Sea.
Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador
Ithaca Energy crosses the Atlantic. On 5 October, Ithaca Energy agreed to acquire Suncor's shallow-water conventional assets off Newfoundland and Labrador for $860 million upfront, plus up to $250 million in contingent payments linked to the oil price. The deal sees a North Sea operator building a meaningful position on Canada's East Coast.
Greece
First offshore well in 40 years secures a rig. The ExxonMobil-led consortium has contracted Stena Drilling for Greece's first offshore exploration well in four decades, due to start in February 2027. The €60-70 million well, west of Corfu, will test a potentially large gas prospect. Energean will carry out the drilling - around 70 days including evaluation - with ExxonMobil set to take over as operator if a commercial discovery is confirmed.
Bangladesh
Bid deadline extended to March 2027. Petrobangla has pushed back the deadline for its 2026 offshore bidding round from 30 November 2026 to 31 March 2027, following requests from several international oil companies. The round offers 26 blocks in the Bay of Bengal: 15 in deep water and 11 in shallow water.
Brazil - Equatorial Margin
Petrobras strikes oil again at Morpho. On 2 October, Petrobras confirmed a second oil-bearing interval at its Morpho well, drilled in 2,886 m of water off Amapá, with early analysis confirming good-quality oil. Brazil's environmental regulator has already approved the next three wells in the Foz do Amazonas campaign, and a study by Empresa de Pesquisa Energética puts the basin's total recoverable potential at up to 10 billion boe.
Uruguay
Seismic season returns. ANCAP is resuming its offshore search with a new seismic campaign, putting the chance of a discovery at around 25%. Surveys can only run between November and April, outside the main fishing season, so the new campaign is about to get under way.
Timor-Leste
Finder secures a rig for KTJ. Finder Energy has contracted ENEOS Drilling's Hakuryu-5 semisubmersible for its Kuda Tasi and Jahal (KTJ) oil development, in a deal worth an estimated $42.3 million. The contract covers three firm development wells, with options for two more, and drilling is scheduled to begin on 1 December 2027.
Africa Energies Summit 2027 Agenda Is Live
The agenda for the 10th anniversary Africa Energies Summit | Africa’s Premier Global Upstream Conference | 10th - 13th May 2027 is now live - and it's our strongest yet.
Under the theme "Find. Fund. Deliver - Africa in a Global Energy Market", it puts the spotlight on what the African upstream industry must do now to meet domestic and global energy demand.
Ten years in, and AES remains the most effective meeting place for oil and gas leaders and decision-makers across the continent. Request your copy of the agenda and be among the first to see how we're shaping the next decade of African energy.
Frontier Upstream Insights - Sanctions, Conflict and Energy Security: How Geopolitics Is Redrawing the Global Upstream Map
Once again, we're at the sharp end of the industry debate - and this is a topic set to shape the global upstream sector for the foreseeable future. Our latest Upstream Insights session examined how sanctions, shifting alliances, supply disruption and emerging conflict zones are affecting investment flows and project timelines.
Featuring leading geopolitical analysts, upstream strategists and industry decision-makers, the session revealed how operators and governments are recalibrating portfolios, partnerships and energy security strategies in real time. Essential viewing for investors, policymakers, advisers and anyone tracking the forces reshaping the upstream map.
Global Licensing Round Report: 3rd Edition, "Market in Motion"
Perennially popular, the third edition of our Global Licensing Round Report is produced in association with Enverus and packed with accessible insight.
Join the hundreds of industry professionals who have already downloaded it - request your copy today.
On the Frontier: Where You'll Find Us
Global Upstream Leaders' Forum - 19th November 2026, Houston – sponsored by TGS
Strategic Dinner Agenda Now Available
"The Future of Upstream: Redefining Leadership in a Transforming Energy World" The original Frontier Leaders' Forum returns to Houston to explore how leadership, investment and collaboration are redefining the upstream sector. Members and invited guests only.
Africa Energies Summit - 11th -13th May 2027, London
The anchor upstream oil and gas event for the continent, bringing together senior decision-makers from governments, national oil companies, international operators, independents, financiers and service providers. Our relationship-driven format centres on curated roundtables, closed-door briefings and C-level panels. Find out more
World Energies Summit - 12th - 13th October 2027, London
The world's premier global upstream conference returns, convening C-suite leaders, regulators and investors for two days of deal-making and strategy. If your basin, your capital or your 2028 business development plan needs the right rooms and the right conversations, this is where they happen. Find out more
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