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INSIGHT REPORT
Energy Council Global Survey: Five Years That Reshaped Oil & Gas Strategy
Published 29 July 2026
Over the last decade, Energy Council’s annual Global Survey has tracked the strategic priorities, investment theses, and market sentiment of senior oil & gas decision-makers. Our surveys have served as insightful temperature checks on the attitudes, and predictions of our senior executive community.
Across the last five years, unprecedented levels of disruption and volatility have become the norm for global upstream. From COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and now to the conflict in Iran, our industry has seen at least three system-wide shocks in a short time span.
Our Global Survey series offers a unique window into the thinking of our executive network in the period leading up to, during, and after this turbulent period. This report compares the outlooks found in our 2021 survey versus our latest report, to chart the impacts of market volatility on operational strategy, capital allocation, and outlook for global oil & gas markets.
The central thread running throughout this report is an evolution in priorities. Five years ago, energy executives were preparing to optimize their businesses for the energy transition. Today, they are optimizing for resilience. The industry has moved from a period of strategic redefinition posed by the energy transition and returned to a focus on improving and expanding core energy businesses rather than reimagining them.
This report compares directional shifts in aggregate sentiment between the 2021 and 2026 Global Surveys. Where question wording, response options, or respondent composition differs, comparisons should be read as indicative rather than strictly like-for-like.
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