This course brings together S& Global experts to decode how upstream portfolios are being built, evaluated, and managed in this environment - giving participants a practical, decision-focused understanding of upstream economics that translates directly into better commercial judgement.

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Why This Matters Now

Fossil fuels still account for over 80% of global primary energy demand, and upstream investment remains essential to meeting it - yet the sector is in the middle of a structural reset. After years of cost inflation driven by post-pandemic supply chain strain and competition for rigs, labour, and equipment, operators are under pressure to do more with less.

OPEC+ production strategy continues to inject uncertainty into price outlooks, US shale is maturing, and a new wave of NOC-led development - from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America - is altering the competitive landscape. Add the growing weight of emissions regulation, carbon pricing, and investor scrutiny, and the analytical toolkit required to evaluate upstream assets has rarely been more demanding. This course gives you that toolkit.

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Course Outline

Introduction to Upstream Oil and Gas: Core upstream concepts, the structure of the global oil and gas industry, and the enduring role of hydrocarbons in the global energy system.

Global E&P Trends and Regional Dynamics: Current challenges reshaping upstream investment - capital discipline, geopolitical risk, and energy security - and how companies are responding through portfolio strategy and capital allocation across majors, independents, and NOCs.

Field Development Planning: Resource and reserve estimation methods; development concept selection - technical options, commercial trade-offs, and decision criteria.

Petroleum Fiscal Regimes and Fiscal Instruments: Classifying fiscal regimes across concessions, production sharing contracts, and service agreements; modelling and comparing fiscal terms to assess government take and investor returns.

Asset Evaluation: Reserves classification and production profiling; cost estimation; full suite of valuation metrics - NPV, IRR, payout, profit-to-investment ratios, break-even, and comparables; incremental economics, portfolio optimisation, real options, and scenario/sensitivity analysis.

Strategies of International and National Oil Companies: How IOC and NOC priorities are evolving; portfolio strategy through specialisation, core competencies, and M capital allocation trade-offs across exploration, production, and decarbonisation commitments.

Petroleum Sector Risk: Framework for evaluating above-ground risk - political, regulatory, security, and social dimensions - and the key trends currently driving petroleum sector risk across major upstream regions.

Supply Chains and Cost Trends: Upstream industry pulse check using S& Global data - new orders, backlogs, and spending forecasts; competition for resources across the energy value chain; key cost drivers and implications for project breakevens.

Oil & Gas Innovation Strategies: Industry innovation vehicles - R&, partnerships, ventures, and technology adoption; how strategies differ across company types and geographies.

The Current State and Future Potential for AI in Oil & Gas: Where AI is delivering measurable performance improvements in upstream operations today; business opportunities and commercial value creation; how companies are aligning organisations and data strategies to capture AI's potential.

A Global Perspective on GHG Emissions and Decarbonization Strategies: Upstream GHG emissions - sources, measurement, and cross-basin comparisons; decarbonisation strategies including methane abatement, operational electrification, and CCUS; the evolving regulatory landscape and its implications for project economics.

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What You Will Learn On This Course

• Evaluate upstream assets using industry-standard economic methods and S& Global analytical frameworks
• Interpret and compare fiscal regimes across different contract types and jurisdictions
• Assess project viability under different price, cost, and fiscal scenarios
• Understand how IOCs, NOCs, and independents are making capital allocation and portfolio decisions
• Identify and assess the above-ground risks that increasingly determine upstream project outcomes
• Analyse cost trends, supply chain dynamics, and the impact of AI and innovation on upstream operations
• Incorporate GHG emissions performance and decarbonisation strategy into upstream investment analysis

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Who Should Consider Attending This Course

Our Upstream Fundamentals and Economics course is ideally suited for anyone who needs a rigorous, commercially grounded understanding of upstream oil and gas economics. This could include

• Commercial, finance, business development, strategy, trading, and technical professionals across oil and gas operators
• NOCs
• Trading houses
• Financial institutions
• Advisory firms