Host Patrick Rutty and Senior Analyst Sheik-Imran Azim Rahman discuss whom they expect to participate in the Algeria bid round and then focus on Egypt to parse through BP’s portfolio rotation and contrast it to the supermajor’s UK stance, highlight the Eni-led Agiba JV’s 400 bcfe South Bostan discovery in the Matruh Basin, and take note of TotalEnergies’ new 20,000-square-kilometer reconnaissance licence in the Herodotus Basin.

SSA Regional Manager Jimmy Boulter and host Patrick Rutty dive into the still-growing inventory of reconnaissance (aka study, prospecting, technical evaluation, etc.) licences – mostly in the hands of the majors, mostly in Africa, and mostly with very light work commitments. They then air a difference of opinion on Atlas Oranto before converging again to speculate how Energean’s currently stymied bid to acquire Chevron Angola assets will end up.

A wave of licensing rounds are scheduled across Southeast and South Asia, so Indonesia's latest round and intriguing opportunities in Vietnam and Bangladesh form the focus of Senior Regional Manager Shankar Krishnan's discussion with host Bruce Walker. Shankar also reports on newly signed awards, most notably for BP in the Tangguh-area, and on Eni's Indonesian expansion.

Europe Regional Manager Anne Jones, Senior E&P Analyst Sheikh-Imran Azim Rahman and host Patrick Rutty take note of first production at Wittau field in Austria, which upon full development should double OMV’s domestic gas production to ~90 MMcf/d; marvel at last month’s April Fool’s joke about CVX going into Malta somehow becoming (partly) true; and spin a speculative and semi-political story about XOM’s ultimate lack of commitment to its Greek exploration effort.

Host Patrick Rutty and guests Tommy Liskey and Victoria Phillips discuss the upcoming Neuquén bid round and Chevron adding $10 billion to the $95 billion pile of approved and potential RIGI investments; update Petrobras progress on Brazil frontier wildcat well Morpho; weave a story around Armstrong’s Aruba assets, the Repsol/Eni partially developed Perla gas field in Venezuela, the White House, and broader Caribbean gas aspirations; and look ahead to bp’s appraisal of giant Santos Basin discovery Bumerangue – before Victoria throws in a Dominican Republic-Guyana wild card.

Libya extends its ambitions with a new licensing round being touted whilst Chevron signs an MoU that further promotes unconventionals in the region. Sheikh-Imran Azim-Rahman also speculates with host Bruce Walker whether UAE's exit from OPEC could provide North Africa with a strengthened hand in the oil cartel.

Against a backdrop of booming exploration interest in Africa, SSA Regional Manager Jimmy Boulter, Senior Regional Analyst Archie Rowland, and host Patrick Rutty talk about Murphy Oil and Octavia Energy success in Cameroon’s recent bid round; Marginal Energy and Shell moves into Sierra Leone; and Petrobras gaining operatorship in São Tomé and Príncipe by farming into Atlas Oranto acreage. The trio then discuss a flurry of activity in Gabon – ExxonMobil and BP still in the mix, Block Energy and Pilgrim Exploration teaming up, and Trafigura’s billion-dollar pre-payment deal – before finishing with a quick mention of BP’s Namibia entry.

Europe Regional Manager Anne Jones and host Patrick Rutty have a short chat about Vermilion Energy’s portfolio rationalization and Germany-Netherlands focus on the news of its exit from a Croatian PSA. They then discuss what impact OMV Petrom’s two Bulgarian Black Sea dry holes have on further exploration drilling in the region (spoiler alert: none) before finishing with some speculation as to who will finally acquire Deltic Energy.

Tensions at the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil shipping routes, have sent global energy markets into a tailspin. In this episode, host Gibson Scott sits down with Al Salazar, Head of Macro Research, to break down what's actually happening, what the markets are getting wrong, and what comes next.

When threats to close it surface, the entire global energy market feels it. Gibson and Al unpack the chaotic weekend of conflicting statements, military movements, and price swings, and explain why traders are increasingly tuning out the headlines and watching the ships instead.

They cover what oil prices could look like if the disruption drags on, why equity markets seem to be brushing off the risk, and how the natural gas story might actually be the bigger long-term concern. They also explore a provocative idea: that this conflict could be doing more to accelerate the global energy transition than a decade of climate policy.

Host Patrick Rutty connects with Shankar Krishnan and Chester Chua to have a look at Pakistan and New Zealand exploration activity, take note of modernized pipeline legislation in Australia’s Northern Territory, and talk about new Eni-Petronas JV SEARAH as well as Eni’s $15 billion in Kutei Basin gas FIDs.