Podcasts
Conversations with Oberon Houston exploring the research, evidence and strategic questions behind PetroEquity Signal articles.
Welcome to the Boardroom: Shell Acquiring BP
Trailer: A short introduction to the PetroEquity Signal Boardroom Series. Discover how Shell acquiring BP will be used to explore the strategy, personalities, shareholders and decisions behind a major merger.
Beyond Shale: The Search for Resource Duration
Is US shale a long-term growth story—or an exceptionally profitable resource being harvested while it lasts? We follow that question from ConocoPhillips, Diamondback and EQT into Canadian LNG, Shell’s acquisition of ARC Resources, the oil sands and BP’s exit from Bay du Nord. We test company strategy against investor returns, BMO’s research and a simple question: what should an upstream company own next?
Who Could Buy BP's UK Upstream Business?
BP has put its UK North Sea business up for sale ending more than 60 years as an offshore producer. Jessica and Oberon examine why BP is selling and, most importantly, who might buy. Ithaca, Adura, NEO NEXT+, Harbour and possible new entrants are assessed against financing, tax, offtake, decommissioning liabilities and BP’s desire to find a credible long-term owner.
Exploration Made the Majors. Who Still Knows How to Do It?
Jessica and Oberon examine how exploration made the oil majors, why the industry retreated after the 2014 price crash, and how Covid and the energy transition accelerated that decline. They compare ExxonMobil, Eni, TotalEnergies, BP, Shell and Chevron, asking who preserved the capability to find new resources, who lost strategic continuity, and who ultimately had to buy barrels discovered by somebody else.
Chevron's Different Bet
Chevron spent the last decade moving from megaprojects to the Permian and then to acquisitions. Oberon and Jessica examine what worked, what did not, and how Chevron’s strategy compares with Shell and ConocoPhillips as the company looks towards Guyana, gas-to-power and its next phase of growth.
The Harbour Story - Part 2
Harbour Energy Part 2 follows the company from the Premier reverse takeover to the present day. It looks beyond the acquisitions themselves to Linda Cook’s leadership, the influence of EIG and the board, the Energy Profits Levy, Wintershall Dea, LLOG and the question now facing Harbour: whether the platform it has built can finally deliver sustained growth, lower debt and stronger distributions.
The Harbour Story - Part 1
Harbour Energy was built through acquisitions, but its origins lie in Chrysaor, private equity and a North Sea dealmaking model. The Harbour Story - Part 1 takes an unexpected turn into Premier Oil, its tangled finances and the reverse takeover that created today’s listed company we know as Harbour Energy.
How Oxy Monetised California Without a Buyer
Occidental Petroleum's 2014 spin-off of California Resources Corporation was more than a corporate separation. It was a high-stakes capital allocation decision that unlocked value for some shareholders, transferred risk to others and exposed the dangers of leverage in a cyclical industry.
Shell’s Trading Machine
Shell’s trading and supply business is central to its strategy, yet investors cannot see clearly how much it earns, how its risks are controlled or whether its competitive advantage can endure.
When Big Oil Mistook a Bubble for the Future
Why European oil majors mistook the extraordinary conditions of 2020 and 2021 for a permanent industrial shift, and how cheap money, inflated valuations and policy momentum distorted corporate strategy.
A Fortune Too Heavy to Carry: The Rise and Fall of Tullow Oil
How Tullow Oil’s remarkable discoveries in Uganda, Ghana and Kenya were overtaken by development risk, rising debt and a balance sheet that could no longer support the company’s ambitions.
Thirty-Three Days at BP
The rise and sudden removal of Albert Manifold as BP chairman, and the deeper boardroom struggle it exposed over the company’s strategy, governance and future direction.
