Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
Companies will continue to prioritise shareholder returns and capital discipline while building diversification in 2025
1 minute read
Alex Beeker
Research Director, Corporate Research
Alex Beeker
Research Director, Corporate Research
Alex is a research director on our Corporate Research team, focused on the Majors and US Independents.
Latest articles by Alex
-
The Edge
The complexity of capital allocation for oil and gas companies
-
Opinion
Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
-
Opinion
Chesapeake-Southwestern Energy deal: ten key takeaways
-
Opinion
What does the Chevron-Hess deal mean for oil and gas?
-
The Edge
Big Oil: upstream M&A gets serious
-
Opinion
Lower 48 midstream not immune to oil price volatility
Tom Ellacott
Senior Vice President, Corporate Research
Tom Ellacott
Senior Vice President, Corporate Research
Tom leads our corporate thought leadership, drawing on more than 20 years' industry knowledge.
Latest articles by Tom
-
Featured
Corporate oil & gas 2025 outlook
-
The Edge
The complexity of capital allocation for oil and gas companies
-
Opinion
Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
-
Opinion
Can ExxonMobil make attractive returns from its US CCUS portfolio?
-
Opinion
How do integrated companies position themselves in the changing downstream landscape?
-
The Edge
How and why big oil is strengthening its oil and gas exposure
Raphael Portela
Principal Research Analyst, Corporate Analysis
Raphael Portela
Principal Research Analyst, Corporate Analysis
Raphael focuses on Latin America and its national oil companies as a senior analyst on our Corporate Research team.
Latest articles by Raphael
-
The Edge
The complexity of capital allocation for oil and gas companies
-
Opinion
Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
-
Opinion
What does Milei mean for oil and gas in Argentina?
-
Opinion
Are NOCs prepared for the energy transition?
-
Opinion
Unwrapping key players in Colombia's upstream sector
-
Opinion
Are NOCs rising to the energy transition challenge?
Greig Aitken
Director, Corporate Research
Greig Aitken
Director, Corporate Research
With over 12 years of experience, Greig brings a holistic view of corporate activity to the upstream M&A research team.
Latest articles by Greig
-
Opinion
Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
-
Featured
Upstream M&A 2024 outlook
-
Opinion
What does the Chevron-Hess deal mean for oil and gas?
-
The Edge
Big Oil: upstream M&A gets serious
-
The Edge
Big Oil is back buying upstream assets
-
Featured
Will we see an upstream M&A revival in 2023?
Neivan Boroujerdi
Director, Corporate Research
Neivan Boroujerdi
Director, Corporate Research
Neivan leads Wood Mackenzie's global corporate NOC coverage.
Latest articles by Neivan
-
The Edge
The complexity of capital allocation for oil and gas companies
-
Opinion
Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning
-
Opinion
ADNOC doubles net hydrogen production through stake in ExxonMobil’s Baytown project
-
Opinion
ADNOC acquires stake in Rovuma LNG from Galp
-
Opinion
Benchmarking the Middle East NOCs against the supermajors
-
The Edge
How and why big oil is strengthening its oil and gas exposure
As we enter the 2025 corporate planning season, oil and gas firms are faced with significant choices. What represents the right balance between investment and rewarding shareholders? And how much capital should be allocated to low-carbon activities versus to traditional hydrocarbons?
Wood Mackenzie has created a new Corporate Strategic Planner (subscription required) to help oil and gas companies, advisors and shareholders anticipate and navigate key themes for the 2025 planning and capital allocation cycle.
Fill out the form at the top of the page to download all ten key considerations from our Corporate Strategy & Analytics Service (CSAS) report, or continue reading for a preview of the first three.
1. Balance sheet strength
Balance sheet strength will be key for oil and gas firms to manage future shocks. We expect that companies with gearing higher than 35% will prioritise deleveraging to build resilience to future price shocks. More players will reduce gearing to less than 20% to manage energy transition risks while supporting base dividends and investment through future downturns.
2. High-grading
Oil and gas companies will continue to sell non-core, less advantaged assets to drive portfolio improvement. The proceeds from offloading assets can potentially be used to offset higher reinvestment rates.
3. Disciplined reinvestment rates
To ensure disciplined investment and adequate shareholder returns, reinvestment rates will average 50-60% of operating cash flow (OCF). However, re-investment rates vary widely between companies and peer groups. Players with reinvestment rates well below this range will have more scope to increase their spending.
Download your copy
Stay informed ahead of the 2025 corporate planning season. Continue reading our 'Ten key considerations for oil & gas 2025 planning' by filling out the form at the top of the page.