Oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) spending has rebounded after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February put energy security at the top of the agenda as the vulnerabilities of available fossil reserves came to light.

Global demand for oil has returned to pre-Covid levels of about 100m barrels per day (bpd), which is exactly where supply is at.

“It is a very tight equation,” Fazel Fazelbhoy, chief executive of Dubai-based consultancy Synergy Offshore, told TradeWinds.