The oil and gas business will be characterized by great structural uncertainty in the years ahead, amid rising production costs as deposits become harder to access and volatility in both demand and in markets. As a result of these factors, firms are finding decision making increasingly complex. And investments that companies need to make now can take up to 10 years to materialize—and have life expectancies of 30 to 40 years or more.
Given these challenges, large multinationals must not only ensure their strategic excellence, but the flexibility of their project portfolio, as well. They must also acquire the requisite advanced technologies to implement their decisions, anticipate regulatory changes, tighten their links with service providers, reinforce their operational safety, and forge new alliances to ensure their access to oil and gas sources.
McKinsey’s Oil & Gas Practice helps companies throughout the cycle—extraction and production, refining, transport, and distribution—conceive and implement the best strategies to succeed in a highly turbulent competitive context. Our work with the industry’s main global players ranges from counseling top management to assisting operational units, and encompasses all strategic, organization, and operations issues.