That's a wrap from Energy Projects Conf & Expo 2026

The Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 concluded on Wednesday with further discussions on AI solutions aimed at delivering next generation of projects. 

Delegates heard how generative engineering was slashing design-to-groundbreaking cycles by 50% through automated layout optimisation and AI-driven simulation.

Later in the afternoon, Lindsay See, Commissioner, US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said the authority was working toward fair and predictable permitting as project sponsors and regulators confront grid infrastructure and supply costs. 

Away from the plenaries, the Oilholic took time out to head to the event's expo where over 400-plus exhibitors were out in full force courting business in the EPC sphere and displaying their state of the art solutions for the industry. 

Overall, the conference and expo saw over 7,000 attendees, and more than 250 speakers - present company included - who spoke across five content streams. Yours truly also took time out to record the next Schneider Electric insight video while out here in America's energy capital. 

Hany Fouda, Senior Vice President, Process, Discrete & Hybrid Automation Industrial Automation Business and André Marino, SVP Industrial Automation North America, Schneider Electric, discussed some of the biggest shifts they are currently seeing in how EPCs are approaching automation and digitalisation. 

We also discussed the company's EcoStruxure Foxboro Software-Defined Automation products - the industry’s first open, software-defined Distributed Control System. It was launched by Schneider Electric earlier this year. Watch this space, details and the video coming soon! 

And that's a wrap from the Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026. It's almost time to head back home to London from Houston folks! More market musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo I: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma at the Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 in Houston, Texas, US on June 16, 2026. © Gaurav Sharma, June 2026. Photo II: (L to R) Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma, Hany Fouda, Senior Vice President, Process, Discrete & Hybrid Automation Industrial Automation Business, and André Marino, SVP Industrial Automation North America, Schneider Electric, speak at the Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 in Houston, Texas, US on June 16, 2026. © Schneider Electric, June 2026.

Talking "co-innovation" & energy investment at EPC26

The Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 got underway in Houston, US on Tuesday incorporating dialogues on engineering, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance across LNG, power, midstream, downstream and emerging energy segment under the theme "Where Energy Projects Get Built."

The Oilholic got straight into proceedings on the opening morning with an executive fireside briefing on the topic "Resilience by design: Building adaptive, digital operations now" at the event's main plenary stage.  

The panellists included André Marino, SVP Industrial Automation North America, Schneider Electric, Chris Scheefer, EVP Global AI, Energy & Chemicals at Capgemini, and William Barrett, VP Product Development, Oxy subsidiary 1PointFive.

The timing and the setting for such a discussion couldn't have been more ideal. By some estimates, the US is in the middle of the largest energy buildout in a generation stretching from major LNG projects to offshore exploration, utility-scale renewables to nuclear. 

Industry projections suggest the US is committing $9.1 trillion to energy infrastructure through to 2038. With the proliferation of hyperscale datacenters profoundly altering power (water and cooling solutions) demand scenarios, this need not come as a surprise. 

In the face of this, the industry can no longer rely on legacy delivery and operating models to service a US economy premised on digitization and automation, twin facets in turn underpinned by electrification.

Under these new pressures, the panel discussed how project sponsors, EPCs and their industrial & software partners need to build smart, agile and resilient foundations, or shall we say “co-innovate.”

It was a great discussion with the panellists offering pragmatic solutions, some reality checks and learnings from their respective experience. 

We also discussed how the change required isn't incremental but architectural, as well how the industry’s contracting and governance structures that were built for a previous era need to be revisited in the age of digital automation and AI. 

To quote Schneider Electric's Marino, the next era of US energy infrastructure will not be won by organisations that build the most but by those that build differently — unifying electrification, automation, and digital intelligence from day one, designing resilience in rather than bolting it on, and turning every hour of operational continuity into margin. That investment window is indeed open now. 

Elsewhere, away from the plenary stage, leadership sessions kicked-off along several different content silos including LNG Engineering & Construction, LNG Investment & Finance, Midstream Engineering & Construction, Nuclear EPC, Petrochemicals, Refining & SAF and Power Generation EPC over the course of an engaging opening day of proceedings. 

Never far away from the conference halls were discussions among delegates on the currently  falling oil price and speculative details of the deal between Washington and Tehran to hopefully conclude the Iran War. 

Both Brent and WTI were down by 11% on Monday, over the previous week as the market awaits formal details of the agreement. Then begins the long march toward market normalisation which may take better parts of six to seven months. That's all for now folks! More market musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo I: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma at the Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 in Houston, Texas, US on June 16, 2026. © Gaurav Sharma, June 2026. Photo II: (L to R) Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma, André Marino, SVP Industrial Automation North America, Schneider Electric, Chris Scheefer, EVP Global AI, Energy & Chemicals at Capgemini and William Barrett, VP Product Development, Oxy subsidiary 1PointFive speak at an Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 panel in Houston, Texas, US on June 16, 2026. © Schneider Electric, June 2026.

100 days+: Oil price swings continue on Iran War news

We're well past the day 100 mark of the Iran War and the wider Middle East crisis that's been upending global oil markets since February 28. As the conflict between the US and Iran escalated, and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz took hold - not only did it impact crude markets, but dragged LNG, LPG, fertilizer, petroleum distillates, helium, and more, into the turmoil. 

However, its the poster futures contract of the global commodities business - oil - that most seem to focus on with a fifth of the world's supplies held up on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the US and Iran having moved from an all out conflict to sporadic skirmishes, and a US Navy blockade of Iranian ports since early April, oil futures continue to trade on news signals. 

Ups and downs, swings and roundabouts in the futures market have sent Brent down 16% on the month, down 12% on a 3-month basis but up 46% year-till-date. That's after latest escalation and de-escalation, as U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that it will all be over soon (again!) or Iran will pay dearly, and so it goes, pushing Brent below $90 per barrel intraday. 

Make no mistake, this has all the makings of a 'permacrisis' of some sort that'll persist with half-baked agreements for a while yet. The ongoing as well as potential future impact of it is something yours truly discussed last week on TRTWorld's RoundTable programme hosted by Enda Brady. 

We spoke about the complexities energy producers and consumers alike are facing, and the potential for demand destruction. As such, to the Oilholic this crisis appears rather under-priced. 

With Asian economies in a bind over reliable crude oil and products supplies, and the Europeans sweating it out over natural gas - were the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz to spill over well into Q3, the inflationary impact of the war will be felt way more acutely. More importantly, even if lasting peace were to arrive in the region tomorrow, it would still take at least until Q1 2027 for the markets to normalise. 

And yes, demand destruction of oil and natural gas in favour of not just renewable energy but also coal, is a very real and pretty visible prospect. Of course, a conclusion to the conflict would come as a massive release that would likely take the market into surplus in 2027. But we are still some way off from there. Should you wish to watch the programme, you can view the full episode here. But that's all for the moment folks! More market musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo: Energy analyst Gaurav Sharma on TRTWorld's RoundTable Programme on June 3, 2026. © TRT World, June 2026. 

Speaking at Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026

Delighted to announce that yours truly be speaking and moderating at the Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026, headline sponsored by Schneider Electric. It is due to be held in Houston, Texas, US from June 16 to 17.

This vital industry event incorporates dialogues on engineering, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance across LNG, power, midstream, downstream and emerging energy under the theme "Where Energy Projects Get Built."

The Oilholic's engagements will include industry dialogues and executive firesides held as part of the event's plenary programme.

For more details on the event and its exciting agenda click here.

Really looking forward to the deliberations, meeting thought leaders and friends. Join, if you can, for some fantastic industry exchanges and networking in Houston.

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo: Energy Projects Conference & Expo 2026 / Easyfairs.

Physical crude premiums & more upheaval at BP

It has been three months since the Iran War began on February 28, and seven weeks since the US and Iran announced a ceasefire on April 8. 

In these three months oil prices have risen by over 30% with no clear end in sight. This week brings another round of traders trading on hope that a stalemate between the US and Iran can be resolved.  

But uncertainty lingers, like some circular loop yours truly discussed in a recent Forbes post. 

That's after oil prices headed lower this week (again) with Brent and WTI futures lower by more than10% on the previous week. Of course, last week they rose again, and so it goes.  

While futures are reflective of prevailing market sentiment and its impact on prices, what is actually prevailing in the physical market - especially at the major Asian hubs - is a premium of as much as $20 per barrel, according to sources. Cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz remain disrupted and there is a scramble for alternatives. 

Where this goes is contingent on news flow. Having said that Brent futures contracts six months out - i.e. December 2026 onward - do have prices in the $80-$85 per barrel range. So, should a deescalation continue, prices will come down. But it will still take better parts of the remainder of the year for the market to normalise potentially around Q1 2027 even if the geopolitical tension eases today. 

Away from the oil price - energy major BP delivered another shocker with its board dispensing with Chairman Albert Manifold who was removed with immediate effect on May 26! The company that's currently on its fourth CEO in six years in Megan O'Neill, is now looking for another Chairman in less than eight months. 

Hopes of BP's investors seeking a bit of calm have been dashed again. But they can perhaps rest assured that a return to oil and gas basics remains on track under new CEO O'Neill, according to statements issued in the wake of Manifold's departure. One can only hope!

Well that's all for the moment folks! More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma, May 2026. Photo: Oil production site. © Monika Wrangel / Pixabay, May 2015.