The oil and gas trends for 2025 show how the rules of engagement are changing in the industry. Today, digital strategies are the foundation upon which winners are basing new products and partnerships. Industry leaders are casting aside old processes and models and running with automation and collaboration to provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.
This change is necessary and must be swift because customer expectations, government regulations, and corporate sustainability goals are converging into high priorities. At the same time, oil and gas companies must continue improving on business as usual for existing customers.
In 2025, energy companies will continue working toward better emissions measuring and reporting practices to prove that their efforts to diversify energy sources are moving the needle.
2022 returns for these renewable projects ranged from 6-8% according to Goldman Sachs, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.
To combat this disconnect, there are four key ways to work toward clean energy while improving revenue generating strategies.
The energy industry is undergoing massive change, from the increase in renewable expectations to distributed energy resources providing some of that energy mix.
In 2025, this means that energy companies need to focus on new growth opportunities to stay competitive. Part of their mix will continue to be traditional energy sources, but much of the new investment will be in more renewable sources and practices, such as biofuels, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), electric vehicle charging, and more.
This diversification of revenue streams will help energy companies secure a de-risked future in which they can be more agile and predictive, responding rapidly to changing market conditions and customer preferences. Having strong legacy assets will help generate the profits potential investors want to see before companies commit capital to new assets and markets.
Some oil and gas companies are already rethinking traditional assets and experimenting with new energy sources. For example, in April 2024, Phillips 66, a leading diversified energy provider, announced that it completed the conversion of a California refinery that had processed exclusively crude oil for 125 years into a renewable diesel facility.
Making use of existing real estate, assets, and infrastructure accelerated the timeline to open and will help Phillips 66 improve its output of renewable fuels.
To succeed in the modern energy market, companies need to fully integrate digital platforms into the core of their businesses. This trend is the only way to have visibility into the value chain and energy production. It’s also a way to generate real-time action plans and have the ability to pivot quickly when supply chain and market conditions change.
These data platforms improve agility by integrating solutions, paving the way for scalable processes, and adding automation with AI tools. Having this data on hand allows energy companies to achieve business goals, such as improving cash flow and sales volume.
Starting with an integrated digital platform makes it possible to layer cutting edge AI technology on top and infuse with industry best practices. With AI tools in place, energy companies can better predict hydrocarbon movements, create commodity trade deals, validate gas plant transactions, anticipate equipment performance, and automate to reduce manual processes.
In the US oil and gas industry, upstream companies have grown profitably by focusing on digital transformation, capital discipline and strategic acquisitions, according to Deloitte. The strategy helped them grow net income by 7% between 2014 and 2023 despite an 18% drop in oil prices, Deloitte said in its 2025 industry outlook.
The transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy is a when, not an if. What energy companies do now to differentiate themselves and set a foundation for the future will separate the leaders from the laggards.
Oil and gas companies are leveraging partnerships to tackle challenges and boost sustainability, a trend that will grow in 2025. This collaboration helps fast track innovation and improve procurement practices by looping in highly connected suppliers that have mastered automation.
Joint ventures are another way businesses can differentiate themselves on the road to decarbonization. Harvard Business Review reports that 80% of surveyed chemical and oil companies think that their usual investment and M&A strategies aren’t properly equipped to handle the energy transition.
Partnerships and joint ventures require two-way data sharing with all ecosystem collaborators. Energy companies aiming to grow and innovate through these channels will need to first integrate a strong data foundation in order to have a launch pad for innovation.
Energy companies that want to leverage partnerships need to simplify their tech stacks to make sure they can collaborate with ease. For example, Baker Hughes reduced their IT processes from 10 procurement systems to two applications.
As energy leaders begin to consider which companies they might want to partner with, they also need to think about how they can provide a seamless experience once those partners sign on.
Customers and governments are demanding low-to-no carbon energy systems. In 2025, the energy industry must continue working toward a future where they can guarantee energy security while also improving the sustainability mix.
Renewable power capacity is well on its way.
In order to boost renewable power capacity, oil and gas companies must focus on producing and storing industrial assets such as hydrogen, biofuels, and other clean energy sources and lock in new ways to transport carbon dioxide.
MAIRE, a global leader in natural resource transformation, works across 49 countries to reduce the environmental impact of the oil and gas sector, convert fuel and plastics to renewable alternatives, and transform waste to chemicals, fuel, and recycled products.
The industrial group aims to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and Scope 3 emissions by 2050. To support its decarbonization efforts, put security and compliance first, become more cost effective, and maintain business continuity, MAIRE moved to the cloud and invested in digital capabilities.
Galp, a Portuguese multinational energy company, is another example of an industry leader that’s focused on reaching net-zero goals by improving operational efficiency.
The renewable energy transition ultimately depends on companies striking a balance between adding new energy sources, partners, and technologies and continuing their day-to-day operations.
They need to be flexible and focus on scalable, revenue-generating opportunities powered by strong data and analytics that can help them respond to overnight market changes and predict future needs to ensure continued growth.
The 2025 oil, gas, and energy trends hinge on working toward sustainability goals while maintaining operational and financial performance, and transforming raw data into actionable insights.
