Speaking and moderating at India Energy Week 2026

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be moderating and speaking at India Energy Week 2026 due to be held in Goa, India, from January 27 to 30. This global energy event is expected to welcome participants from 120+ countries. 

Last year's edition attracted over 68,000 participants, 570 exhibitors, 5,400 conference delegates, and hosted 100 conference sessions featuring 540+ global speakers, present company included. Explore the 2026 edition's wide-ranging agenda here. 

Hosted under the patronage of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India and co-organised by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) and dmg events, India Energy Week will drive collaboration across the entire energy community and reinforce its role among the world’s most influential global energy dialogue platforms.

The week-long proceedings will offer invaluable insights, thought leadership, foster collaboration among key stakeholders and accelerate progress on the sustainable energy agenda. The Oilholic is excited to play his part in the deliberations. To attend the event, register as a delegate here.

Looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones! See you in Goa, if you can make it! More to follow. 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, January 2026. Photo: IEW 2026 speaker profile of energy analyst Gaurav Sharma © India Energy Week / dmgevents, January 2026.

WFES 2026 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

As Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week week approaches, the Oilholic is looking forward to moderating panels and fireside chats at the World Future Energy Summit (January 13 to 15), an event being hosted by Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) as part of the week-long ADSW proceedings covering vital topics across the energy spectrum.

The event will bring together global visionaries, leaders and technical experts. Yours truly can't wait to get started. Here are the details of the sessions: 

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 11:40 GST

The PV-battery storage tipping point

This panel will explore the economic drivers of grid-connected battery storage, deployment hurdles, and policy enablers positioning large-scale storage as the backbone of a clean energy future. Fellow panellists include: 

• Syed Ali Gilani, Planning & Energy Markets Director, Department of Energy Abu Dhabi
• Jad Abdel Masri, Senior Director, Group Supply Chain & Procurement, #Masdar
• Dr. Thi Minh Phuong Nguyen, Battery Storage Systems Expert, MAI Group
• Mike Sronce, Managing Director & Vice President, Sargent & Lundy
• Mohammad Al Natour, Managing Director, SMA Solar Technology

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 15:55 GST

Financing hydrogen: Innovative mechanisms to unlock capital

This panel will explore innovative financing structures and risk mitigation strategies to instil investor confidence and secure guarantees necessary to scale hydrogen infrastructure. Fellow panellists include: 

• Dr Dimitrious Dimitriou, Group Vice President of ESG & Sustainability, EMSTEEL Group
• Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy
• Siddharth Malik, Managing Partner, Green Investors AG
• Dan Feldman, Global Head of Energy, King & Spalding
• Santosh Raikar, Managing Partner, Silverpeak

Thursday, January 15, ADNEC Hall 7, Stage 4 @ 10:15 GST

Green bonds and beyond: Innovative financing instruments to accelerate the energy transformation

• A fireside chat with Mazin Khan, CFO of Masdar 

Explore the event's exciting agenda here, and be sure to register here.

Join the Oilholic in Abu Dhabi next week if you can! More to follow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Digital event banner courtesy of WFES 2026 & Masdar.

Muted start to oil trading despite US hit on Venezuela

Happy New Year dear readers! As crude oil trading for the current year gets going, we're witnessing a fairly muted start to proceedings with benchmark futures having barely budged from last week's levels. 

That's despite US President Donald Trump sending in the elite Delta Force force to grab Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro on Saturday. Trump's successful incursion, quips about Venezuela's oil industry and a new stable government / different regime has also brought the country's 'crude' potential into sharp focus. 

However, anyone hoping for short-term changes to the global supply dynamic is either kidding or exaggerating. Venezuela's crude production is on its knees thanks to Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez's constant meddling into how its run. 

Venezuela once produced 3.5 million barrels per day before the turn of the millennium. But today it can barely muster 1 million bpd. Returning it to its former glory days would need stability, investment and time. In short, there wont be any instant gratification.

Much has also been made about the country's 'proven' oil reserves with a 300 billion+ barrel figure being brandished about. For starters, reserves alone do not equate to riches, and the figure itself dates back to the summer of 2006 when PDVSA - the country's state-owned oil company - published it. Back then oil prices ranged around $130 to $140 a barrel. Today's prices range well below half of that level. What was commercially viable to be tapped at $130 isn't quite so at $60! 

This brings us to the oil price itself, for which this development is largely a near-term non-event, and long-term bearish. Why? For now, nothing is happing bar a marginal uptick in Venezuelan exports, which currently account for less than 1% of the total global supply pool. And were that level to be doubled, say in 10 years time, more oil in the supply pool means lower prices. 

With lacklustre demand and falling oil prices - realising what Venezuela has in reserve is going to be a totally different ball game. Finally, despite the jump in US E&P and OFS stocks overnight, it is by no means certain they would play in Venezuela. 

Let's not forget the playing field itself is far from stable. For who knows what sort of mess the US incursion may create in a place that is already pretty messy! Well that's all for the moment folks. More musings to follow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Photo: Oil pump jack building block model at the AVEVA World 2023 Conference, Moscone Center, San Francisco, US © Gaurav Sharma, October 2023.