So What Club

Industries · Energy and resources

Oil and gas

How oil and gas moves from the well to the fuel pump: upstream, midstream and downstream, what a barrel costs to produce, how refineries earn their margin, who the national oil companies are, how OPEC+ and the 2026 Gulf disruption affect prices, and how to crack oil and gas cases.

38 min, 3 lessons. Facts checked against sources on

Start the first lesson

Key takeaways

  • Oil and gas has three parts. Upstream finds and produces crude oil and natural gas.
  • An upstream barrel is worth producing when the oil price covers the cost to develop and lift it plus the government's share.
  • Most oil and gas cases turn on three things: the oil price, the cost per barrel, and large capital decisions.

By the end you will be able to

  • Explain upstream, midstream and downstream and how each one makes money
  • Calculate lifting cost, a breakeven oil price and a refining margin
  • Describe the supply chain from exploration to the retail station, including LNG
  • Name the main types of players by region, including national oil companies in the Gulf
  • Pick the first driver to check in the most common oil and gas case prompts

Lessons

  1. 1.How oil and gas works: from the well to the fuel pumpThe three parts of the industry, who buys what, how each part makes money, and the numbers the industry watches.12 min
  2. 2.Oil and gas economics and supply chain: breakeven, refining margin, operationsWhat one barrel costs, when a field is worth developing, how a refinery earns its margin, and how oil, products and LNG move around the world.14 min
  3. 3.Oil and gas players, trends 2024 to 2026, and how to crack the casesNational oil companies, OPEC+ in neutral terms, the 2026 Gulf disruption, the energy transition, regulation basics, typical prompts, traps and drills.12 min

Worked cases in this module

Look it up

Start with lesson 1

3 lessons, about 38 minutes in all. Each one builds on the one before.

Start the first lesson