Special sessions on the Middle East war have been added to the program following the first Israeli-American strikes. Thousands of leaders and players in oil, gas, and energy are converging in Texas this Monday for the world’s largest sector gathering, disrupted by the shockwaves of the Middle East war.
The American city of Houston is hosting this forum, CERAWeek, for a week, with over 10,000 participants expected. Organizers have revamped the agenda: special sessions on the war have been added to the program following the initial Israeli-American strikes.
The crisis is rocking the global economy, and gas and oil prices continue to soar. “This will be a CERAWeek that will go down in history,” said Mark Brownstein, Vice President of the Environmental Defense Fund, who attends every year.
“The biggest disruption in the history of the global oil market”
The war has taken a new dimension in recent days with strikes targeting oil and gas production sites directly, not just their storage and transport. “We are witnessing the biggest disruption in the history of the global oil market,” warned Daniel Yergin, Vice President of S&P Global and President of the CERAWeek conference, during a briefing. “Never before has an event of such magnitude occurred.”
Leaders of businesses, politicians, investors, and experts are expected from Monday morning to discuss the energy sector, as well as international trade, artificial intelligence, rare earths, nuclear fusion, and more.
Market players will be particularly attentive to the address of the US Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, at the opening on Monday at 1:40 pm GMT. They will be closely watching for any announcements about the conflict or possible new measures from the Donald Trump administration to contain the rise in oil prices.
Maria Corina Machado expected on Tuesday
Several top energy executives will follow her lead all week, including Michael Wirth (Chevron), Patrick Pouyanné (TotalEnergies), Wael Sawan (Shell), and Jack Fusco (Cheniere Energy).
As was the case last year, the Trump administration’s reversal on climate policies and its consequences will be closely scrutinized. Since returning to power for a second term, Donald Trump has revived coal mining and encouraged oil exploitation.
He has once again withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement and dismantled several environmental standards adopted by previous governments. His decisions dismay environmental NGOs. One of them, the Texas Campaign for the Environment, has planned a gathering on the opening day of CERAWeek.
The 2026 edition will feature several international political figures, including Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who is scheduled to speak on Tuesday at a session on the “Future of Venezuela.”
