What Are European Oil & Gas Operators Buying in 2027?
We asked senior operators across Europe what they’re working on next year, what they’re funding, and who they want to meet. This report shares what they told us.
More than €1.4bn in spending power
The operators behind this report manage or influence more than €1.4 billion a year in digital and operational budget. That’s a conservative figure: it counts each company once and uses the bottom of each budget band.
What’s inside
- The five priorities shaping 2027, from agentic AI to the regulation driving project deadlines
- Real projects, not predictions: named project types across upstream, refining, gas networks and offshore
- Who’s in the room: the operator segments, roles and budget levels behind the findings
- What this means for technology providers: six things operators say they want to see from partners
A taste of the findings
- AI is the clear number one, and operators are moving from chatbots to agents that do real work.
- Data governance is the foundation everyone is building on.
- Refiners are digitalising the control room, with live projects in real-time optimisation and advanced process control.
- NIS2, EU methane rules and hydrogen are built into digital roadmaps, and they come with fixed deadlines.
About the Digital Oil & Gas Summit
The findings come from the European community of the Digital Oil & Gas Summit, a closed-door forum for Europe’s operators. The next summit takes place in Madrid on 10 to 11 June 2027.
Sponsors get pre-scheduled 1-2-1 meetings with qualified operators, curated discussions matched to their offering, and a Delegate Intelligence Report three weeks before the event, so they know who they’re meeting and what those operators are working on.