Oil and Gas in the 21st Century

I just accepted a position in the Natural Gas industry in hopes to become a Natural Gas Trader. It seems like every day there is a new government regulation limiting the use and infrastructure of natural gas. A push for a low carbon society is really starting to take over. Realistically did I screw myself hoppping into a dying industry? Or will it still be prevelant in centuries to come?

13 Comments
 

I know that there are multiple threads about this, but things have changed dramatically in the last couple years. I wanted to hear what peoples thoughts are nowadays

 
Most Helpful

The big talking point is electric vehicles reducing demand for gasoline but what is often not talked about it the ubiquitous presence of petroleum derivatives in LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

If you're only looking at the sector's performance in public markets it does appear that it is going through elongated death throes but from my perspective within the industry is that it is more of a metamorphosis. Natural gas is getting beaten down right now but I believe its heyday is fast approaching as we transition from liquid hydrocarbon dominance to more sustainable energy sources. Also your time horizon here is decades, not centuries... you will be fine.

 

Increased infrastructure regulation is good for volatility. Pipelines aren’t trying to build to low demand areas, they are trying to build from supply to market zones. So by stopping projects means your peaking markets will only get peakier. While I think all this rhetoric and attacking of the energy industry is dumb - in my own self interest a ban of fracking would be the best thing for a trader right now. Give me 10 years of extreme volatility so I can retire lol

 

I would take the job. Gas is not going anywhere for the next couple decades, and even then it will be turning into a non-growth/downsizing industry rather than a dead industry.

If worst comes to worst there are areas to which you can transition from gas trading - i.e power or hydrogen trading. Both will be growth sectors in the next few decades and should give you a good safety net.

 

If you scour the news with attention, you will see that despite the constant hammering of ESG, very few companies are actually do something to meet targets. There's a degree of reality, but a large portion of this thing is just PR. You will read ''investors call for blah blah blah'', a generic corporate answer, the creation of some sort of sustainability department and that's about it. 

It's a tug of war between liars. 

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

My hope is that we discover cheap, clean compact fusion techniques. There is a huge amount of money and effort going into this right now.

 

Explicabo ad quia illo et et id ut. Earum eius quaerat quisquam qui id quidem. Voluptate ad aut libero consequuntur. Dolores provident itaque dolores repellat dolorum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”