Understanding Energy Supply Chains: Risk, Diversity & Stability

Summary Deb Ryan speaks with Stuart Broadley, CEO of the Energy Industries Council (EIC), the fifth-largest energy supply-chain trade association globally. They examine a decade of supply-chain shocks, what final investment decision data reveals about real project activity, and how energy security, capital costs, tariffs, and customer strategy are reshaping energy businesses. 2026 Surviv & Thrive Report: https://www.the-eic.com/MediaCentre/P... Key topics: • Stuart explains EIC’s role as a global, energy-agnostic trade association supporting supply-chain companies with market intelligence, events, and policy advocacy. • The 2014 oil crisis, COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Middle East conflict tested supply-chain resilience and exposed dependence on single markets and routes. • Energy suppliers have diversified from near-total oil-and-gas dependence, but many still earn roughly 60% of revenue from oil and gas, according to Broadley. • Hydrogen and carbon-capture announcements surged from roughly 10-15 projects annually to hundreds, but announcements are not the same as projects reaching final investment decision (FID). • Broadley says energy companies learned to follow committed capital rather than policy pledges: fixed-bottom offshore wind’s global FID rate was about 7%, while oil-and-gas sectors were around 25-40%. • Higher interest rates, inflation, capital-cost uncertainty, and competition from data-center and AI investment have made some clean-energy projects harder to finance. • Energy sovereignty is becoming a larger part of energy security, alongside affordability and sustainability; domestic capacity, reliable partners, and protected supply routes all matter. • Tariffs are prompting some firms seeking US business to establish or move manufacturing into the US, while companies pursue infrastructure, defense, maritime, and data-center opportunities. • EIC’s business findings: international expansion remains an underused growth strategy, AI adoption is widespread but measurable gains remain limited, and tailored services for existing customers are proving effective.