Mapping the Scholarly Landscape of Oil and Gas Investment Studies Using Scopus Data


Authors : Feliciano Pinto Magalhaes; Teodoro Marcos Mota

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 1 - January


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/29szd9c4

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/2ft9fmmt

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jan394

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.


Abstract : Oil and gas investment projects are characterized by high capital intensity, extended development horizons, and substantial exposure to economic, regulatory, and geopolitical uncertainty. While scholarly interest in this field has increased over time, existing studies remain fragmented, and a consolidated overview of research evolution and thematic structure is still limited. This study conducts a bibliometric investigation to map the development of academic research on oil and gas investment using publications indexed in the Scopus database. A total of 118 documents published between 1953 and 2025 across 92 sources were analyzed. Bibliometric techniques were applied using Bibliometrix in RStudio and VOSviewer to examine publication dynamics, citation patterns, influential contributors, collaboration networks, and thematic relationships based on keyword co-occurrence analysis. The findings reveal a marked growth in research output after 2010, reflecting increased attention to investment risk, price volatility, and strategic decision-making in the oil and gas sector. Research output is concentrated within a relatively small group of journals, authors, and institutions, with the United States and China emerging as leading contributors. Core research themes are dominated by investment-related studies in the gas and oil and gas industries, strongly linked to risk assessment and uncertainty analysis. However, international collaboration and sustainability-oriented perspectives remain limited. This study provides a structured synthesis of existing research and identifies opportunities for future studies emphasizing dynamic modeling, sustainability integration, and cross-country comparative analysis.

Keywords : Oil and Gas Investment; Petroleum Project Investment; Energy Project Finance; Bibliometric Analysis; VOSviewer; Bibliometrix; Keyword Co-occurrence; Research Trends.

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Oil and gas investment projects are characterized by high capital intensity, extended development horizons, and substantial exposure to economic, regulatory, and geopolitical uncertainty. While scholarly interest in this field has increased over time, existing studies remain fragmented, and a consolidated overview of research evolution and thematic structure is still limited. This study conducts a bibliometric investigation to map the development of academic research on oil and gas investment using publications indexed in the Scopus database. A total of 118 documents published between 1953 and 2025 across 92 sources were analyzed. Bibliometric techniques were applied using Bibliometrix in RStudio and VOSviewer to examine publication dynamics, citation patterns, influential contributors, collaboration networks, and thematic relationships based on keyword co-occurrence analysis. The findings reveal a marked growth in research output after 2010, reflecting increased attention to investment risk, price volatility, and strategic decision-making in the oil and gas sector. Research output is concentrated within a relatively small group of journals, authors, and institutions, with the United States and China emerging as leading contributors. Core research themes are dominated by investment-related studies in the gas and oil and gas industries, strongly linked to risk assessment and uncertainty analysis. However, international collaboration and sustainability-oriented perspectives remain limited. This study provides a structured synthesis of existing research and identifies opportunities for future studies emphasizing dynamic modeling, sustainability integration, and cross-country comparative analysis.

Keywords : Oil and Gas Investment; Petroleum Project Investment; Energy Project Finance; Bibliometric Analysis; VOSviewer; Bibliometrix; Keyword Co-occurrence; Research Trends.

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