The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that energy markets enter 2026 in a downbeat mood as geopolitical uncertainty clouds the outlook and increasing signs of swelling oil and gas supplies threaten to sink prices. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says is past year was a wild one for the oil and gas industry, punctuated by the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade wars, the intensified targeting of energy infrastructure in Russia in its war against Ukraine, OPEC's often perplexing production decisions and the recently threatened U.S. blockade of Venezuela. Oil and gas companies are bracing for strong headwinds in 2026. Chevron, Exxon and TotalEnergies have all lowered spending plans for next year by around 10 per cent and announced deep cost cuts. At the same time, the oil majors appear quite bullish about the longer-term outlook. They are spending more on exploration and investments in new projects that will come on-line later this decade or in the early 2030s. This long-term bullishness may prompt Western oil majors -- most of which boast solid balance sheets and relatively low debt, with BP a notable exception -- to use the expected 2026 downturn to gobble up struggling rivals.