Highlights:
London, UK – October 27, 2025 – Despite persistent economic and geopolitical headwinds, CEOs in the energy, natural resources and chemicals (ENRC) sector are optimistic about growth and are doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI), talent development, and sustainability to future-proof their organizations, according to KPMG 2025 Global Energy, Natural Resources and Chemicals CEO Outlook.
As CEOs continue to face a turbulent world, characterized by fluctuating trading conditions, supply chain interruptions, and regulatory uncertainty, AI is playing an ever-greater role in every aspect of the sector, and this year’s survey reflects the importance of AI, and its impact across the range of top-table issues.
Despite inflation and regulatory headwinds, confidence among CEOs is rising, with 84 percent optimistic about mid-term industry growth—up from 72 percent in 2024. This outlook is driven by strong demand for both fossil fuels and renewables, alongside innovation in energy storage, smart grids, and carbon capture. While 78 percent remain positive about their own company’s growth, a slight dip from last year reflects concerns over shifting regulations, trade volatility, and inflationary pressures—particularly in the chemicals sector. M&A strategies are also evolving with just a few CEOs (36 percent) expecting to pursue ‘high-impact’ deals in 2025, down from 58 percent in 2024, while 55 percent anticipate ‘moderate’ deal activity, a rise from 38 percent last year, suggesting a shift toward more cautious growth strategies.
Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved into a core strategy in the energy sector, with 65 percent of CEOs now ranking generative AI as a top investment—up 12 points from 2024—and 72 percent planning to allocate 10–20 percent of their budgets to AI over the next year. ROI expectations are climbing, with 66 percent anticipating returns within 1–3 years, up significantly in comparison to just 15 percent last year. Momentum is also building around agentic AI, with 51 percent expecting it to transform operations and workforce efficiency. Yet despite growing confidence, challenges persist. Ethical concerns (55 percent), fragmented data systems (49 percent), and regulatory complexity (47 percent) continue to hinder adoption, while rising cyber threats—fraud (64 percent), identity theft and data privacy (59 percent), and cyber-attacks (51 percent)—are identified as key concerns among CEOs.
As AI reshapes the energy sector, companies are grappling with a deepening talent crunch—especially with a general shortage of engineers in oil and gas, mining and metals. CEOs are responding with urgency, ramping up their talent strategies that include reskilling and upskilling roles impacted by AI (40 percent) and tailoring training to bridge generational gaps (31 percent). Yet only 18 percent offer AI education across their entire organization. To overcome this barrier, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of leaders are focused on retaining and retraining high-potential talent. Still, the path forward is challenging. Overcoming the skills gap remains the biggest hurdle for 43 percent of CEOs, followed by competition from tech firms offering high salaries (22 percent).
As global emissions rise, sustainability has shifted from corporate responsibility to strategic imperative. Climate events and environmental disruption emerged as key challenges shaping strategy for 27 percent of CEOs – more than in any other sector in the survey. While 62 percent say they are confident in meeting 2030 net-zero goals, only 38 percent fully integrate ESG into capital decisions, and over half admit their ESG strategies fall short of stakeholder expectations.
AI is also gaining traction as a strategic lever for ESG progress, with its ability to monitor energy grids in real time and optimize power flow to prevent blackouts. More than four out of five (82 percent) CEOs believe AI can help reduce emissions and optimize energy use, while 74 percent see its potential to enhance climate risk analytics to better model future scenarios. Yet governance remains a weak spot—only 26 percent feel very confident in their ESG governance systems. Still, 79 percent support AI’s role in enhancing sustainability-related data and disclosures, signaling a clear path forward.
Marie-Helene De-messou,
Senior Associate, Corporate Communications, KPMG International
T: +1 202.569.6824
E: mdemessou@kpmg.com
The 11th edition of the KPMG CEO Outlook, conducted with 1,350 CEOs between 5 August 2025 and 10 September 2025, provides unique insight into the mindset, strategies and planning tactics of CEOs.
All respondents oversee companies with annual revenues over US$500M and a third of the companies surveyed have more than US$10B in annual revenue. The survey included CEOs from 11 key markets (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK and US) and 12 key industry sectors (asset management, automotive, banking, consumer and retail, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications).
NOTE: some figures may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.
For more information: KPMG 2025 Global CEO Outlook.
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