In 2022, Brazilian oil and gas company Petrobras had 68 places staked out for oil exploration off the South American coast, searching for new reserves while spending $6.9 billion in oil development projects. About the same time, Algeria-based Sonatrach proclaimed its ambition to ramp up production to become a top five national oil company by 2030. And Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. opened 68 new gas stations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,…