This Master thesis analyzes the current situation of an International Oil Company (IOC) in the current economic environment. It is essential for the security and economic survival of an IOC in future to anticipate the coming trends. The international oil market consists of several players, which can be divided into two groups of oil companies, the IOC and the National oil companies (NOC). This thesis also deals with the connections and interactions between these two players itself, and furthermore with the existing and raising importance of the service companies. The several IOC’s were divided into two groups. The relevant factor for the separation was the size of the company itself. Through these different sizes, different strategies were recognized and presented. Another limiting factor in the international oil and gas business is the raising nationalisation of the hydro carbon reserves and the already long existing but recently up com-ing greater awareness of the limiting character regarding hydrocarbon reserves. Also the upcoming peak oil discussion will be discussed as well the influencing factors con-cerning the accessibility of crude oil reserves in the world. Moreover the existing field locations are analyzed and the future hot spots for the E&P industry are discussed. The influences of giant oil fields and the impact of unconventional oil and gas to the world oil market is also a part of this thesis. The first steps were set in the review of certain databases and specific literature to get an over-view of the different methods which the IOC’s are using for establishing growth into their economic structure. The several influencing factors, which were recognized, were discussed with experts to gather a wide framework of different point of views regarding the oil business. The result of this paper is an outlook, based on literature recherché and expert interviews, which analyze the current situation of the oil and gas exploration and production industry and interpret the hints and signals of the trends which are anticipated.