Major global oil companies are setting aside the turmoil, destruction and production cuts caused by Middle East wars to pursue more opportunities to develop the region's vast oil and gas reserves 鈥?a goal they have chased for decades.

Executives from Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips and Chevron all expressed this week their willingness to invest in this globally prolific oil and gas region, saying its abundant reserves and low extraction costs are enough to offset rising risks.

Over the weekend, several of these executives will travel to Riyadh at the invitation of Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman to attend the World Petroleum Congress and continue to signal their investment confidence, even though the security situation remains precarious as Iran-backed Houthi forces keep up military operations against Saudi Arabia.

Beyond strengthening ties with Gulf states, some executives are also actively cultivating connections, hoping to seize new opportunities created by the war. Arab governments are reassessing their foreign relationships while weighing massive post-war reconstruction and new infrastructure investment.

The oil major with the largest Gulf footprint 鈥?TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne 鈥?said he wants to invest in Middle Eastern countries "more than ever," even if the company needs to build more crude export pipelines. "As an investor, I firmly believe the Middle East still has the world's lowest-cost oil," he said. "We need that kind of crude, but we must open up the Strait of Hormuz by developing alternative transport routes. We will advance projects in Abu Dhabi, Iraq and Syria 鈥?that is part of our business."

At an energy intelligence forum in London, other executives echoed similar views. Shell CEO Wael Sawan, who holds dual Lebanese and Canadian citizenship, said: "I have a Middle Eastern background myself, so my view may be biased, but I firmly believe that high-quality oil and gas assets managed by Middle Eastern governments can ensure these resources ultimately reach the market."

BP CEO Meg O'Neill said the company, formerly known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, has its "roots in the Middle East." "We are proud of the long-term partnerships we have built with many countries. We deeply sympathize with those affected by the conflict, and everyone hopes the situation will calm down as soon as possible. So we have no intention of retreating," she added.

The biggest opportunity lies in gaining more access to the oil and gas sectors of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Both countries sit on some of the world's largest and lowest-cost oil and gas reserves. Traditionally, they have kept core oilfields firmly under the control of their national oil companies, limiting foreign participation or offering international oil companies relatively thin returns.

This forum marked the first public speech by Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser since the U.S.-Iran war broke out in February this year, and also offered him a chance to meet with executives of major oil companies. Musabbeh Al Kaabi, head of upstream operations at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, also traveled to London for the event. Ashraf Al Ghazawi, head of strategy at Saudi Aramco, said: "The fact is, the Middle East holds 50% of the world's oil reserves. We have the largest spare production capacity, reserves that can last fifty years of extraction, and the lowest production costs globally."

He continued: "We must look beyond the current crisis. The energy industry is a long-term business, and these objective facts cannot be avoided through energy diversification."

However, one executive on site pointed out that although Gulf oil producers talk extensively about enhancing energy resilience, Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company have been acquiring overseas assets in recent years. "Look at their actual actions 鈥?they themselves are continuously reducing dependence on their home region and advancing diversification," the executive said.

ConocoPhillips Executive Chairman Ryan Lance recently partnered with BP to develop the Kirkuk oilfield in Iraq. He noted that Middle Eastern governments have begun to realize they need to offer more attractive cooperation terms. "We need a contract that matches geopolitical risk 鈥?the kind of risk we see in this region," he said. "But right now both international oil companies and resource-holding governments are gradually reaching consensus. Iraq and Syria have already made adjustments, and other countries are starting to consider it too."

Referring to the U.S. company's previous investment attempts in Iraq, Lance said: "We have been looking for opportunities for the past 25 years, but have never been able to land one."

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth also agreed that "the economics of projects today are better." The U.S. oil giant is just months away from finalizing a cooperation agreement for Iraq's West Qurna oilfield, which was previously operated by Russia's Lukoil. "Iraq is attractive," he said. "The risks are still real, but risk comes with reward."