At first, the comment that 2013 augurs “more of the same” for oil and gas investment appears deprecating, a bit like the phrase “same old, same old.” But this time around, even if the bill of fare looks familiar to energy investment bankers, the upside is the magnitude or scale of the opportunity-a welcome surprise, were it to materialize, against a backdrop of ongoing Euroean travails, postelection politics, the uncertainty of tax reform in the U.S., the so-called fiscal cliff, and more.

In the oil and gas epicenter of Houston, ...