By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Top oil executives and

ministers descend on Houston this week for one of the world's

biggest energy conferences emboldened by blockbuster mergers,

stable oil prices and less pressure for a large-scale move to

clean fuels.

Global oil prices have remained in a range between

$75 and $85 per barrel, a level fueling profits but not hurting

economic growth, despite war in Eastern Europe and turmoil in

the Middle East. Stock markets continue to spur deals, making

Big Oil even bigger.

The annual CERAWeek conference comes as demand for oil and

gas continues to rise alongside solar, wind and biofuels. Energy

markets have accommodated a reordering of global flows as

customers turn more to regional energy suppliers or live with

longer seaborne supply chains.

"A remarkable thing is the (price) stability, given the

geopolitical turmoil," said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of

conference organizer S&P Global and a Pulitzer Prize-winning

author on global energy.

Unlike past conferences where conversations were dominated

by market-share battles between U.S. shale oil producers and the

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, talk of price

wars have been supplanted by energy security issues, Yergin

said.

"When demand was down and prices were down, it was very easy

to see a way towards energy transition, but with Russia/Ukraine

(war) and price shocks, energy security is back on the table,"

Yergin added.

More than 7,200 people are expected to hear the latest

outlook on energy markets from the heads of top producers' BP

, Chevron ( CVX ), Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), Saudi Aramco

, Sinopec and Petronas.

Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments and U.S.

climate policies will be a major topic in separate sessions by

big exporters Cheniere Energy and Venture Global LNG,

while U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House

adviser John Podesta press the administration's climate goals.

While oil prices are strong, natural gas has been

overwhelmed by a production glut. But "this year will be a

transition year to a much more bullish gas and power market next

year," said Vikas Dwivedi, an energy strategist at financial

firm Macquarie Group.

Notably absent this year, which occurs during the Islamic

holy month of Ramadan, are top oil ministers from Saudi Arabia,

Kuwait and Iraq. No officials from Russia are expected after

they did not attend last year.

OPEC's absence comes with global prices hovering around $85

a barrel, a level that Dwivedi said helps cover its members'

budgets, but does not accelerate transition to electric vehicles

and renewable fuels.

OPEC forecasts relatively strong oil demand and economic

growth, a view that encourages more oil and gas activity and

mergers. Last year's more than $250 billion in U.S. energy deals

stirred fears of concentration and a slowing of regulatory

approvals.

Climate concerns are reflected in the conference sessions on

carbon sequestration technology and hydrogen fuels, which have

become two of the oil industry's favorite means of addressing

global warming. The role of artificial intelligence in energy

production and carbon emissions are prominent sessions this

year.

Energy consumers' willingness to pay up for clean fuels or

for new technologies to address emissions "is a growing issue,

as is the ability to generate adequate return on investment" by

energy companies, said Joe Scalise, consultancy Bain & Co's head

of energy and natural resources.

A constant topic at the CERAWeek conference in the last

decade has been the ups and downs of U.S. shale, which

revolutionized energy markets and turned the United States into

the world's No. 1 crude producer and a top exporter.

This year, acquisitions by Chevron ( CVX ), ConocoPhillips ( COP )

and Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) will turn the trio into the largest producers in

the top U.S. shale field. That shift promises to tame what was a

wild card in global oil production. Big Oil's investments and

production methods may steady shale's ultra boom-bust cycles.