Bibliometric analysis of sustainable supply chain management in the oil and gas industry: A review and research agenda

•Reviewing a vast dataset comprising over 7394 papers using a scientific, replicable, and transparent structured process to minimize bias.•We employ advanced bibliometric and network analysis to provide a more precise representation of SSCM in the oil and gas sector.•Employing data clustering and literature mapping to create a novel subject categorization.•Uncovering leading and future insights on the oil and gas industry based sustainable perspective. The projected 1.20 % annual increase in global energy demand and the expected global population reaching 9 billion by 2030 present a compelling opportunity to develop significant models for incorporating sustainability into oil and gas Supply Chain Management, garnering substantial interest from both practitioners and researchers. The primary objective of this study is to visualize and conduct a comprehensive bibliometric evaluation of 7394 publications relevant to sustainable supply chain management in the oil and gas industry, extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database spanning the years 1978–2021. By undertaking this extensive bibliometric analysis, this work unveils insights that previous assessments on this subject have not fully captured or examined. The comprehensive mapping of the field provides a graphical representation of the publication history over time, enabling the identification of current research areas and potential topics for future investigation. The findings serve as a valuable guide for leading future research endeavors in the domain of sustainable supply chain management. The results reveal that the authors have focused on three primary topics, which we have identified as leading topics: "Greenhouse gas Emissions," "Life-Cycle Assessment," and "Sustainability." Additionally, we have pinpointed emerging fields in SSCM through our analysis, with four topics investigated in recent studies: "Green Fuel," "Carbon Management," "Industry 4," and "Circular Economy." We anticipate that this study will provide scholars and practitioners with a comprehensive perspective on sustainable supply chain management in the oil and gas industry. It presents questions for future consideration for researchers, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the field.