From what I read cobalt has a diverse range of important uses...

From what I read cobalt has a diverse range of important uses from gas turbines and hard metals to rechargeable batteries and industrial catalysts, so maybe that's where the gas industry connection comes from. As to the oil industry connection, cobalt's unique catalytic properties are used for applications including desulphurisation of hydrocarbons, which is crucial to clean fuel technology, and also the removal of nitrous oxide to ensure that emissions of greenhouse gases are minimised. Hope that that helps.