Oil Firm Spending Seen Up in 2017 for First Time Since 2014
- Capital spending seen growing 2.5% in 2017 and 7%-14% in 2018
- U.S. independents, Asian giants seen spurring spending growth
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The oil industry may be ready to open its wallet after two years of slashing investments.
Companies will spend 2.5 percent more on capital expenditure next year than they did this year, the first yearly growth in such spending since 2014, BMI Research said in a Sept. 22 report. Spending will increase by another 7 percent to 14 percent in 2018. It will remain well below the $724 billion spent in 2014, before the worst oil crash in a generation caused firms to cut back on drilling and exploration to conserve cash, the researcher said.