Exploration investments in the oil and gas industry have fallen to $130bn during 2015 – a decrease of 20%.
The global energy price slump is threatening the economic feasibility of new projects in the sector, H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry, said.
Speaking at the Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable, DR Al Sada, insisted uncertainty over demand does not encourage investors to develop their resources – despite the growing demand for them in the future.
All countries have been affected, directly or indirectly, by the decline in oil prices from $110 to less than $50-a-barrel over the past one-and-a-half years, he added, as reported in the Peninsula.
National and international oil companies felt the effects of the oil slump – with the economies of oil-producing companies recording deficits in their budgets and consuming countries benefiting from lower prices.
The surge in shale oil supplies and weak global demand growth has resulted in the overall decline in investment in the exploration and development of oil and gas industry projects.
