As costs increase and oil and gas projects move deeper underground, further offshore and more technically demanding, the supermajors have announced massive capex budgets just to maintain – or slightly improve – their production outlook.
Here’s the top 5 private sector capex spenders, with their spend over (2011). To emphasise the amount of money being committed, we’ve listed a country with a roughly equal GDP in US$ last year.
1. ExxonMobil: $37.2 billion ($34 billion), up 8.9% – Kenya, GDP $36.1 billion
2. Royal Dutch Shell $33 billion ($28 billion), up 17.8% – Bolivia, GDP $34.3 billion
3. Chevron $32.7 billion ($28 billion), 16.7% – Nepal, GDP $31.5 billion
4. Total $24 billion ($20.6 billion), 16.5% – Turkmenistan, GDP $24.1 billion
5. BP $22 billion ($19.1 billion), 15.2% – Botswana, GDP $22.7 billion
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