BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 8. In 2023, upstream oil and gas investment is expected to increase by 13% y-o-y, to around $567 billion, Trend reports with reference to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
In this regard, the GECF report reveals that upstream investment is likely to exceed the pre-pandemic levels.
“A large proportion of capital is expected to be allotted to production from existing fields, rather than exploration of new fields. On a regional level, North America accounted for the lion’s share of upstream investment in 2022, which exceeded $185 billion, up by 42% y-o-y. This was followed by Asia Pacific and Middle East in which upstream oil and gas investment reached $98 billion and $71 billion respectively,” reads the report.
GECF experts note that while Africa accounted for the lowest regional upstream investment, the region experienced the second largest growth, increasing 32 percent y-o-y to reach $38 billion.
Europe was the only region that exhibited a decline in upstream oil and gas investment in 2022, decreasing by 14 percent compared to the previous year to reach $65 billion.
“This was largely due to Europe’s invigorated push for energy transition and the consequential aggressive climate change policies and regulations. In 2023, all regions are likely to experience double-digit growth in upstream capital spending. North America will continue to account for the largest share of investment with an estimated $205 billion driven by the US, followed by Asia Pacific with $111 billion. The Middle East and Africa regions are expected to register the largest annual growth rates with 20% and 18%, respectively. In Europe, upstream oil and gas investment is expected to rebound by 13% to approximately $73 billion, with energy security coming back to the forefront.”
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