The World Powers Up While America Powers Down

Conn Carroll / December 29, 2010

The Wall Street Journal reports: “The global oil industry, far from chastened by the catastrophic spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is planning record spending next year, including a large amount for deep-water development. … Barclays estimates spending on new wells, producing platforms and other energy infrastructure will total $490 billion next year, up 11% from 2010. The figure is based on a survey of 402 companies. In part, the planned spending increases reflect the higher costs for finding and extracting oil in harder-to-access areas.”

And where are these investment dollars going? More WSJ:

Chevron, which announced a 29% increase in spending earlier this month, cited a desire to develop several large, offshore projects in Western Australia, the South China Sea … Rio de Janeiro-based Petroleo Brasiliero SA is expected to budget $28.2 billion for capital costs, the most of any company, according to Barclays. The lion’s share is slated for development of its recently discovered deep-water oil fields off Brazil’s Atlantic coast. (more…)