Following the industry downturn, oil majors appear to be acting cautiously when considering investments in new projects and are seeking out simple, repeatable design and other contracting strategies to reduce costs. Two years of uncertainty in crude-oil pricing has meant that projects in the design and execution phases have tapered off, notes Shaun Boardman, director of technology, petroleum and chemicals at Jacobs Engineering.
“Global oil and gas upstream investment fell by 25% in 2015 and by another 26% in 2016,” according to the International Energy Agency’s “Market Report Series: Oil 2017.” Further falling prices could push back future investments, IEA says. “When investment does recover, it will serve an industry that is far leaner and fitter than it ever was and that will be able to deliver more with less,” the report notes.