Industry E&P Spending To Reach Record $ 678bn In 2013

[Shola Sholaz]

Oil and gas companies will spend a record $678 billion on exploration and production, E&P, this year, 10 percent more than last year, Barclays said in a report this week, but did not say how much of this spend will come to Africa.
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The Global 2013 E&P Spending Update from the bank offered a bullish outlook on the energy industry, with oil demand continuing to outstrip supply and oil companies spending more to find deposits in more remote places, Reuters reported.
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"We do believe the industry in the early stages of a strong, sustained up cycle," Barclay's analyst, James West, said on a conference call, according to the news wire.
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Higher spending in the Middle East, as well as solid E&P budgets in India, Australia and the rest of Asia, would more than offset slowing growth in Latin America, Barclays said.