US oil and gas companies are ready to spend as confidence grows: survey

The group, which acts as technical adviser to the oil and gas sector, added that nearly half of US companies are preparing for a "significant increase" in project spending in the coming months.

"Prospects for activity and investment in the value chain are better this year and beyond," said Frank Ketelaars, regional director of DNV GL for the Americas, in a press release.

Ketelaars added that expensive "deepwater projects" could flourish through cost-cutting measures, while new sources such as shale oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are also expected to develop.

Barriers to oil and gas growth in the United States were the lack of skilled workers available to the industry, with the survey revealing that more than one-third (37%) of executives Americans planned to increase their workforce in 2019.

This number was only 20% in the same survey last year.

Global confidence in the oil and gas outlook for 2019 is 76%, more than double the 32% recorded in 2017.

The US WTI (West Texas Intermediate) traded at around $ 76 a barrel last October, but had fallen around $ 42 in December. At the same time, Brent crude fell by nearly 30%, after peaking at $ 86.29 in early October.

The DNV GL report indicates that recent volatility has not eroded confidence in the world, suggesting that the sector was becoming more comfortable with the price fluctuation or decline in the world. # 39; energy.

About seven in ten executives from different regions said they would increase or maintain their capital spending, while staffing oil and gas stations around the world was also a growing concern, with 37% of respondents planning to increase their numbers.

DNV GL's report is based on a global survey of 791 professionals in the sector. The research, conducted in late October-early November 2018, was conducted by teams of DNV GL, Longitude and Kantar TNS.