Providence Resources - Re: PVR Stream Log - Oil discoveries at 60-year low....

Oil discoveries at 60-year low. New oil and gas discoveries dropped to their lowest level in six decades as companies cut exploration budgets. According to IHS, the oil industry only found 2.8 billion barrels of oil and petroleum liquids in 2015, the lowest total since 1954. The dismal result is largely due to low oil prices, which has forced draconian cuts in spending on exploration. Industry wide expenditures on exploration have fallen from $95 billion in 2014 to an expected $41 billion in 2016, with more cuts coming next year. But some of the largest companies also saw discoveries start to slow in the years leading up to the crash in oil prices. The low levels of new discoveries, which mostly come from offshore fields that would require large-scale development, will not be felt for many years. Wood Mackenzie estimates that the world could see a supply shortfall of 4.5 million barrels per day by 2035 if the industry does not pick up the pace of new discoveries.