Investment approvals in 2017 more than doubled 2015-2016 count There are still 104 big projects awating approval, Rystad says The global oil industry’s backlog of big drilling projects is starting to shrink as prices improve. From production vessels tapping Brazil’s deep-water reserves to pipes connecting rigs to underwater wells in China, the number of ventures delayed since the oil crash that finally got approval to get off the ground totaled 18 last year, according to a report by consultant Rystad Energy. That compares with only five in 2016 and two in 2015. That’s a start, but there are still 104 delayed oil and gas projects waiting for investment approval, according to Rystad. Back to Work Delayed projects peaked around the first quarter of 2017 Project Count 020406080100120Jul2015Jan2016Jun2016Jan2017Jun2017Jan2018Date Rystad Energy “The industry has put in a lot of spadework to advance these delayed projects,” Readul Islam, a research analyst at […]