Despite an uptick in global spending on oil and gas development, the upstream recovery is much slower and shallower than in previous cycles, with current investment levels insufficient to meet future demand growth, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Wednesday. Exploration austerity and the cherry-picking of projects will continue to drive the capital budgets of the upstream players globally, at least in the near term, while decision-making will still hinge on a lot of uncertainties, including the price of oil and the pace of the energy transition, Wood Mackenzie analysts note. According to new research by the energy consultancy, global oil and gas development expenditure will need to rise by around 20 percent in order to meet future demand growth and make sure that oil and gas firms will sustain their production in the next decade. There is recovery in the upstream market, with spending on development expected to […]