Oil Companies Set to Slash Overseas Growth Plans, Evercore Says

Oil giants are poised to reduce their international spending next year in response to lower crude prices.

According to a survey by Evercore ISI, some of the biggest oil and gas companies are expected to expand their international budgets by less in the next five years. Spending growth is expected to be cut in half. Budgets went up this year as the industry rebounded from a downturn.

James West, an analyst at Evercore, wrote in a note to investors that budgets for next year are based on oil prices in the US The mid-year spending survey released in July had a forecast of $82 a barrel.

With declining well productivity and increasingly challenging geology, production growth from the US is likely to have peaked. From the peak to the trough, the biggest companies cut their international spend by a significant amount.