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Africa’s new producers struggle for financing
IOCs and Western lenders are reluctant to commit to new oil and gas projects in African frontier countries
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While advanced economies debate peak fossil fuel demand, billions of people still lack access to reliable and affordable energy, especially in the Global South
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A renewed push for oil and gas production in the US combined with a continued focus on decarbonisation are just two of the trends to look out for in the coming year
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With a raft of scare stories around peak demand and climate change, 2025 should be the year smart investors leave the Big Oil bogeyman to the stuff of child’s play
Outlook 2024: Libya ready for investment
New strategic plan includes significant investment in oil and gas
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Many LNG projects already incorporate emissions mitigation methods, hastening adoption for future projects
Yuan makes oil and gas trade inroads
But the dollar still remains overwhelmingly the favoured currency
Oil price of $80–95/bl could be new normal in 2024
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Saudi Arabia has pressured smaller nations to accept production quota reductions
Finance
Philip K. Verleger
16 June 2023
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E&P investment becoming mission impossible

Oil price volatility and the high cost of hedging mean putting money into exploration and production is unaffordable for all but the largest players

The Opec+ members and central bankers from the EU, the US and the UK all announced key decisions in June 2023. Their actions vividly demonstrated why investors across the world will put money into building plants to produce everything from computer chips to batteries but will not back proposals to drill for oil. The central bankers, as usual, telegraphed their actions in advance in a concerted effort to warn investors and/or confirm market expectations. The policies adopted since the appointment of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as oil minister have made it more challenging for most companies to invest safely in oil exploration. These policies clearly result from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma

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A fall in Venezuelan output drives overall production lower, as Saudi Arabia starts to slowly bring more crude to the market

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