Oil producers have cancelled or delayed $170 billion worth of investment in recent months, the IEA said today, underlining the impact of the economic crisis.
Falling oil prices, tight credit markets and slumping demand have stunted investment, the International Energy Agency's chief economist Fatih Birol was quoted as saying.
'In recent months, petrol groups have cancelled or postponed about $170 billion in investment, he said, adding that the cancelled and postponed projects cut production by 6.2 million barrels a day,' he said.
Daily world oil production is about 83 million barrels a day, according to the IEA, which has also predicted demand will drop by 3% this year, the sharpest fall since 1981.
Birol said oil investment was hit hardest in North America and the North Sea, while the Middle East was relatively spared since production costs are lower there.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell towards $61 a barrel ahead of OPEC's meeting in Vienna, where the group was widely expected to agree not to cut oil output further. This evening, US crude fell by 39 cents to $61.27 a barrel, while London Brent crude shed 56 cents to $60.22.
