By Kalu Emmanuel Chidubem
Executives in the U.S. oil and gas industry are said to be much more optimistic about growth in the sector, compared to last year.
In its annual study, DNV GL, claimed that 85 percent of American executives questioned believed there were reasons to expect an increase in drilling in 2019.
In the corresponding figure for 2018, the figure was 60 per cent.
U.S. oil and gas executives appeared to be more bullish than the global average of positive voices which DNV GL recorded at 76 per cent.
The group, which acts as a technical advisor to the oil and gas sector, added that almost half of U.S. companies were preparing for “significant increases” in spending on projects over the coming months.
“There are brighter prospects for activity and investment across the value chain this year and beyond,” DNV GL’s Americas Regional Manager Frank Ketelaars said in a press release.
Ketelaars added that expensive “Deepwater projects” could thrive thanks to reduced cost measures, while newer sources such as shale oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) were also set to grow.
Possible barriers to growth of U.S. oil and gas were the lack of skilled workers at the industry’s disposal as the survey revealed that more than a third (37 percent) of U.S. executives expect to increase their company headcount in 2019.
That number was just 20 per cent in the same survey last year.