Based on financial statements from selected international oil and natural gas companies, spending on upstream investments was 12% lower in fourth-quarter 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Upstream spending on exploration and development typically accounts for the bulk of these companies’ investment expenditures. Aggregating the reports of 23 global oil- and natural gas-producing companies, upstream capital expenditure totaled $77 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014, which was $10 billion, or 12%, less than in fourth-quarter 2013. Three of the four quarters in 2014 had year-over-year declines in spending, bringing full-year 2014 upstream capital expenditure to $297 billion, 6% less than full-year 2013 spending for these companies. Much more so than midstream and downstream investments dealing with the refining, distribution, and sale of oil and natural gas, […]