Energy producers clobbered by the worst price slump in decades have cut billions of dollars in spending, raising the potential for oil-supply shocks in the future, according to the International Energy Agency. “Historic” investment cuts taking place now increase the possibility of oil-security surprises in the “not-too-distant” future, Neil Atkinson, head of the IEA’s Oil Industry and Markets Division, said in Singapore on Wednesday. About $300 billion is needed to sustain the current level of production, and nations including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Mexico are facing difficulty in keeping up investments, he said. “We need a lot of investments just to stand still. There’s danger as we are reaching a point where we are barely investing upstream,” Atkinson said at the launch event of SIEW 2016. “If investment doesn’t resume in 2017 and 2018, we can see a spike in oil prices as oil supply can’t meet demand.” […]