Global spending on oil and natural gas exploration is set to fall next year to the lowest level in 12 years as the industry cuts costs and shuns more expensive areas such as the Arctic, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Companies will allocate $37 billion to exploration and appraisal in 2017, the lowest level since 2005, the consultants said, with spending starting to recover the following year. More than half the volume of oil and gas discovered in 2017 will come from deep water exploration, it said. “Exploration in 2017 will continue its transformation to a smaller, more efficient industry,” Andrew Latham, vice president of exploration, said in a statement. “Deep water is absolutely critical for exploration, as it has been for many years, and that’s not changing.” Chevron Corp. said this week it would reduce spending on oil exploration and other projects by about 15 percent next year […]