The Middle East is pushing ahead with most of its top oil and gas projects planned as higher cost regions including the US, Canada and the Arctic suffer the brunt of cancellations due to the latest crash in oil prices. Analysts told S&P Global Platts that the Middle East, blessed with vast reserves of oil that are relatively easy to drill, benefits from far lower break even costs for developments than other regions, such as North America, where shale and oil sands projects are comparatively capital intensive. That makes the Middle East ‘a safe haven for investment,’ Audun Martinsen, head of Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy’s oil field service research, said. According to Martinsen’s estimates, projects in the Middle East can break even at Brent prices of $20-$30/b, while North American projects require an average of $50/b. Russia is around $40/b and Africa and Asia are […]