Oil companies delayed making decisions on 68 major projects world-wide last year, accounting for some 27 billion barrels of oil and equivalent natural-gas volumes and bringing total 2015 deferred spending to $380 billion industry-wide, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a report Thursday. The delays happened during an oil-market swoon that has continued for 18 months , with prices for Brent crude, the international benchmark, falling more than 70% to just more than $30 a barrel since July 2014. The put-off projects indicate a development slowdown that could lead to supply constraints — and rising oil prices — years down the road. In the second half of 2015, when oil prices began a descent to below $40 a barrel, oil companies delayed decisions on 22 major projects world-wide , with some 7 billion barrels of oil and equivalent natural-gas volumes, Wood Mackenzie said. The short-term outlook is discouraging for […]