CAPEX, AGAIN [T]he 2013 WEO has the oil industry’s upstream capex [see this and this ] rising by nearly 180 per cent since 2000, but the global oil supply (adjusted for energy content) by only 14 per cent. The most straightforward interpretation of this data is that the economics of oil have become completely dislocated from historic norms since 2000 (and especially since 2005), with the industry investing at exponentially higher rates for increasingly small incremental yields of energy. [1] I pretend no expertise whatsoever in any and all economic matters … never have. But I understand just enough to realize that those numbers (from that excellent article by energy analyst Mark Lewis) suggest that the oil industry isn’t getting anywhere near its expected “bang for the buck.” And since those increased investments are made possible courtesy of the […]