IEF says oil, gas investments must increase to $523 billion a year

Oil drilling rigs

Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF) called on companies to increase investment in oil and natural gas production to $523 billion a year by the end of this decade to prevent a surge in energy prices and economic unrest.

Spending on oil and gas projects fell 30% to $309 billion in 2020 and only recovered slightly this year, Bloomberg reported, citing the IEF report. It needs to reach $4.7 trillion over this decade as a whole to meet demand, according to the organization’s forecasts.

The next two years are critical for sanctioning and allocating capital toward new projects to ensure adequate oil and gas supply comes online within the next five or six years.

Insufficient upstream investment would result in more price volatility and spur adverse economic consequences, the forum, the report added.