All content © Copyright 2011 Emap Limited, all rights reserved. OPEC to embark on US$300bn infra spending drive Gaurav Sharma 15/12/2011 Vienna, Austria (IJ Online) – The 12 member nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are to embark on an oil and gas upstream infrastructure investment drive to the tune of US$300 billion between 2011 and 2015, the oil producers’ group clarified to IJ News on the sidelines of a ministerial summit. The stated medium term investment figure, which has been the subject of some ambiguity in the range of US$290 billion to US$315 billion, is based on a crude oil price assumption reference case of US$85 to US$95 per barrel for the current decade, an OPEC secretariat spokesperson told IJ News. OPEC Secretariat Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, © Gaurav Sharma 2011 Based on the latest upstream project list provided by member countries, the OPEC database records 132 projects for the five year period between 2011 and 2015 which translates into US$300 billion by deal valuation assuming all projects reach financial close. Many of these – especially Algerian, Kuwaiti and Qatari initiatives – are widely expected to involve debt finance.
