Demand doubts dampen investor sentiment

Concerns over the long-term future of oil exercise US investors’ thinking

The European financial community has harboured growing concern over the longer-term prospects for oil demand for a few years. But the collapse in US oil and gas (O&G) share prices is testament to a shift there too, with investors no longer bullish on robust long-term demand—particularly given the increasing prominence of the transition to lower carbon energy. This change in sentiment implies relatively less US oil development activity and threatens to shrink the industry permanently. Investor confidence in the US O&G industry, both in E&P and the offshore services and equipment (OFSE) sector, has eroded gradually since the start of the last downturn in late 2014. But this had ste