Spending sluggish, but upturn expected

DEVELOPMENT spending has outpaced exploration spending in recent years, but, with oil companies' bank accounts swollen by high oil prices, an upturn in exploration expenditure is imminent. That is the conclusion of surveys by Wood Mackenzie, IHS Energy, and John S Herold and Harrison Lovegrove. However, strong reserves growth will continue to be difficult for many Western companies, they say. Development expenditure at the 10 largest quoted Western oil companies rose by 43%, from $34.6bn in 1998 to a record $49.5bn in 2003, according to the latest Radar report from Wood Mackenzie's corporate analysis division. Over the same period, it identifies a 27% slump in exploration expenditure from ov