Global energy investment down by 8pct - IEA
By Trend
Global energy investment in 2015 amounted to $1.8 trillion, down
eight percent from 2014 mainly due to a sharp fall in upstream oil
and gas investment, according to the International Enrgy Agency’s
(IEA) World Energy Investment 2016 report, published on its
official website on September 14.
Fossil fuels continue to dominate energy supply, but the
composition of investment flows points towards a reorientation of
the energy system, the IEA report said.
The agency also noted that with energy supply spending of $315
billion, China was once again the world’s largest energy investor
last year thanks to robust efforts in building up low-carbon
generation and electricity networks, as well as implementing energy
efficiency policies.
Last year, upstream oil investment remained robust in Russia and
the Middle East, helping to push up the share of national oil
companies in oil and gas upstream investment to an all-time high of
44 percent, according to the IEA’s report.
The impact of low oil prices on cash flow tested the debt-financed
investment model of the US shale oil industry, leading to a
particularly sharp fall in investment of 52 percent in that sector
in the past two years, the IEA said.
The report said that investment in the US energy supply declined to
about $280 billion in 2015, falling nearly $75 billion, due to low
oil prices and cost deflation, representing half of the total
decline in global energy spending.
Renewable energy investments of $313 billion accounted for nearly a
fifth of total energy spending last year, establishing renewables
as the largest source of power investment, according to the
report.
“While spending on renewable power capacity was flat between 2011
and 2015, electricity generation from the new capacity rose by one
third, reflecting the steep cost declines in wind turbines and
solar PV. The investment in renewable power capacity in 2015
generates more than enough to cover global electricity demand
growth,” the report said.
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