After a decade of volatile GDP growth and steadily increasing gas and power demand, Mexico continues to progress toward an unbundling of the monopolies Pemex and CFE once held over its gas and power sectors. According to a recent study by Wood Mackenzie, these reforms have created the potential for approximately US$415 billion in investment over the next two decades as the country builds pipelines, develops a renewables market to meet clean energy targets, and sets the stage for M&A.

Big companies responded with big cuts. BP, Eni and their peers cut exploration spending by 35% in 2015 compared with 2013, Wood Mackenzie’s data show. Many projects now focus on lower-risk, lower-reward prospects as companies hope for incremental gains near existing infrastructure that they can bring online quickly and cheaply.

He further quoted Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh as saying that Iran would need at least 200 billion dollars of investment in its upstream and downstream sectors under the development plan.

However, Russian oil and natural gas companies’ capital investment programs have been less affected, if at all.

Deputy Minister of Petroleum Ali Kardor said that National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has released its first tender announcement for verification of the qualifications of foreign bidders.

Brazil hopes the rules changes will attract foreign oil companies with resources that the scandal-plagued, debt-ridden Petroleo Brasileiro does not have.

Paolo Scaroni, the former chief executive of Italy’s Eni SpA, said Iran is able to pump as much as 4.1 million to 4.2 million barrels daily.

Demand for land rigs will rise 29 percent next year to 579, the S&P Global Platts unit said in a report released at the Benposium East conference in New York on Wednesday. Platts RigData forecasts average West Texas Intermediate crude prices to climb 23 percent to $52.18 a barrel in 2017. The Henry Hub natural gas benchmark is seen increasing 26 percent to $3.05 per million British thermal units.

"Saudi Aramco is forecast to spend around $334 billion. This will be spent on material and services to support service facilities, infrastructure projects, drilling and maintain (oil) potential projects, unconventional resources both in the exploration phase and development and several other projects,"

“We expect global spending in the oil and gas sector will reach its nadir in 2016 , returning to growth in 2017,” Christopher Haines, BMI’s head of oil and gas research, said in the report. “For now, we see stronger growth in capital expenditure in 2018 , as better forecast oil prices are building confidence behind spending outlooks.”