Maintaining current oil and gas production levels until 2050 will require the global industry to invest approximately $540 billion annually in finding new fields, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts, Interfax reports.
This year, this figure will be approximately $570 billion, down slightly from the previous year, Bloomberg quotes Christoph McGlade, head of the IEA's energy supply division.
The forecast is based on an analysis of more than 15,000 fields and the rate of production decline at them. Without the necessary investment, global production will decline annually by an amount equivalent to the combined output of Norway and Brazil—more than 5 million barrels per day.
Global markets are forecast to be in oversupply this year and next, with British energy giant BP Plc expecting non-OPEC global oil production to remain flat from the start of 2026 and for 12 to 18 months.
