Capital expenditure (capex) in Australia's oil and gas sector dropped to a 12-year low in 2020-21 fiscal year to 30 June following the fall in global oil and gas prices because of the impact of the the Covid-19 pandemic. But spending by upstream firms started to recover during April-June in line with firmer oil and gas prices.
Oil and gas spending in 2020-21 represented the lowest spend by the upstream sector for a fiscal year since the A$7.35bn in 2008-09, according to Australia's Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
Rebounding upstream spending during April-June quarter was the highest quarterly spend since A$2.36bn in January-March 2020, when global oil prices started to slide in response to the pandemic. Argus' dated Brent crude price was assessed at $70.88/bl on 25 August, well above the long-term low of $19.17/bl in late April 2020 and from above $85/bl in October 2018.
Capex by metals producers in 2020-21 marked the highest spend for a fiscal year since the record A$27.14bn in 2012-13. The ABS data do not break down the segments of the mineral sector, but iron ore represents a significant share of the capex given it is Australia's largest export commodity by volume and value.
Source: Argus