Oil Majors Plan to Spend More as Costs Soar

The biggest western oil firms plan to invest much more in finding and producing oil in 2006 than in 2005 but investors and consumers will be disappointed the extra spending has not translated into higher production targets.

Last year, as oil prices hit new records above $70 per barrel, politicians demanded the big, integrated oil and gas companies invest more of their bumper profits in finding oil, to boost supplies and cool prices.
Reuters