The number of new projects announced this quarter (January – March 2011) across the global energy industry is up 29% over the previous quarter according to EIC Monitor, a quarterly report from the EIC, the leading trade association for UK companies that supply goods and services to the energy industries worldwide. EIC monitor reports newly announced projects across the global energy supply chain. The Q1 (January – March 2011) report reveals that all sectors have shown positive signs of growth with the oil & gas sectors continuing their recovery with further increases in projected investment potential. The renewables industry continues to perform well, with a significant increase in project numbers and investment value and the power sector is beginning to recover from last quarter’s major drop.

EIC Monitor tracks over 8,500 active and future projects in the global energy industry and provides an industry barometer, broken down into oil and gas (downstream, midstream, upstream), nuclear and conventional power and the renewables sectors. Data is analysed by the number and value of new, active and proposed projects recorded by the EIC each quarter.

Key highlights of Q1 2011 report (1 January – 31 March 2011):

• Overall this quarter, the total number of new projects has increased significantly since the previous quarter and is also much higher than for the same quarter in 2010. Potential investment value has also increased greatly compared to the previous quarter. In Q1 2011 there were 541 new projects across the global energy supply chain with an estimated total value of US$373 billion, compared to 421 in Q4 2010 totalling US$277 billion and 423 new projects in Q1 2010 worth US$532 billion.

• The upstream sector has seen a slight increase in the number of new projects, up from 74 in Q4 2010 to 79 in Q1 2011 with a healthy 26% increase in potential investment value over the same period.

• The midstream sector has seen a 22% increase in the number of projects, up from 54 to 66, together with a strong 63% increase in project value since Q4 2010.

• In the downstream sector, the number of new quarterly projects in Q1 2011 has increased by 19% since Q4 2010 although with only a 4.3% rise in the total potential investment value to US$55.2 billion, it is still very much down on the US$71.6 billion of Q1 2010.

• In the renewable sector the number of new projects has increased significantly from 135 in Q4 2010 to 225 in Q1 2011. The potential investment value of new projects has increased accordingly, up by 56% from US$97.5 billion to US$152 billion although this increase is attributed to one project.

• In the power sector, the number of new projects announced has remained static this quarter (96 compared to 95 in Q4 2010) although the potential total investment value of new projects is up by 22% from US$62.8 billion in Q4 2010 to US$76.6 billion in Q1 2011.

In nearly all cases newly proposed projects must first undergo various planning and consent approvals which may take several years. Also, early stage proposals do not necessarily have financing agreed and in place. Thus there will always be a proportion of projects that do not gain consent and/or finance.

Commenting on the EIC Monitor, Mike Major, CEO of the EIC said, “This is good news for the energy industry overall. Yet again we are seeing positive signs across the board with these figures building on the previous quarter’s figures to provide a solid foundation for a sustainable recovery. The oil & gas and renewables sectors are continuing their upward trend and the power sector is showing signs of recovery from the dramatic drop in new project announcements we saw last quarter.”

Tags: EIC Monitor