Asia Pacific upstream: 5 things to look for in 2024

2017 was the year we saw the downward cycle in Asia Pacific upstream bottoming out. Licence awards and resources discovered plateaued, exploration drilling fell, M&A was patchy and FIDs were few and far between. 2018 will pique interest as investors pick themselves up, dust themselves off and await decisions on a few key events that will set up the region for rebuilding and growth. Our outlook for Asia-Pacific for 2018 includes five key themes to watch: • Contract extensions on offer in Indonesia and Thailand • Confidence will grow in China with CNOOC's FID of Lingshui • Australia is on track to become the worlds largest LNG exporter • Explorers will make a tentative return, but with lower ambitions • Investment in Myanmar will stall as enthusiasm wanes

We highlight five key themes facing Canada's upstream sector and our expectations on each. Increased optimism is contributing to higher spending budgets for many producers. Our break down of announced 2017 guidance to-date points to who is spending most and where we expect a pull back. Infrastructure, LNG and carbon policy will all remain hot topics in the year.