Africa’s oil, gas industry feels the heat from lower oil prices

Against a backdrop of falling oil prices, companies in the oil and gas industry are increasingly considering reducing their exploration activity and finding ways to cut costs, including through large-scale retrenchments. Advisory firm PwC Africa Oil and Gas leader Chris Bredenhann on Wednesday told attendees at a Barloworld Power Oil and Gas seminar, in Cape Town, that oil companies facing rising costs, low operational and capital efficiency, undiversified portfolios and high debt levels were most sensitive to low oil prices.