The midyear update to the Lehman Brothers Original E&P Spending Survey indicates that the nearly 350 companies plan approximately a 9 percent increase in global E&P expenditures for 2004, compared with a 4 percent gain forecast in our December 2003 survey. Increased investment outside North America is driving the expenditure gains, as international spending is now estimated to increase by 12 percent year over year, more than the 6 percent suggested by our year-end survey. U.S. E&P expenditures are also forecast to improve from the flat outlook indicated in December, and are now expected to increase by 4 percent. Spending in Canada is expected to decline a modest 1 percent, in line with earlier forecasts.
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