Oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies “are increasingly diversifying their businesses by making unconventional resources part of their production strategy,” says the 4th annual BDO 2012 Energy Outlook (executive summary). Of the 100 CFOs polled in the survey, the majority expect the “discovery of significant new resource plays to be one of the major drivers of overall industry growth in 2012.” In particular:

CFOs believe that both global and domestic demand for natural gas will outweigh the demand for oil in the coming year. Investment plans for 2012 reflect the push to natural gas. Forty percent of CFOs plan to increase their capital investment in unconventional resources, such as shale plays, compared to the 10% who will increase investment in domestic and foreign offshore exploration operations. The greatest number of survey respondents (29%) also note that they will focus on unconventional resources as a way to increase value for stakeholders. Foreign investment in U.S. shale drilling operations will play a growing role in the demand for natural gas.