Turkey is out of favour with funds, oil and gas discoveries at 60-year low
Oil and gas discoveries are at a 60-year low, with the Zohr gasfield discovered off Egypt’s shore in 2015 being the most recent giant discovery, the Financial Times reports. As large fields have become more difficult to find, many companies are putting exploration on ice, pushing the number of oil and gas discoveries in 2016 to 174, down from a previous average of 400-500 per year. The downward trend “reflects both the cyclical cuts made by companies struggling to stay afloat after the drop in oil and gas prices since 2014, and the structural shift in the industry towards onshore shale and similar reserves, especially in North America.” However, this year could see exploration activity recovering slightly, as several wells planned around the world have high potentials for discovery.
Fund managers don’t like you, Erdogan: Brazil and Russia are in and Turkey is out in a survey of 16 fairly high-profile emerging market investors carried out by Bloomberg. Turkey’s economic outlook and vulnerability to both US Fed rate hikes and political instability (among other factors) all come in at or near the bottom of 10 markets included in the poll.