Global energy investment amounted to $1.7tr in 2016, or 2.2 percent of global GDP. For the first time, spending on the electricity sector around the world exceeded the combined spending on oil, gas and coal supply. The share of clean-energy spending reached 43 percent of total supply investment, a record high.

China, the world's largest energy investor, saw a 25 percent decline in coal-fired power investment last year and is increasingly driven by clean electricity generation and networks, as well as energy efficiency investment.

The U.S. saw a sharp decline in oil and gas investment and accounted for 16 percent of global spending. India was the fastest-growing major energy investment market, with spending up seven percent thanks to a strong government push to modernize and expand the power sector.

After two years of unprecedented decline, global upstream oil and gas investment is expected to stabilize in 2017. However, an upswing in U.S. shale spending contrasts with stagnation in the rest of the world, signaling a two-speed oil market. At the same time, the oil and gas industry overall is transforming itself by delivering large cost savings and focusing more on technology development and efficient project execution.

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