By Elizabeth Nkemodi with Agency report

NEW research by DNV GL shows oil and gas companies are seeking to rebalance business portfolios and reorganizing for a new era. In a period of drawn-out recovery, almost half (49 percent) of senior oil and gas professionals surveyed expect their businesses to diversify into, or invest more in, opportunities outside of oil and gas.

Still, almost eight out of ten see long term opportunities for gas.

The research report Short-term agility, long-term resilience reveals signs of deep, strategic changes for sustainable growth beyond cyclical patterns. 26 percent of industry leaders expect their business to invest or increase investments in renewable energy in 2017. As many as 59 percent see investments in renewables as a shift in long-term business strategy.

Oil and gas professionals expect investments to continue across the value chain in 2017, though at a lower level than last year as the percentage of respondents expecting to maintain or increase CAPEX has dropped from 43 to 39 percent. Notably, 77 percent believe gas will become an increasingly important component of the global energy mix over the next 10 ten years.

Merger and acquisition activity

A third of respondents (33 percent) say their organizations will be increasing merger and acquisition activity in the next 12 months (up 10 percent). More than three-quarters of respondents (78 percent) expect increased industry consolidation in 2017.

85 percent have cost management as a top or high priority for 2017, and 63 percent see their current cost-efficiency measures as marking a permanent shift towards a leaner way of working. Organizational restructuring (37 percent), reducing operating expenditure (35 percent) and improving efficiency from existing assets (29 percent) are the top three priorities for cost control in 2017.

Two-thirds (66 percent) say that the cost pressures are driving more industry collaboration, a positive effect of recent market challenges.

Standardization efforts are also increasing as it helps remove remaining complexities. 66 percent of respondents say their organization will seek greater standardization of tools and processes in 2017, up from 59 percent last year.