June 18 (Reuters) - Oil and gas companies will increaseexploration and production (E&P) spending by 6 percent to $712billion this year, despite a slight pullback in spending byindustry majors, Barclays said.
Spending by major oil companies is expected to remain flatthis year, Barclays said in a report on Wednesday. The bank hadearlier said it expected their spending to rise by nearly 3percent.
The big oil companies, Exxon Mobil Corp, ChevronCorp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and BP Plc, are keeping a tight lid on spending as theyseek to increase shareholder returns.
Barclays said it expected smaller, independent oil and gascompanies to drive spending growth in North America, wherecapital budgets were expected to rise 8.4 percent this year,higher than the 7.3 percent it forecast earlier. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by KirtiPandey)
