Cairo - Decypha: Moody's Investors Service (Moody's), a bond credit rating system, revised its outlook to positive on the global oil and gas sector.

The revision from stable to positive followed higher profits from the oil industry’s upstream operations.

Additionally, further improvements in operating margins are expected in the sector after cutting costs by 20%-30% in 2015-2016.

"We expect earnings growth for the global integrated oil and gas industry of between 13%-18% this year, assuming oil prices remain around the midpoint of our forecast oil price range of $40-$60 per barrel," saysElena Nadtotchi, Vice President - Senior Credit Officer at Moody's.

Capital expenditure is expected to be around $130 -$135 billion in 2017-2018, a 35% reduction from $200 billion in 2013, according to Moody’s report.

Merger and Acquisition activities are projected to improve as conditions in the sector ease, additionally Moody’s predicts that the recovery of the credit profile of oil companies in 2017.

By Decypha New Editorial Team