what is the upstream capital costs index ucci 
the upstream capital costs index ucci is a proprietary metric index that tracks the composite capital cost of materials facilities equipment and personnel for oil and natural gas producing projects cambridge energy research associates cera formerly owned by ihs markit merged with s p global in february 2022 which owns and manages the index 1understanding the upstream capital costs index ucci s p global s upstream capital costs index ucci offers a concise benchmarking tool for analysts traders and others interested in the oil and gas industry use of the index is helpful in tracking and forecasting the performance of the underlying oil and gas properties the ucci is only one of a family of indexes published by s p global a global data analytics technology and advisory firm the company s indexes include 3components of the uccithe 28 projects included in the ucci represent a diversified portfolio of liquified natural gas lng pipeline onshore and offshore projects in a range of geographic locations the index looks at the changes to operating and capital costs over specific time frames 2generally oil and gas production separates into the upstream midstream and downstream stages the upstream segment of operations involves exploration and production e p of oil and natural gas many large integrated oil companies combine upstream activities with midstream and downstream operations 4the composite cost of capital is a company s cost to finance its business and projects the determination of this amount is known as the weighted average cost of capital wacc the calculation involves multiplying the cost of each of the individual capital components by its proportional weight and then summing the results a high composite cost of capital indicates that a company has high borrowing costs 5history of the uccicambridge energy research associates cera established in 1983 in cambridge massachusetts focuses on energy research and consulting for the energy industry the company has the distinction of being a leading authority on energy markets and related trends and statistics cera serves as an advisory source for government departments and private companies 6 ihs energy a prominent source of information related to the oil and gas industry acquired cera in 2004 7 in 2009 the joint organization adopted the new blended name of ihs cera inc 8 ihs cera merged with s p global in february 2022 