Exploration Comes-back with a Bang

After years of budget cuts, oil and gas companies are finally stepping up their exploration game. Several wildcat wells planned for 2019 have the potential to be “elephant” finds, according to Rystad Energy.

The energy research and business intelligence company said in a press release that improved market conditions and lower well costs have led E&P players to ramp up their 2019 exploration activities in all parts of the world, but driven in particular by rising investments in South America and Africa.

“Renewed optimism in exploration activities is anticipated in 2019, with operators from various segments aiming for multiple high-impact campaigns – both onshore and offshore – in essentially all corners of the world,” said Rystad Energy senior analyst Rohit Patel. “These include wells targeting large prospects, play openers, wells in frontier and emerging basins, and operator communicated high impact wells.”

To keep track of the world’s most intriguing exploration campaigns, Rystad Energy has launched a new product – the High Impact Wells Report – which pinpoints the top wildcats to watch in the coming year.

“In 2018 we saw that the decline in offshore exploration activity came to an end. The total number of offshore exploration wells last year was 475, compared to around 460 in 2017. For 2019 we expect that more than 550 offshore exploration wells will be drilled. Many of them could be the next elephant – a discovery holding a billion barrels or more,” Patel added.