BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 28. The financial influx into conventional oil and gas exploration is on the rise globally, poised to reach a staggering $50 billion in 2023, marking the highest point since 2019, Trend reports via Rystad Energy, independent energy research and business intelligence company from Norway.
However, operators are grappling with the delay in yielding the anticipated outcomes they had set their sights on. Despite a surge in financial backing, a recent study by Rystad Energy reveals that discovered reserves are plummeting to unprecedented depths.
Analyzing the figures, the agency's assessments for the first half of 2023 disclose a discovery of 2.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). This marks a striking 42-percent drop compared to the first half of 2022, which reported a total of 4.5 billion boe. The count of discoveries stands at 55, a stark contrast to the 80 unearthed in the initial six months of the previous year. This translates to an average of 47 million boe per discovery in 2023, falling short of the 56 million boe per discovery achieved in the same timeframe in 2022.
In the quest for untapped resources, exploration entities are directing their attention toward the offshore domain. Their focus centers on leveraging underexplored or uncharted territories, adopting high-risk, high-cost offshore ventures to access new reserves. Notably, the offshore sector commands nearly 95 percent of exploration expenditures this year, yet contributes only about two-thirds of the overall discovered volumes.
Offshore discoveries exhibit a balanced distribution across ultra-deepwater, deepwater, and shelf locations. Nevertheless, the Rystad Energy's projections indicate a surge in activity for the latter half of 2023, particularly within the ultra-deepwater segment. Anticipated growth of 27 percent compared to 2022 is foreseen in terms of spud wells, reflecting an industry-wide effort to rejuvenate the exploration landscape.