Industry focusing on quicker returns

Seventy-four high-impact exploration wells were completed last year. Only 15 frontier exploration wells were completed, the lowest since 2008, and only one delivered even a modest commercial discovery.  The main emerging exploration play was the Upper Cretaceous offshore Suriname-Guyana, bringing four discoveries with reserves of ~1 Bboe. In more mature plays drilling led to 13 potentially commercial finds, but only seven appear to be >100 MMboe. Most active high-impact explorers were ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Petronas, and Shell. The dip in frontier exploration drilling suggests the industry is less concerned with long-term renewal of resources and is instead focusing on quicker returns. – Jamie Collard, senior analyst, Global Exploration and Appraisal, Westwood