«Problems of economics and management of oil and gas complex»

The state and prospects of deep-water oil and gas exploration and production development worldwide

UDC: 338.27
DOI: -

Authors:

¹ National University of Oil and Gas "Gubkin University", Moscow, Russia

Keywords: deepwater exploration and production, demand, supply, investment, costs, technologies, countries, companies, decarbonization, contracts

Annotation:

The global energy landscape is undergoing major changes driven by demand dynamics, shifts towards decarbonization and technological progress. The natural resources extractive industry faces the difficult task of securing oil supplies in future. The level of demand for liquid hydrocarbons (LHC) is determined by the pace of the energy transition, which is dictated by climate policy. The offshore sector and deepwater oil and gas fields are key components of the global energy supply. Offshore drilling and production face a dual challenge: meeting constant energy demand and reducing their environmental impact. Offshore production is looked upon as a key factor of bridging this gap during the transition period. In the coming years, the growth rate of production from deepwater fields will outpace that of shale oil, increasing by an average of 400000 barrels per day during the period of 2025–2030. The largest growth of offshore oil production is observed in Brazil and other basins in North and South America and Africa. East Africa has great potential for gas exploration and production and will be a new source of LNG. Supplies from offshore fields (shelf and deepwater) offer competitive break-even prices compared to oil sands and many onshore projects. During the period of 2019–2023, exploration and appraisal costs halved as compared with the previous five years, but the industry produced the same volumes (around 100 billion boe – barrels of oil equivalent) from new discoveries. The average return on the full investment cycle increased from 11 to 17 %. New technologies and efficiency increase can reduce the high cost of deepwater drilling and significantly reduce emissions during production. The offshore sector is increasingly becoming a hub for clean technologies: offshore CCUS, offshore wind energy, floating solar photovoltaic systems (FPS), grid infrastructure, standardization and clean fuels.

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