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Barring any last-minute major finds, oil and gas discoveries are on track this year to come in at their lowest in 75 years, according to data compiled by Rystad Energy.
Through the end of November, total global discovered volumes for the year were calculated at 4.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or boe, and, with no major finds announced so far in December, the industry is on course for its worst discoveries toll since 1946, the energy research company said in a Monday note. The figure would also represent a considerable drop from the 12.5 billion boe discovered in 2020.
Rystad Energy
“Although some of the highly ranked prospects are scheduled to be drilled before the end of the year, even a substantial discovery may not be able to contribute towards 2021 discovered volumes as these wells may not be completed in this calendar year,” said Palzor Shenga, vice president of upstream research at Rystad Energy. “Therefore, the cumulative discovered volume for 2021 is on course to be its lowest in decades.”
Related: Why U.S. oil production hasn’t rebounded along with crude prices
Oil futures have set back sharply this month as worries have grown about the effect of the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. But crude is still up sharply for the year, with the U.S. benchmark
CL00,
up more than 42% and Brent crude
BRN00,
the global benchmark, up nearly 40%, a rally that’s been attributed in part to low investment in exploration world-wide.
