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. 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. Here are some of the wells Rystad Energy’s analysts are following most closely: