Discovery isn’t dead. It’s just moved into trickier geological territory, but that’s not stopping the impressive advance. Despite growing anti-oil sentiment, oil and gas companies unearthed 12.2 billion new barrels of oil and oil equivalent last year, according to Rystad Energy—a figure that represents a four-year high—and offshore is where most of these new discoveries lie. The figures suggest that the anti-oil movement has yet to have a tangible effect on exploration, and analysts are forecasting another bang-up year for finding even more oil and gas in 2020 and beyond. Was 2019 A Flop for Exploration? Rystad pointed to a disappointing year for high-impact wells, with over 10 billion barrels of estimated pre-drill volumes failing to encounter hydrocarbons. But such is the nature of high-impact, risky drilling. You win some, you lose some. And many companies, such as ExxonMobil, won–big time. According to Westwood Energy, which had a rosier […]