Energy trip down memory lane: Offshore oil & gas discoveries to remember 2024 by

While current indications firmly point out that oil and gas are here to stay for years to come, the same goes for decarbonization, which is expected to pick up more speed globally, including in the oil and gas arena, as Big Oil signs off on new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction endeavors alongside new hydrocarbon pursuits. Offshore Energy has made a collection of some of the more significant oil and gas finds that came to light last year.

China’s CNOOC made multiple oil and gas discoveries in 2024, including the gas find it described as “a major exploration breakthrough” in ultra-shallow gas play in the ultra-deep water of the South China Sea. The Lingshui 36-1 gas field lies in an average water depth of approximately 1,500 meters.

This followed the Chinese player’s string of discoveries, such as a significant oil discovery in the Bohai Sea, along with the one disclosed in the eastern South China Sea. The Chinese energy giant brought multiple offshore energy projects online, with a spotlight on its gas discovery, which it described as “a major exploration breakthrough” in ultra-shallow gas play in the South China Sea.

The Chinese player tucked another milestone under its belt by kicking off production from an oilfield project, described as the first full-scale green design oilfield offshore China, bringing into play the first oilfield in the South China Sea supplied with power from shore.

With proven gas in place of over 100 billion cubic meters, CNOOC’s recent discovery is said to be the first large-size ultra-shallow natural gas field in ultra-deepwater in the world, which adds the final touch to the trillion-cubic-meter gas region in the South China Sea.

“The newly discovered ultra-deep-water ultra-shallow gas field is an important composition of the trillion-cubic-meters gas region in the South China Sea. The completion of the trillion-cubic-meters gas region embodies the enormous achievements CNOOC Limited has accomplished in the South China Sea in the past 40 years,” highlighted Zhou Xinhuai, CEO and President of CNOOC.

CNOOC brought online an oil project offshore China, which is perceived to be Asia’s first development featuring a deepwater jacket platform and cylindrical FPSO combination that revitalized old deepwater oil fields in a bid to fortify the country’s energy security.

Perenco‘s oil discovery from May 2024, drilled by one of Dixstone‘s jack-up rigs, is perceived to be the first offshore exploration success in Congo in almost three decades. The Moke-East well, located between the Lukami and Motoba fields in the DRC coastal basin, was drilled with the Dixstone-owned Nuada self-elevated class 82 SD-C jack-up drilling rig. The well encountered a 24-foot net oil-bearing column.

As Africa’s batch of oil and gas discoveries continues to grow, one of the countries in West Africa, which recently recorded hydrocarbon exploration successes, is expecting a threefold boost in its oil production levels by 2027, thanks to estimated investments of over $15 billion.

This African country is Cote d’Ivoire, where Eni began production from the second stage of the Baleine oil and gas development, said to be the largest discovery in this country and the first net-zero upstream project, in terms of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, on the African continent.

The start-up of Phase 2 follows the firm’s Calao discovery from March 2024, which boosted Cote d’Ivoire’s oil outlook. The forecast total planned investments of over $15 billion are anticipated to spur the African country’s spike in black gold production, raising the bar from 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 200,000 bpd over the upcoming years.

Eni’s drilling operations with one of Valaris‘ rigs also led to an oil and gas discovery in Mexico, enabling the overall estimate of resources in place to exceed 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). As a result, the Italian player will pursue studies to explore a potential future hub development, encompassing the discoveries and other prospects present in the area, in synergy with the nearby infrastructures.

After the Yatzil discovery in Block 7 and the Saasken and Sayulita discoveries in Block 10 came the preliminary estimates of Eni’s discovery at the Yopaat-1 EXP exploration well in Block 9, indicating a discovered potential of around 300-400 million barrels equivalents (mboe) of oil and associated gas in place. The overall estimate of resources in place surpasses 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Petrobras‘ drilling activities at a well off the coast of Colombia corroborated the size of a previous gas discovery, shedding more light on what is seen as the development of a new frontier of exploration and production in Colombia, reinforcing the volumetric potential for gas in the region.

As a result, the firm and its partner, Ecopetrol, described the giant natural gas discovery offshore Colombia as the country’s “most significant gas discovery ever” since the assessment of the well results confirmed local volumes of over 6 trillion cubic feet in place.

The 13th hydrocarbon discovery in an area in the North Sea since 2018 was made using one of the semi-submersible rigs owned by Odfjell Drilling. This oil and natural gas find is said to be a commercially viable discovery in an area with a “well-developed infrastructure for oil and gas.”

Thanks to drilling operations undertaken with Odfjell Drilling’s rig, Equinor located more oil and gas in a North Sea area with previous commercial discoveries; thus, a tie-back development option to existing infrastructure is on the table to combine these recent hydrocarbon discoveries offshore Norway.

While Galp confirmed the discovery of light oil and gas-condensate in the first well within its second exploration and appraisal program in Namibia’s Orange Basin, carried out with one of Saipem’s drillships, DNO‘s oil discovery in the southern North Sea was labeled as a play opener in an area previously dubbed ‘the dry belt,’ where hydrocarbon exploration was of little interest in recent years.

Another oil and gas condensate discovery was also confirmed by Galp offshore Namibia, putting a Saipem-owned drillship on the move again to drill the next well in the Orange Basin, where the Portuguese firm previously made oil discoveries alongside Shell and TotalEnergies.

Vår Energi found oil at an appraisal well near its existing asset in the Barents Sea. The firm claims its new find has unlocked more potential in the area and plans to embark on a 20-well drilling campaign over the next four years.

After finding oil near its FPSO in the Barents Sea, the company and Equinor joined hands to ponder their options for a tie-back of the discovery to the existing infrastructure in the area offshore Norway.

Harbour Energy decided to contemplate a subsea tie-back to existing infrastructure in Norwegian waters, following appraisal activities with one of Transocean’s rigs at a gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea.