A long exploration effort has led to the reportedly massive discovery of oil and gas reserves in Pakistan’s territorial waters, a cache so large that it is said it could change the economic trajectory of the beleaguered country. But no one is rushing to drill in Pakistan, and experts are concerned about jumping the gun.
Energy giants ExxonMobil and Qatar Energy are drilling an exploratory well 500 kilometres east of Newfoundland, in waters about 30 times deeper than those at the province’s existing oil projects.
Global projects developers, independent E&P firms and regional investors are expected to enter the Angolan oil and gas market in the coming months as new blocks become available across onshore, offshore and marginal fields. In addition to accelerating exploration, new entrants signal fresh opportunities for collaboration and local contract opportunities.
U.S. shale producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY) and Colombia’s integrated energy company Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) are planning to drill an offshore oil well off Colombia’s waters in seas roughly 3,900 meters (close to 13,000 feet) deep before the year is out, Bloomberg has reported. Dubbed Komodo-1, the ultra-deepwater well will qualify as the deepest offshore oil well in the world, beating Angola’s block 48 well, which holds the current world-record water depth of 3,628 m (11,903 ft).
SLB and Halliburton Co., two of the world’s biggest oil field service providers, said they see strong international demand for crude drilling after posting earnings that met or beat forecasts, supporting their shift into overseas markets.
According to the Guyana Times, ExxonMobil has started appraisal drilling at its Lau-Lau 2 well site in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where it had previously discovered over 300 ft of oil at the Lau-Lau 1 well. The Maritime Administration Department announced that this appraisal, conducted by the drillship MODU Noble Sam Croft, will run from June 16 to July 31, 2024.