GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Q2 2020 Global Oil and Gas Discoveries Review – China and Brazil Led Discoveries Count in the Quarter’ indicates that a total of 23 oil and gas discoveries were made in Q2 2020 globally. Of these, 15 are oil discoveries and the remaining eight are gas discoveries.
In Q2 2020, Asia, Former Soviet Union (FSU), North America, and South America led with four oil and gas discoveries each in the quarter. All the discoveries in these regions were conventional oil and gas discoveries. Only Oceania and the Caribbean are exceptions with unconventional discoveries: these were coal bed methane (CBM) and a heavy oil discovery, respectively.
In the quarter, China led globally both in terms of the number of discoveries and the volume of resource finds. China had two conventional gas discoveries – Pengtan-1 and Penglai-1, and a conventional oil discovery – Manshen-1. In addition, Brazil has made two offshore discoveries and one onshore discovery. The US, Mexico, and Belarus have two discoveries each, all of which are conventional oil. Egypt has two conventional gas discoveries, while Norway has one conventional oil discovery and one conventional gas discovery.
Among operators globally, Belorusneft, PetroChina Southwest Oil and Gas Field Co (SWOG), Petroleo Brasileiro SA, and Repsol Exploracion Mexico SA de C V have been the most successful in Q2 2020, with two discoveries each. Belorusneft discovered two oil accumulations in southeast Belarus: North Omelkovichi and Izbynskoye.
In Q2 2020, both onshore and offshore discoveries were comparatively similar in terms of the number of discoveries globally, however, the most significant discovery was in the shallow shelf waters of the Kara Sea. The Skuratovskoye 1 discovery well in the Skuratovskoye license is located offshore of the Yamal Peninsula and is estimated to hold more than 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
