The U.K. claimed the world's No. 1 spot in crude oil and condensate found by new field wildcats last year.
Figures published by Petroconsultants (U.K.) Ltd., London, also show the country placed near the top in world oil and condensate yields from new field wildcats during 5 and 10 year periods ending in December 1993.
The latest edition of Petroconsultants' "Hydrocarbon Discoveries" yearbook shows that other nations outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that have seen high levels of oil and gas discoveries during the past decade include Norway, Brazil, China, Colombia, Yemen, and Malaysia.
Some recent international exploration hotspots whose performance slipped in 1993 were Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Oman, and Pakistan.
Petroconsultants called Norway's poor performance in 1993 "most surprising of all." Failing to place among the top 10 countries in 1993, it had its worst year for liquids discoveries since 1988.
In other countries, the lack of discoveries reflects a slow pace of exploration, Petroconsultants said. Such countries include Mexico, possibly due to financial constraints on the state company, and Peru, where there was a perceived political risk.
Results for 1993 gas discoveries show "a remarkable concentration" of success in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. In the case of the first two, this is thought to be due to exploration for gas to satisfy growing market demand.
REGIONAL PACESETTER
In 1993, despite a poor performance in Norway, more oil was discovered in the North Sea than in all of Africa or the Far East/Australasia region. During 1989-93 as much oil was discovered in the North Sea as in the Far East/Australasia and nearly as much as in all of Latin America.
Worldwide, outside the U.S., Canada, and C.I.S., Petroconsultants estimates 83 billion bbl of oil were discovered in the past 10 years. Latin America performed particularly well, accounting for 34% of the total. Western Europe and Far East/Australasia each accounted for 15%.
During the same period, 384 tcf of gas were discovered. The Near East dominated with 35% of the total volume, followed by Far East/Australasia.
OPEC members dominated the exploration success charts as measured by oil and gas added per new field wildcat drilled. During the most recent 5 year period, OPEC members occupied seven of the top 20 places.
Countries outside the OPEC sphere that have performed consistently well during the past 10 years include Norway, Malaysia, and China.
In terms of oil reserves replacement, only Brazil more than replaced its production by new discoveries during the 5 year and 10 year periods. Other producers that replaced more than 75% of their production during the same periods were Colombia, Angola, and the U.K.
Established producers that performed poorly, replacing less than half their production during 5 and 10 years, included Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia, and Argentina.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
