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Undeveloped Oil & Gas Could be Crucial to Plug Supply Gap: Wood Mac

ENERGY

Almost two-thirds of oil and gas fields discovered since 1970 remain undeveloped, amounting to 488bn BOE of potentially recoverable oil and gas resources according to Wood Mackenzie. Over half of this is currently considered not viable.

  • High concentrations of undeveloped oil are in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while South-east Asia, Europe and Africa are hot spots for gas.
  • Economic considerations are the most common reason a project is not considered viable but regional infrastructure issues, constraints affecting pricing and low-quality hydrocarbons are also often factors. None of these impediments are necessarily permanent.
  • Factors like technology, pricing, access, government and community support, fiscal policy and market access can and do change over time.
  • New technologies include carbon capture and storage (CCS) and clean electricity while specialised rigs and well equipment are also assisting progress.
  • Activating this untapped resource will be essential in the coming years with demand for oil and gas set to exceed supply in the decades to 2050.
  • More oil is now developed than undeveloped but far more untapped gas remains undeveloped.


Source: Wood Mackenzie

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