The economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East war is driving leading energy companies to diversify exploration across the globe in an effort to boost their reserves.
Exxon Mobil and Chevron are among the energy companies accelerating their searches for new oil-and-gas prospects in Africa, South America, and the Eastern Mediterranean. In total, major oil companies spent an average of $19 billion on global exploration each year from 2021 to 2025, focusing on finding enough oil and gas to deliver profit into the next decade.
Such plans include Exxon’s potential plan to exploit Nigeria’s deep-water oil fields, preliminary exploration agreements with Iraq, Turkey, and Gabon, and a step toward drilling off the coast of Greece. Chevron has expanded its footprint in Venezuela, BP has acquired stakes in oil blocks off the coast of Namibia, and TotalEnergies signed an exploration deal with Turkey.
“Sustained high oil prices are the best friend of exploration,” said Schreiner Parker, an analyst at Rystad Energy. “In the medium to longer term, there will be a risk premium attached to every barrel coming out of the Persian Gulf that will push people into frontier exploration.”
IAM Member Impact: Global exploration diversification by energy companies is likely good news for international moving and relocation companies, driving activity in non-traditional traffic lanes.
Source: The Wall Street Journal