Oil Discoveries Lowest Since 1952: Is This The Bottom?
Zacks Investment Research | May 24, 2016 04:55AM ET
Per a report by research firm IHS, the year 2015 marks the least amount of oil and gas discovered in over the last 64 years.
New oil discovered outside North America in 2015 totaled 2.8 billion barrels, the lowest amount since the industry actively started its worldwide oil exploration after World War II. The year also represented the fourth straight year of declining oil volumes – something that had never happened before.
Notably, about 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) was added through gas discoveries in the year. This signifies the fifth consecutive year wherein gas volumes discovered surpassed oil volumes discovered.
Factors Behind the Decline in Volumes
Per Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), major oil players have been forced to make substantial budget cuts to combat the freefall in oil prices. This is particularly true with respect to exploration, where spending was reduced to a meager $95 billion in 2015 from $168 billion two years earlier. ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) , Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) plc Zacks Investment Research
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