Trend and progress in global oil and gas exploration

Abstract

Major progress achieved in oil and gas exploration in terms of reserves, number of oil and gas fields and discovery of large oilfields were analyzed, trend and progress of global oil and gas exploration in eight aspects were elaborated, and four enlightenments for oil and gas exploration in China were proposed. The following aspects have become the shifting trend of oil and gas exploration around the world: from oil and gas reservoirs to source rocks, from trap to large area reservoir, from structural reservoirs and lithological reservoirs to unconventional continuous reservoirs, from structural highs to low sags and slopes, from conventional hydrocarbon to unconventional hydrocarbon, from middle depth layers to deep and ultra-deep layers, from shallow and middle depth sea to deep and ultra-deep sea, and from conventional zones to extreme zones. China should put more effort into the research on basic exploration theory and key techniques, attach more attention to the role of exploration engineering technology, seek the effective way for comprehensive exploration of oil and gas resources, and strengthen secondary exploration of old oil and gas fields. The major transformation in oil and gas exploration field and strategy will be beneficial to the discovery of more oil and gas fields in China.