Volatile oil prices, low discovery rates and the corona virus pandemic have together increased the pressure on the exploration community. However, oil prices are on the rise and Norwegian tax changes will be a boost. The oil & gas industry have adapted, and out of the “ashes” new trends and opportunities emerge.

Innovation in Exploration

The need for energy will continue to grow, as oil and gas remains a dominant part of the energy mix in the next decades. In order to support the transition to cleaner energy, finding the remaining resources on the NCS is therefore critical. But what does it take to succeed? Contributions from the exploration community include identification of new play concepts, improved de-risking and a commercial mindset in the early stages of exploration.

Focus on Sustainability

Increased pressure from both society and investors is forcing companies to develop exploration strategies with rigid carbon emission goals and a clean environmental profile. For small companies it is a challenge to adopt and implement such strategies to compete for equity against the larger energy-companies. Innovation usually comes from smaller companies, where new ideas are allowed to prosper. But the diversity of companies on the NCS is under threat. How can we ensure the diversity of companies exploring the NCS going forward?

New Ways of Working

Technology, digitalization and more recently, the pandemic, are all reshaping how explorationists work. A renewed focus on cost-savings and a shift towards ILX are also reshaping organizations, as more companies merge their reservoir and exploration groups, and has led to increased cooperation within licenses. What have we learned, and how can it improve exploration success?