Global Oil Discoveries Collapse to Decade Lows Despite Frontier Breakthroughs

Market Intelligence Analysis

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Why This Matters

Global oil discoveries have declined to decade lows, averaging 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) annually since 2020, and further dropping to 5.5 billion boe between 2023 and September this year, despite several frontier finds.

Market Impact

The decline in oil discoveries could lead to increased oil prices due to reduced supply, potentially benefiting oil-producing companies and negatively impacting oil-consuming companies.

Sentiment
Bearish
AI Confidence
70%

Article Context

Note: This is a brief excerpt for context. Click below to read the full article on the original source.

Annual conventional discovered volumes once averaged more than 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per year in the early 2010s, but these have fallen to nearly one-third of that, with analysis by Rystad Energy showing global discoveries have averaged slightly over 8 billion boe annually since 2020 despite several standout frontier finds in Namibia, Suriname, and Guyana. Despairingly, the yearly average declines further to about 5.5 billion boe between 2023 and September this year. The contraction reflects a strategic change where the global…

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Original article published by OilPrice.com on October 24, 2025.
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