Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks

In 2024, the oil and gas industry showed a marked preference for offshore development, with all twelve projects reaching a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) being offshore. New discoveries were heavily concentrated, with 85% of the volume found in just ten offshore fields, including the Nokhatha field in Kuwait and the Mopane field in Namibia. Startups were also dominated by offshore activity, which accounted for 71% of the total volume of field startups, including six projects in China. The report highlights significant environmental risks across the project lifecycle, from seismic noise pollution during exploration to the long-term danger of leaky wells during decommissioning. It further argues that the industry's focus on 'low emissions intensity' ignores scope three emissions, which constitute 80% to 85% of lifecycle emissions, and warns that these investments conflict with the scientific consensus on climate goals.

• Offshore activity dominated new oil and gas developments in 2024, with at least 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) announced in new offshore discoveries and 6.5 bboe beginning production as offshore projects started up. Notably, every one of the at least twelve projects that reached a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2024 was located offshore.
• New offshore discoveries in 2024 were highly concentrated, with 85% of the volume located in ten fields. Key examples include the Nokhatha field in Kuwait and the Mopane field in Namibia, the latter of which is situated in the Orange Basin.
• Offshore projects accounted for 71% (6.5 bboe) of the reserves started up in 2024. China was a major contributor, starting up six offshore projects, including the Bozhong 19-6 (13-2) in the Bohai Sea in May 2024.
• The report identifies environmental risks throughout the offshore project lifecycle: seismic studies cause noise pollution during exploration; production leads to documented large-scale and routine spills; and decommissioning can result in "potentially leaky wells" that harm ecosystems after abandonment.
• The industry's claim that new deepwater projects are a lever for emission reductions is challenged by the fact that combustion by end-use consumers (scope three) accounts for 80% of oil and 85% of gas lifecycle emissions, meaning the majority of climate impacts are ignored in 'low emissions intensity' arguments.

APA

Zimmerman, S. (2025). Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/oil-gas-extractions-move-offshore-trends-and-risks

Chicago

Zimmerman, Scott. Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks. Global Energy Monitor, 2025. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/oil-gas-extractions-move-offshore-trends-and-risks.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Scott |title=Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=29 March 2025 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/oil-gas-extractions-move-offshore-trends-and-risks |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zimmerman2025oil, author = {Zimmerman, Scott}, title = {{Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/oil-gas-extractions-move-offshore-trends-and-risks}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }