Oil and Gas Extractions Move Offshore: Trends and Risks

This report by Global Energy Monitor analyzes the increasing trend of offshore oil and gas extraction in 2024, highlighting that the vast majority of new discoveries, project approvals, and startups are located in the oceans. It argues that this shift toward deepwater development contradicts climate goals to limit warming to 1.5°C and poses significant risks to marine biodiversity and the global atmosphere throughout the project lifecycle.

• In 2024, offshore activity dominated new oil and gas extraction, with at least 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) announced in new offshore discoveries, nearly 4 bboe of reserves sanctioned for development, and approximately 6.5 bboe beginning production. Ten offshore fields accounted for 85% of new discoveries by volume.
• Project approvals and startups in 2024 showed a strong offshore preference: all twelve projects that reached a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) were offshore, and 19 offshore projects produced first oil or gas, representing 71% of the total volume of field startups for the year.
• Specific high-profile offshore developments include the Nokhatha field in Kuwait and the Mopane field in Namibia. In the Americas, Exxon sanctioned the Whiptail development (targeting about 1 bboe at a cost of US$12.7 billion), and TotalEnergies announced FID for the GranMorgu project in Suriname. In China, CNOOC started six offshore projects, including Bozhong 19-6 (13-2) in the Bohai Sea.
• Offshore extraction creates environmental risks across three stages: exploration (noise pollution from seismic studies and seabed disturbance), production (climate footprint and oil spills), and decommissioning (leaky or abandoned wells). The report asserts that new oil and gas fields are incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
• Long-term data from the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) indicates that offshore discoveries are increasing as a share of global discoveries, rising from approximately 60% in the 2010s to around 73% in the 2020s.

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} }