Plazos de ejecución más largos: Aumento de la complejidad en el desarrollo de campos de petróleo y gas

Analysis of the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) reveals that the time from discovery to production for new oil and gas fields has increased significantly, averaging 15.1 years for fields starting in 2025 compared to 4.9 years between 1960 and 1980. This trend is driven by the depletion of easy-to-access reserves, forcing companies toward technically complex '20K' high-pressure reservoirs, deepwater projects, and 'acid gas' fields. Additional delays stem from stricter environmental regulations, such as the UK's 2025 requirement to include Scope 3 emissions in impact assessments, and ecological risks in protected areas. The report argues that these long lead times increase the risk of creating stranded assets and conflict with the 1.5 °C warming limit, suggesting that capital should be redirected toward renewable energy.

• The average time for an oil and gas field to begin production has increased more than threefold since the 1960–1980 period. Fields starting operations in 2025 took an average of 15.1 years from discovery, whereas the average was 4.9 years between 1960 and 1980.
• Technical complexity is a primary driver of longer development timelines, as companies move toward high-pressure reservoirs and remote locations. Examples include '20K technology' projects in the Gulf of Mexico for ultra-high pressure reserves and Russian projects in the Arctic, such as the Salmanovskoye field in the Gydan peninsula.
• Reservoir composition and ecological risks further delay projects. 'Acid gas' fields with high hydrogen sulfide concentrations and projects located near protected areas—such as the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project near cold-water reefs or the Lake Albert project in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park—face significant setbacks.
• Regulatory requirements are becoming more stringent, extending permitting periods. In 2025, the United Kingdom introduced guidelines requiring environmental impact assessments to include Scope 3 emissions, which has forced the Rosebank oil field to undergo re-approval.
• Infrastructure gaps in frontier basins create substantial delays. While Guyana has seen rapid development (averaging 5.5 years), other regions like Cyprus and Namibia face longer timelines; for instance, Cyprus's Aphrodite field, discovered in 2011, is not expected to produce gas until 2031.
• The reactivation of Venezuela's oil industry is characterized by extreme complexity and high costs, estimated between 80,000 and 183,000 billion dollars. Some fields discovered in the early 1980s, such as the Dragon field and the Manakin-Cocuina complex, have still not begun extraction.
• Long development timelines increase the risk of creating stranded assets and conflict with international climate goals. Investing in new projects now may commit production for decades, potentially leading to a warming of 2.6 °C by 2100, which exceeds the 1.5 °C target.

APA

Global Energy Monitor (2026). Plazos de ejecución más largos: Aumento de la complejidad en el desarrollo de campos de petróleo y gas. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/SPANISH-GEM-GOGET-Brief-March-2026_3.pdf

Chicago

Global Energy Monitor. Plazos de ejecución más largos: Aumento de la complejidad en el desarrollo de campos de petróleo y gas. 2026. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/SPANISH-GEM-GOGET-Brief-March-2026_3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Energy Monitor |title=Plazos de ejecución más largos: Aumento de la complejidad en el desarrollo de campos de petróleo y gas |date=March 2026 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/SPANISH-GEM-GOGET-Brief-March-2026_3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalenergymonitor2026plazos, author = {{Global Energy Monitor}}, title = {{Plazos de ejecución más largos: Aumento de la complejidad en el desarrollo de campos de petróleo y gas}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/SPANISH-GEM-GOGET-Brief-March-2026_3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }