Africa is poised to dominate the global high-impact well (HIW) drilling market in 2024, according to a new report released by research firm Rystad Energy. The continent is projected to undertake 13 of the 36 HIW drilling campaigns anticipated for 2024.
Up to 70% of wells drilled in Africa will be in frontier and emerging basins, including the Red Sea Basin in Egypt, Angoche Basin in Mozambique and Namibe Basin in Angola, according to the report.
Oil and gas supermajors including bp, Chevron, Eni, Shell and TotalEnergies are also expected to dominate the sector.
“Drillers are still investing in frontier, emerging and play-opening areas to find volumes, but they are more targeted in their exploration strategies.
Companies are deprioritizing any short-term pay-off in favor of multi-year plans and focusing on wells that best fit their long-term vision,” said Taiyab Zain Shariff, Vice President, Upstream Research at Rystad Energy.
In 2023, approximately 27 HIWs were drilled globally, with eight resulting in commercial discoveries. While 2023 campaigns saw a decline in discovered volumes from 2022 levels of 3.5 billion barrels of oil, 2024 is expected to yield a better success rate.
According to the report, Latin America will drill 10 HIWs, Asia will drill six and the Middle East, Europe and North America will each drill two.
