The photo is sourced from kedglobal.com
Slightly over one third of these amount will be invested into super-deep-water projects (1,500 metres and deeper) implemented with floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSO). In particular, such systems are used at Stabroek license block, where step-by-step commissioning of three FPSOs (Liza Destiny, Liza Unity and Prosperity) allowed for growing oil production outputs from zero up to 610 k barrels per day (kbpd). In the second half of 2020s, the output will exceed 1 mln bpd, including by means of launching new FPSOs at Yellowtail, Tilapia and Redtail oil fields. New projects also will be implemented at the continental shelf of Brazil, where floating systems will be used for production at Buzios VIII, Buzios IX, Sepia and Atapu greenfields. Massive investment also will cover the existing super-deep-water projects, such as Trion in Mexico, Egina in Nigeria and Argos in the US.
About 45% of investment during 2024-2027 will go to deep-water projects (from 125 to 1,500 metres). The key role belongs to greenfields (Johan Castberg, Breidablikk) and already existing projects (Balder Future, Gullfaks South, Schiehallion) in the North Sea, which is still the main region of hydrocarbons production for Norway and Great Britain. At the end of the last year, oil production in Norway exceed the pre-COVID level by over 10% (202 mbpd vs 1.77 mbpd in 2019), but in Great Britain it decreased by over 35% (from 1.12 mbpd down to 715 kbpd, according to Energy Institute). Investment into off-shore oil production may decrease the dependency of Great Britain on the imported oil.
Carbon-dioxide gas injection into the exhausted and abandoned off-shore oilfields may become a new segment of the market. After the injection, carbon-dioxide gas will be gradually dissolved in the formation fluid, and eventually CO2 will pass to the bound state. One of such projects will be implemented in Indonesia, where local Pertamina and Japanese Mitsui will be using Duri and Minas oilfields for burial of CO2 (the development of these oilfields started back in 1950s). The development of the submerged tank in the Gulf of Mexico will be another project for burying carbon-dioxide gas coming from the refineries and petrochemical plants of Texas.
In general, the offshore oil production is undergoing a new investment boom. The previous period of CAPEX growth ended in mid-2010s, when a series of projects were suspended due to the fall in oil prices: in 2010-2014, the average Brent price was USD 102 per bbl, and in 2015-2019 – USD 57 per bbl. The current investment boom also is associated with lower production costs: in 2014, OPEX at Brazilian offshore oilfields were USD 70 per bbl on average, and in 2022 – USD 35 per bbl, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA).
