关键词: 勘探投资；新层系；风险勘探；滚动勘探；深水超深水

Abstract: Global oil and gas exploration investment and workload as well as newly-discovered reserves grew simultaneously in 2022. The reserves of large and medium-size oil and gas fields accounted for more than 80 percent while the deepwater zone remained as the key area of the discoveries from global exploration. Of those, the offshore breakthrough made in the new strata in Namibia, Southwest Africa, was the highest in the area for the first time in nearly 50 years. This discovery is closely related to the exploration concept of conjugate analogy. The continual discoveries were made in progressive exploration of the eastern part of the Mediterreanian Sea. A series of discoveries can be attributed to the efforts of international oil companies focusing on the areas of important discoveries. They rapidly concentrated their efforts on the surrounding favorable exploration blocks and kept a certain amount of newly-added oil and gas reserves. The analysis of overseas exploration made international oil companies in the recent decade shows the companies, led by their strategy, increased investment and established their business presence in the frontier, emerging and mature areas on the basis of the strategic distribution. They depended on the efforts for innovation, geological theoretical development and exploration technological progress to support oil and gas exploration and discoveries. China’s oil companies have made satisfactory exploration achievements in the “go-abroad” efforts of the past three decades. However, a certain gap still remained between the China’s oil companies and the international oil companies in terms of deepwater exploration. It is proposed that the China’s oil companies should emphasize both risk exploration and progressive exploration and try to acquire overseas deepwater favorable exploration blocks, preparing for effective stand-by resources.

Key words: exploration, new strata, risk exploration, progressive exploration, deepwater and ultra-deepwater