Statistics: do we need intelligence?

Evercore Inc, a global independent investment banking consulting firm, conducted a study predicted that global costs of exploration and production in the oil and gas sector will decrease by 27% in 2020, instead of the 2% increase expected in December 2019.

Turning to statistics, global costs of exploration and production will be 16% lower than the 2016 bottom and 55% lower than the 2017 top. “Global costs of exploration and production is now back to 2005 levels,” Evercore noted in July.

At the same time, world news demonstrates the opposite. Geological exploration has not stopped and budgets are still allocated for it. For example, recent discoveries made on the continental shelves of great Britain and Norway have shown that research potential still exists: about 40 billion barrels have been discovered, and about 30 billion are waiting to be discovered.

ExxonMobil has made its 18th discovery offshore Guyana at the Redtail-1 exploration well, which will add to previously announced estimated recoverable resources of more than 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent at the Stabroek block.

Of course, it is an obvious fact that oil prices have changed, but governments are already reducing taxes, oil companies are reducing their appetites, and due to this and many other measures taken, the oil industry will soon begin its recovery again.