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Following the BG acquisition in 2016, Shell is in a generational shift in strategy. It is transitioning from emphasising volume growth to being unequivocally driven by shareholder returns. Integration of BG is allowing it to rationalise the combined acreage and high-grade opportunities to develop a world-class exploration portfolio. Prior to BG, Shell's portfolio was already differentiated by its breadth and diversity. It included incremental potential, new plays in producing 'heartland' basins and high-impact frontier opportunities. BG added acreage and assets in all of these themes. Shell has now renewed focus on capital discipline, and is making swift progress on a planned disposal programme of up to US$30 bn. Its total resource add from exploration over the last decade was 13.6 bnboe. Much of the conventional resource will be challenging to commercialise, but Shell's refocus on low breakeven incremental prospects around existing production hubs is resulting in improved returns.
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This report includes 2 file(s)
Shell oil and gas exploration summary PDF - 679.07 KB 18 Pages, 6 Tables, 20 Figures
Shell.xls XLS - 671.50 KB
Description
Affected by supply and demand, the economy of individual countries and technological breakthroughs, oil and gas exploration is an industry in constant motion. The high costs of finding and developing new oil and gas fields that can be commercially developed has created a challenging atmosphere, with explorers increasingly seeing low returns, low value and slow progress.
This Exploration Summary report quantifies the company's exploration volume and value performance over the past 10 years, and reviews its outlook for future success.
Businesses can use this report to get a detailed analysis of this company, what exploration areas they're involved in, what wells to watch and how well placed they are. It will help you understand company performance and shows how the best explorers have achieved their success.
Wood Mackenzie benchmarks exploration results for over 40 companies. Our analysts provide accurate information on the cost of exploration compared to the value of discoveries so that you can develop profitable strategies. We are the established global industry standard for oil and gas exploration performance.
Map shows all conventional and unconventional discoveries. It excludes all unsuccessful unconventional exploration and all activity associated with assets not included within this report.
Strategy
Upstream strategy
Exploration outlook
Deepwater
Unconventionals
Evolution of exploration strategy
Investment and costs
Exploration
Well data
Reserves and resources
Resource additions for two types of asset are tabulated below - conventional new field discoveries and organic unconventional plays.
Production
Valuation
Reserve replacement driven by both heartland regions and unconventionals
Unlocking high-return incremental potential in the deepwater
The integrated gas player
In this report there are 26 tables or charts, including:
Executive summary
Basins drilled and major discoveries 2007-2016
Ten year performance summary
Strategy
SWOT Grid
Net active exploration acreage by water depth
Net active exploration acreage by country
Investment and costs
Exploration & appraisal spend and reinvestment
Exploration & appraisal spend by water depth
Exploration & appraisal spend by basin maturity
Discovery costs by water depth
Exploration
Gross exploration & appraisal wells by basin and sector
Exploration wells drilled and spend per well
Exploration success rates
Reserves and resources
Top 40 discoveries (2007 to 2016)
Key organic unconventional plays
Volumes discovered by year
Volumes discovered by water depth
Volumes discovered by country
Volumes discovered by basin
Production
Production from new field discoveries and organic unconventionals, and as a proportion of all future production
Valuation
Full-cycle economics
Full cycle value creation by year (conventional only)
Full cycle value creation by year, including unconventionals
Exploration returns by year (conventional only)
Exploration returns by year, including unconventionals
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Company report | Aug 2017
Shell oil and gas exploration summary
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