{"id":15583,"date":"2026-01-29T05:29:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T05:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/?p=15583"},"modified":"2026-01-29T05:29:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T05:29:56","slug":"high-impact-wells-africa-will-continue-to-drive-global-drilling-activity-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/high-impact-wells-africa-will-continue-to-drive-global-drilling-activity-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"High-impact Wells: Africa Will Continue to Drive Global Drilling Activity in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The upstream sector is set to carry strong momentum into 2026, with high-impact wildcat drilling activity expected to remain elevated following a solid 2025. Last year, the success rate for high-impact wildcat wells rose to 38% from 23% in 2024, while total discovered volumes increased by 53% year on year to around 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), according to Rystad Energy\u2019s research and analysis.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wells are designated as high-impact based on a variety of factors: the size of the potential resources, whether they could open new hydrocarbon plays in frontier or emerging basins, and their significance to the operator. Such activity in 2026 is expected to drive exploration momentum higher in specific basins and countries, with 42 such wells identified globally. Africa is set to continue leading global activity, accounting for around 40% of planned high-impact exploration wells, driven largely along the Atlantic margin, with exploration expected to focus on the Orange Basin in Southern Africa and the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, reinforcing the region\u2019s role in global high-impact drilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rystad Energy\u2019s high-impact well outlook for 2026 points to a clear concentration in ultra-deepwater and frontier exploration. Ultra-deepwater wells account for around 60% of planned drilling, with majors leading these activities, followed by national oil companies (NOCs) and international NOCs (INOCs), which together represent 26%. Most wells are expected to target frontier regions, while roughly 5% will focus on basins with prior discoveries that could develop into hydrocarbon hotspots, and another 5% will test entirely new plays. Africa is set to play a central role, with all onshore high-impact drilling in 2026 expected to take place on the continent except for the recently announced Greenland well, which will test the frontier Jameson Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What we are seeing in 2026 is a clear shift in where operators are willing to deploy capital. Ultra-deepwater and frontier plays remain capital-intensive, but they also offer scale and material upside at a time when conventional opportunities are increasingly limited. Africa stands out because it still combines geological potential with the prospect of large, commercially meaningful discoveries, particularly for operators looking to secure long-life resources in a tightening global supply environment.Aatisha Mahajan, Head of Exploration, Oil & Gas Research, Rystad Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The upstream sector is set to carry strong momentum into 2026, with high-impact wildcat drilling activity expected to remain elevated following a solid 2025. Last year, the success rate for … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7447,7442,7443,7446,7445,11,7444],"tags":[63,12361,4347,9513,7352],"class_list":["post-15583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-central-africa","category-countries","category-eastern-africa","category-north-africa","category-southern-africa","category-top-news","category-west-africa","tag-africa","tag-atlantic-margin","tag-gulf-of-guinea","tag-orange-basin","tag-rystad-energy","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Rystad-Energy-Wells-Africa.webp?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5JWkQ-43l","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12585,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/high-impact-well-activity-set-to-rebound-this-year-after-2021-slump-rystad-energy\/","url_meta":{"origin":15583,"position":0},"title":"High-impact Well Activity Set to Rebound This Year after 2021 Slump – Rystad Energy","author":"","date":"August 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Drilling of high-impact oil and gas prospects is set to rebound this year after a disappointing 2021, when success rates plunged towards record lows, Rystad Energy research shows. These critical wells have found hydrocarbons 47% of the time so far this year, up from a measly 28% for 2021. With\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Mlima-1-drilling.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Mlima-1-drilling.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Mlima-1-drilling.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Mlima-1-drilling.jpg?fit=960%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14206,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/africa-and-latin-america-set-to-lead-high-impact-well-drilling-in-2024-eyeing-rebound-after-poor-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":15583,"position":1},"title":"Africa and Latin America set to lead high-impact well drilling in 2024, eyeing rebound after poor 2023","author":"","date":"January 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The upstream industry hopes 2024 can be a bounce-back year for high-impact oil and gas drilling after a lackluster 2023, with Africa and Latin America likely to spearhead activities. Rystad Energy has identified 36 potential high-impact wells to be drilled or spud in 2024, the highest annual total since we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Offshore-Rig.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Offshore-Rig.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Offshore-Rig.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Offshore-Rig.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Offshore-Rig.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14701,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/key-wells-to-watch-in-2025-westwood-insight\/","url_meta":{"origin":15583,"position":2},"title":"Key Wells to Watch in 2025 – Westwood Insight","author":"","date":"February 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"High impact exploration in 2025 is expected to remain stable, with QatarEnergy being the most active explorer and all eyes remaining on the Orange Basin Westwood forecasts high impact exploration drilling will remain stable in 2025, with 65-75 wells expected to complete, compared to the 69 completed in 2024. 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A Rystad Energy analysis shows the number of drilled wells globally is expected to reach around 55,350\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Balder\/Ringhorne\"","block_context":{"text":"Balder\/Ringhorne","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/tag\/balder-ringhorne\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Uganda-rig.jpg?fit=699%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Uganda-rig.jpg?fit=699%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Uganda-rig.jpg?fit=699%2C466&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11583,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/africa-silent-as-global-oil-and-gas-investments-expand-to-hit-628-billion-rystad-energy\/","url_meta":{"origin":15583,"position":4},"title":"Africa “Silent” as Global Oil and Gas investments Expand to Hit $628 billion – Rystad Energy","author":"","date":"January 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Global oil and gas investments will expand by $26 billion this year as the industry continues its protracted recovery from the worst of the pandemic and the hurdles imposed by the Omicron variant. An analysis by Rystad Energy projects overall oil and gas investments will rise 4% to $628 billion\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Countries"","block_context":{"text":"Countries","link":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/category\/countries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Sapura-Berani.jpg?fit=1000%2C664&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Sapura-Berani.jpg?fit=1000%2C664&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Sapura-Berani.jpg?fit=1000%2C664&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Sapura-Berani.jpg?fit=1000%2C664&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9129,"url":"https:\/\/www.oilnewskenya.com\/index.php\/africa-energy-outlook-2021-africa-energy-chamber\/","url_meta":{"origin":15583,"position":5},"title":"Africa Energy Outlook 2021 – Africa Energy Chamber","author":"","date":"September 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Fiscal Regime Changing fiscal regime does not come for free. It causes uncertainty and it distorts the expected revenue profile for the state and it is hard to arrive at what the fiscal parameters should be. 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