Report claims deepwater industry can compete with tight oil

According to a Wood Mackenzie report, a leaner and more cost-competitive deepwater industry is emerging from the downturn, with the most attractive projects now competing with US tight oil plays. The US sector of the Gulf of Mexico is leading in this.

Wood Mackenzie estimates that on average global deepwater project costs have fallen just over 20 per cent since 2014. Assuming a 15 per cent internal rate of return hurdle (net present value 16, NPV15), 5 billion barrels of pre-sanction deepwater reserves now breakeven at US$50/boe or lower.

By comparison, there are 15 billion barrels of tight oil resource in undrilled wells with break-evens of US$50/boe or lower at a 15 per cent hurdle rate in Wood Mackenzie’s dataset.

“However, the playing field between tight oil and deepwater is about to get a lot more level,” said Wood Mackenzie. “There is still considerable scope to drive deepwater break-evens lower through leaner development principles and improved well designs, but in tight oil cost inflation is back with a vengeance.”

Wood Mackenzie estimates that a further 20 per cent cut in current deepwater costs would bring 15 billion barrels of pre-FID reserves into contention, on par with tight oil.

The deepwater value proposition will strengthen as tight oil cost inflation returns. A 20 per cent rise in tight oil costs would mean that the two resource themes effectively have the same opportunity set measured by volume in the money at US$60/boe.

2017 will see a noticeable pick-up in deepwater project sanctions, with three projects – Mad Dog Phase 2, Kaikias and Leviathan – already fully approved.

Angus Rodger, Asia-Pacific upstream research director at Wood Mackenzie, said: “We are at last beginning to see the first signs of recovery in deepwater, driven primarily by cost reduction and portfolio high-grading. Projects in the US Gulf of Mexico in particular have made significant strides, with many reducing NPV15 break-evens from above US$70/boe to below US$50/boe.

“This is not just a result of cheaper rig day rates. Of far greater impact are the steps the industry in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere have taken to re-evaluate project designs and improve well performance. We are now seeing scaled-down projects emerge with less wells, more subsea tie-backs, and reduced facilities and capacities – and this all translates into lower break-evens.”

The slowdown has also changed the structure of the deepwater industry. While it is slowly getting leaner, it is also getting smaller. Over 70 per cent of the 45 pre-FID projects targeting sanction over the next few years are operated by just eight companies – Brazil’s Petrobras and the seven majors – ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, Total, Eni and Statoil. This is due to the exit of many independents from the sector because of either cost pressure or a re-allocation of capital to tight oil plays.

“In a capital-constrained world, fewer operators inevitably mean less deepwater projects flowing through to sanction. Only the most cost-competitive projects and regions will attract new investment,” Wood Mackenzie concluded.