A recent report by the US think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) reveals that global oil and gas producers are setting their sights on quadrupling proven reserves by 2030, a move that contradicts efforts to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5°C.
According to GEM’s latest update titled “Drilling Deeper in Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker,” around 20 fields have received approval for extraction of 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2023.
The report predicts that companies aim to approve an additional 31.2 billion boe across 64 new fields by the end of the decade. Furthermore, 19 new fields containing approximately 7.7 boe were discovered in 2023.
Despite the International Energy Agency’s warning in 2021 that expanding oil and gas extraction is inconsistent with the 1.5°C climate target, oil and gas producers have sanctioned a minimum of 16 billion boe across 45 projects and discovered at least 20.3 billion boe across 50 projects, the report outlines.
While South America and Africa are key regions for new oil and gas initiatives, countries that previously had minimal production like Southern Cyprus, Guyana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe represent over a third of the reserves producers are looking to exploit.
Scott Zimmerman, the project manager for the Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker, commented on the report’s findings, stating, “Oil and gas producers have put forth various justifications for continuing to explore and exploit new fields, but none of these reasons withstand scrutiny. The scientific evidence is unequivocal: Opening up new oil and gas fields will exceed the planet’s capacity.”
