July 27 (oilnow.gy) Global oil and gas majors are expanding their exploration portfolios, but most new agreements are focused on securing future opportunities rather than committing to immediate drilling activity, according to an analysis by Westwood Global Energy Group.
The analysis, published on July 21, examined exploration agreements secured by the supermajor group, including bp, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies from 2024 through the first quarter of 2026.
Westwood found that the companies added 376 exploration agreements covering approximately 583,000 square kilometers during the period, with all six companies increasing their exploration acreage in 2025 compared with 2024.
However, Westwood found that the companies are increasingly using study agreements to secure exploration acreage before making major financial commitments.
“Out are the traditional well commitments and in are low-cost, low commitment arrangements over extensive areas, in the form of study agreements,” Westwood stated.
Study agreements, including memoranda of understanding (MOU) and reconnaissance license agreements, accounted for 41% of the net exploration area added to the group’s portfolios.
Africa was the leading destination for acreage expansion, accounting for 62% of the total net exploration area secured by the group.
Chevron secured the largest amount of exploration acreage during the period, adding approximately 137,000 square kilometers across 20 countries and entering 10 new upstream markets.
bp added the smallest amount among the group, securing approximately 56,000 square kilometers across nine countries, including two new upstream markets.
Despite the increase in exploration acreage, Westwood found that drilling commitments remain limited.
“Only 10% of the agreements are reported to have plans or commitments to seismic acquisition or reprocessing and only 8% reported the intention to drill a well in the initial phase, representing ~39 exploration wells, of which five are high-impact frontier basin tests,” the analysis disclosed.
Westwood said these commitments are unlikely to significantly increase the number of high-impact exploration wells drilled globally in the coming years.
The analysis also warned that seismic data acquisition could be delayed in some areas until formal licenses are awarded, potentially slowing the movement from early exploration agreements to active drilling programs.
“The Supermajor+ companies have used various approaches to access acreage. 87% of the net acreage accessed by ExxonMobil is under an MOU, whilst 88% of Chevron’s acreage is held under a formal license. Whilst this may be good news for the Supermajors+, smaller E&Ps may have limited access to early-stage frontier acreage,” Westwood Energy explained.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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