CALGARY, Alberta (Feb. 11, 2026) Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, the most trusted energy SaaS company that leverages generative AI across its solutions, is releasing Global Exploration Fundamentals: Green Shoots of a Recovery, a new global exploration outlook examining early signals of renewed upstream exploration activity following several years of historically low investment and drilling.
EIR finds that while global exploration and appraisal activity in 2025 remained near historical lows, long‑lead indicators such as block awards, new country entries and increased seismic surveying point to a gradual recovery forming from a very low base. Despite depressed activity levels, exploration success rates have held steady in the 30% to 40% range, underscoring a continued focus on prospect high‑grading, capital discipline and risk‑weighted exploration strategies.
“Exploration is not rebounding quickly, but the early indicators are clearly improving,” said Patrick Rutty, director at EIR.
“Given recent drilling success and diminished concerns over peak demand, the industry is reprioritizing exploration, a dynamic that should drive resource capture to relatively high levels over the next five years but does not yet negate the risk of a structural supply gap later this decade.”
Key Takeaways:
- Global exploration activity remains depressed, with 2025 exploration and appraisal wells and discoveries near historical lows following the prolonged downturn that began in 2020.
- Exploration success rates remain resilient at roughly 30% to 40%, even as total well counts declined, reflecting continued prospect high‑grading across global basins.
- Offshore exploration accounted for more than 50% of total activity in 2025, driven by infrastructure‑led exploration and renewed focus on higher‑impact opportunities.
- Supermajors and national oil companies are leading the exploration recovery, particularly in acquiring new acreage in regions where subsurface potential for giant discoveries is matched by above‑ground conditions that support faster project advancement.
- Independent and junior explorers are increasing participation, signaling broader industry reengagement beyond supermajors and national oil companies.
- EIR expects the slow recovery to contribute to a structural supply gap after 2030, as limited exploration today constrains future project pipelines and resource replacement.
EIR’s analysis leverages proprietary data and modeling and draws from a variety of products including Enverus PRISM®, Enverus Global Scout® and Enverus Global Research.
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About Enverus Intelligence® Research
Enverus Intelligence ® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts; and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. Enverus is the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS company, with a platform built to create value from generative AI, offering real-time access to analytics, insights and benchmark cost and revenue data sourced from our partnerships to 95% of U.S. energy producers, and more than 40,000 suppliers. Learn more at Enverus.com.
