The discovery of new deposits is at its lowest for 70 years, but at the same time, and for the first time in history, the English have seen the renewable surpassed fossil fuels in the production of electricity by introducing a carbon tax . An example to follow ?
There is less and less oil and gas: discoveries of new reserves have fallen to the lowest since the Second World War!
We have never discovered so many new deposits for 70 years. One of the explanations, but not the only one, is that exploration is expensive and risky: we always win. And the drop in oil prices makes the game less profitable. The other big reason is the explosion of shale oil in the United States. Why get tired of exploring the seabed for new deposits when you can easily exploit the basements of Texas or New Mexico. In just a few years, the United States has become like that the first oil producers in front of Russia and Saudi Arabia.
It still raises a question in the end: if we find fewer deposits, prices will eventually fly away.
The fall of discoveries will indeed be felt in the next 10-15 years. But who knows where our oil and gas needs will be at this time? Who knows where the energy transition will be? This is where I would like to quote another largely unnoticed event: For the first time in history, renewable energy has surpassed fossil fuels, oil and gas, in electricity generation in the United Kingdom. Coal produced two-thirds of electricity across the Channel in the 1980s, a third in 2013 and less than 5% today! How did the English do? By introducing a carbon tax.
Like what, if you want, the energy transition can go quickly. And it may not be so dramatic if you find less oil.