Wildcat Drilling

Wildcat Drilling refers to the process of drilling for oil or natural gas in unexplored or unproven areas where no previous discoveries have been made. This type of drilling is typically conducted in regions that have not been identified as productive based on geological surveys or historical data, and it often involves higher risks and costs due to the uncertainty of finding commercially viable reserves.

Examples of wildcat drilling include:

• Drilling in deepwater offshore locations that have not been previously explored, such as the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of West Africa.
• Exploration in remote onshore areas, like parts of the Arctic or the Amazon rainforest, where geological surveys suggest potential reserves but no prior wells have been drilled.

Cases:

• The discovery of the Hibernia oil field off the coast of Newfoundland in the early 1970s was the result of wildcat drilling, leading to one of Canada’s largest offshore oil developments.
• In the 1990s, wildcat drilling in the North Sea resulted in significant discoveries, including the Buzzard field, which became one of the UK’s largest oil fields.