VOL. XLIII

No. 06

7-February-2000

UPSTREAM

E&A Drilling Levels Down 24% In 1999 But Expected To Bounce Back According To IHS Energy Report

Last year worldwide exploration and appraisal (E&A) drilling activity fell by 24% compared with the year before, with a total of 7,433 wells completed compared with 9,800 in 1998. Only 1.5% of these wells a total of 110 were drilled in the Middle East, yet the region claimed the biggest discovery of the year with Irans Azadegan oil strike.

In a report...