The Decline of Giants

This is probably the last post on oilfield decline rates for a while. Or at least until some additional meaningful data or analysis is released, but the graph is interesting…

Most of the world’s oil production comes from just a relatively small number of Giant fields, and nearly all of these Giants are old, as few have been discovered since the 1960s. Today, just under 70% of these fields are in the decline phase of production.

In an Energy Policy paper, Hook et al., analysed the average depletion rate from this type of field, finding a range of between 2% to ~16%.  To see an illustration of the range, take a look at the graph below. it gives an idea of deviation around the mean quoted figures for oilfield decline.