Thanks to operations cost cutting and improvements in productivity, investment in offshore exploration and production activities is beginning to recover from its 2017 nadir. Some energy forecasters expect overall demand for rigs, including jack-ups, floaters and drill ships, to increase as much as 15% between 2019 and 2021. This translates into a rise in operational rigs from 473 in 2019 to 550 units in 2021. Notwithstanding recent oil price volatility, spending on offshore oilfield services of about $210 billion last year could surge by 15% this year, a remarkable turnaround after almost halving since 2014, according to World Oil. The following sections provide examples of offshore exploration and production activity in the Gulf of Mexico, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Wood Mackenzie's U.S. Gulf of Mexico report is upbeat. In the coming year or so, Wood Mackenzie expects exploration activity in the Gulf of Mexico region to rise by at least 30% above 2019, due to increased exploration drilling budgets by Kosmos Energy, Equinor, Total, Murphy and Fieldwood Energy. Offshore activity includes the first production from a Jurassic play, key new project sanctions and an uptake in mergers and acquisitions.
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