Oil and gas on the continental shelf: potentials and constraints in the Asia-Pacific region

The role that oil and gas will play in meeting energy requirements predictably remains significant in the foreseeable future. As discovery and production of onshore resources gets depleted, the development of offshore hydrocarbon resources — most of which are on the continental shelf — becomes an inevitable option.

This paper will review the current status of resources availability (in terms of well-defined, identified reserves), the assessment of potential resources on the continental shelf of the world, and the state of technology for their development. Special attention and detail will be paid to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, given the data available.

Given favorable geological conditions in a region, however, any petroleum accumulation will only be developed if certain economic, property rights, and financial conditions are feasible to attract the huge investments required to explore for and produce these resources. The circumstances in the Asia-Pacific region cited in this paper can, with minor qualifications, be generalized for other regions. This paper will briefly review the issues involved and conclude with the policy implications of the existing relationships among the factors involved.