The exploration and extraction of oil from beneath the ocean floor have propelled numerous offshore fields into the limelight as crucial components of the global energy industry. These underwater giants, often located in challenging and remote environments, showcase strides in exploration, engineering prowess and technological innovation.
From the Gulf of Mexico to the North Sea, and from the coasts of Brazil to the waters off West Africa, the world’s top offshore oil fields play a vital role in meeting the ever-growing energy demand.
- Safaniya (Saudi Arabia)
Located approximately 165 miles north of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in the Persian Gulf, the Safaniya oil field holds an estimated total reserve of over 50 billion barrels, with 36 billion barrels considered recoverable. It is the world’s largest offshore oil field.
Owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil and natural gas company, Safaniya was discovered in 1951 and began producing oil in 1957. The field produces up to 1.5 million barrels of heavy crude oil per day.
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- Upper Zakum (UAE)
The Upper Zakum Oil Field, the world’s second-largest offshore oil field, is located approximately 50 miles northwest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Persian Gulf. The field holds an estimated total reserve of 50 billion barrels of oil, with about 21 billion barrels deemed recoverable. Discovered in 1963 and brought online in 1967, recent reports have indicated that Adnoc has launched the pursuit of a substantial engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the further expansion of the field. The Emirati oil giant is enhancing the capacity of some of its largest offshore oilfields as part of its P5 programme, which aims to increase oil production to 5 million bpd by 2027, up from the current 4.65 million bpd. The latest Upper Zakum expansion project is expected to boost and sustain the field’s output to 1.2 million bpd over the next two to three years.
- Manifa (Saudi Arabia)
The Manifa oil field is located slightly southeast of the Safaniya field in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Discovered in 1957, it began production in 1964 with a daily capacity of 200,000 barrels. Saudi Aramco describes the Manifa oil field as “extraordinary” due to its unique characteristics. Beyond being a significant source of oil and gas, it also encompasses a delicate habitat of seagrass and coral reefs. In 2006, Aramco invested $10 billion into the project to develop methods for extracting hydrocarbons from the reservoir without damaging the marine ecosystem.
- Kashagan (Kazakhstan)
Kashagan is an oil and natural gas field discovered in the Caspian Sea near the city of Atyrau in Kazakhstan. This field represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in the energy sector in recent decades. Following the initial batch of crude oil, development efforts have focused on ramping up production and increasing the associated gas processing capacity. In January 2024, the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), the project’s operator, announced that Kazakhstan’s giant oil field had surpassed the monumental milestone of 100 million tons of oil production. The field’s recoverable reserves are estimated to be between 9 and 13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial oil production at the Kashagan offshore field began in 2016.
- Tupi (Brazil)
The Lula field, originally known as the Tupi field, and then recently reverted back to Tupi, was discovered by Petrobras in 2007. Production from the first phase of the pilot project at the Lula field began in 2010, with production from the northeast area starting in 2011. According to a 2023 survey by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Tupi’s production volume would rank it 20th globally in oil production, surpassing countries like Colombia, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and Argentina. Tupi began production in 2010 using the Cidade de Angra dos Reis FPSO and is currently the largest oil and gas-producing field in Brazil.
- Marjan (Saudi Arabia)
Owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, the offshore field is undergoing a significant expansion as part of the Marjan Crude Increment Project.
With a total budget of $21 billion, this project aims to increase the field’s crude oil production capacity by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) and produce 360,000 b/d of ethane and natural gas liquids (NGL). This will be achieved by processing an additional 2.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscfd) of gas extracted from the field. The offshore expansion includes the installation of additional tie-in platforms, production decks, subsea export and infield pipelines, and the replacement of the decks on two existing tie-in platforms.
- Zuluf (Saudi Arabia)
Zuluf is a vast offshore oil field located in the Arabian Gulf, approximately 240 km north of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, the Zuluf field is undergoing a significant expansion to add 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Arabian Heavy crude production by 2020.
Discovered in 1965, this shallow water offshore oil field, situated in 36-meter-deep waters, has been producing since 1973. The current maximum production capacity of the field is 800,000 bpd of Arab Medium crude oil. The offshore oil field comprises two main sandstone reservoir structures, Zuluf and Ribyan, and is estimated to contain more than 31 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in proven reserves.
- Troll (Norway)
Troll is a natural gas and oil field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, one of the largest in the region. It holds 40% of Norway’s gas reserves and significant quantities of oil in thin zones beneath the gas cap, located to the west of the field. Equinor and its partners have decided to invest Nkr 12 billion ($1.13 billion) in the Troll gas field to further boost production.
This investment will be used to enhance the field infrastructure, ensuring high gas export levels from the Troll and Kollsnes value chain are maintained until 2030. As part of the plan, the second stage of the Troll Phase 3 project will involve drilling eight new wells from two new templates, with subsea controls extended from existing templates. The first wells from this initiative are expected to start production by the end of 2026.
- Utsira High (Norway)
The Utsira High Project consists of two separate subsea tie-in projects in the central part of the North Sea. Symra will be connected to the Ivar Aasen platform, while Solveig Phase 2 will tie into the Edvard Grieg platform.
The Utsira High Project aims to develop recoverable resources totalling 93 million barrels of oil equivalent. Drilling is set to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with production start-up scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 for Solveig and the first quarter of 2027 for Symra.
- Cantarell (Gulf of Mexico)
The Cantarell Field, also known as the Cantarell Complex, is a once-supergiant offshore oil field in Mexico. Discovered in 1976 after oil stains were first noticed by fisherman Rudesindo Cantarell Jimenez in 1972, the field began nitrogen injection in 2000. Production peaked at 2.1 million barrels per day in 2004. In recent years, Cantarell has experienced a significant decline in output, but it still produces around 170,000 barrels per day, according to company data.
Most of Mexico’s oil production comes from nearby shallow water fields in the Bay of Campeche in the southern Gulf, where Pemex has faced several industrial accidents in recent years.
