Oil Wildcats to Watch for Signs of Asia Drilling Rebound

Pakistan, Indonesia and PNG offer oil, gas prospects: WoodMac
Energy explorers are getting more ambitious in Asia-Pacific

A pumpjack operates in Baku.
Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg

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By Dan Murtaugh and Hannah Dormido

January 14, 2019 at 1:00 AM UTC

Updated on

January 14, 2019 at 5:59 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

After a few fallow years, oil and gas drillers may be poised to unearth new reserves in the Asia-Pacific, according to energy consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

Some of the world’s biggest explorers are drilling wildcat wells in places like Pakistan, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea this year, hoping to discover the massive deepwater finds that have largely been missing from the region since firms slashed spending following the 2014 oil price crash.