LONDON/HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INSIGHT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wood Mackenzie | www.woodmac.com
Middle East conflict has elevated strategic energy security priorities as countries seek supply diversification, international shale exploration can play a key role in meeting those goals, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie, titled “A hydrocarbon copy: the upstream industry’s return to international shale exploration”.
Six countries are advancing unconventional resource development to help address energy security objectives. Algeria leads for European supply diversification, while the UAE, Mexico, Australia, Türkiye, and Indonesia pursue domestic energy strategies through international partnerships and technology deployment.
Algeria’s proximity to European market
Algeria hosts vast reserves, and the Lower Silurian shale offers piped export potential. ExxonMobil and Chevron have exploration partnerships, though oilfield service bottlenecks require resolution.
Five additional countries target energy independence:
- UAE – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is moving toward final investment decisions for unconventional gas supporting a 2030 self-sufficiency target. Drilling could exceed 300 wells per year.
- Mexico – Pemex set 2030 shale gas and tight oil targets amid US trade tensions.
- Australia –The Northern Territory Beetaloo gas project targets LNG backfill and east-coast market supply.
- Türkiye – Continental is working in the Diyarbakır and Thrace basins and advancing exploration at an accelerated pace compared to other companies’ earlier efforts.
- Indonesia – Regulators seek US participation in Sumatra basin tight oil. Targets include lacustrine sediments, once thought too challenging but proven viable by the Uinta basin in the US.
From Permian concentration to global re-engagement
A mix of subsurface and regulatory challenges slowed international shale progress in the 2010s, but the evolving Permian opportunity proved decisive. Companies ended global shale exploration and pivoted to West Texas for lower-risk, lower-cost growth.
Eight companies that once led global shale exploration—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Marathon, EOG, and APA—spent $230 billion acquiring and developing Permian positions between 2012 and 2025. Breakevens were driven down by more efficient operations and dramatically improved well recoveries, positioning the Permian lower on the global cost curve
US Lower 48 growth is slowing now though, and companies are looking elsewhere to leverage their unconventional skillsets.
A high-graded global search
Global shale exploration last decade also suffered from a lack of focus. Companies are now evaluating approximately 20 high-graded plays, compared with over 100 assessed last decade.
'Explorers know the countries to avoid,' said Robert Clarke, Vice President, Upstream Research at Wood Mackenzie. 'Bans on hydraulic fracturing or unworkable fiscal terms will make certain projects impossible. Companies also have a better understanding of supply-chain risks, such as red tape that restricts the import of critical drilling and completion equipment.'
Two US shale specialists have made concrete moves. Continental Resources entered Argentina's Vaca Muerta through multiple deals and formed an unconventional joint venture with Türkiye’s state oil company. EOG Resources made unconventional entries into Bahrain and the UAE. Some plays being studied are assets EOG evaluated during the first wave of global shale exploration. Majors, international oil companies and national oil companies are all participating.
Proof of scale and requirements for success
Argentina's Vaca Muerta and Saudi Arabia's Jafurah demonstrate achievable scale in plays outside North America. Combined, the projects will produce more than 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next decade and absorb $250 billion in future capital expenditure. Jafurah and Vaca Muerta prove that public companies, private investors and national oil companies can all participate.
'Countries seeking to commercialize projects must customize fiscal arrangements, terms for work programs and licensing,' said Josh Dixon, Senior Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie. 'Where there is alignment with national interest and the will to make these projects succeed, incentives for investment will follow.'
'The greatest advantage for global shale 2.0 is that there is no new US play on the scale of the Permian Basin to compete for future short cycle capital,' said Robert Clarke. 'US shale drove growth over two decades nearly equivalent to the next ten countries combined—that's the scale energy-thirsty economies abroad want to replicate. Technology has pushed costs down across all US shale basins. Where host governments align unconventional development with national energy security and provide fast regulatory timelines, investment and expertise will follow.'
Notes to Editors:
International shale exploration has been attempted before, but last decade it was mostly unsuccessful. This time conditions are different, presenting fewer barriers to global expansion. Growing momentum through technological advancements, geopolitical uncertainty and drive for energy security position this new round of 'Global Shale 2.0' more advantageously. By 2030, Wood Mackenzie expects to see clarity on successful explorers and high-graded projects.
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