The Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker (GOGET) collects asset-level data on oil and gas extraction areas (fields) globally. Explore the data below, pan through our interactive map, and download the dataset.
No new fields
Scenarios compatible with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees show that demand can be met without developing any new oil and gas fields. Further, emissions from existing oil and gas production projects push well past remaining 1.5 degree carbon budgets. Therefore, all new oil and gas fields are incompatible with limiting warming to the levels agreed upon under the Paris agreement.
However, this has not stopped oil and gas promoters from exploring and licensing new fields. In 2025, at least 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) were discovered, and 10bboe have been approved for development.
At least 204 discoveries and 210 approvals that fly directly in the face of the no new fields warning have moved forward since 2022 and promoters are targeting at least 76 others before the end of the decade. Notable examples include:
- Whiptail Oil and Gas Project (Guyana) reached FID in 2024. Exxon’s US$ 12.7 billion project is the sixth project on the Stabroek block. It was profiled in “Oil and gas extraction’s move offshore: Trends and risks.”
- Rosebank Oil and Gas Field (United Kingdom) reached a final investment decision (FID) in 2023. The 400 million bbl oil field is operated and partially owned by Equinor alongside Ithaca Energy. It was profiled in GEM’s 2022 Hooked On Hydrocarbon’s report.
- Willow Oil Field (Alaska, United States) reached FID in 2023. ConocoPhillip’s conventional oil project in Alaska became a flashpoint for climate campaigners in the United States. Justifications for its production were dissected in GEM’s 2024 Drilling Deeper report.
- Yakaar-Teranga Gas Project (Senegal) was expected to reach FID in 2022, then 2023, but has since been delayed as BP exited from the project over the oil major’s desire to export the gas and Senegal’s desire to use it domestically. As of June 2024, FID is anticipated within the year. The project was covered in GEM’s 2023 New Hubs of Gas Extraction in Africa report and mentioned in Drilling Deeper.
- Rosmari-Marjoram Gas Project (Malaysia) was sanctioned by Shell’s subsidiary Sarawak Shell Berhad (80%, Operator) and Petronas (20%) in 2022. GEM’s 2023 Newly Sanctioned Gas Reserves in Southeast Asia Risk 1.5°C Target details how the project’s timeline runs counter to its host country’s net zero timeline. The project ranks 13th amongst the 2022 and 2023 sanctioned projects, according to Drilling Deeper.
Where discoveries are occurring
Malaysia, China and Brazil lead 2025 discovery volumes.
Where project sanctions are occurring
In 2025, Kuwait, Iran, Brazil and the United States had the most new projects approved by resource volumes.
Oil majors and national oil companies keep pushing for new fields
All company types—majors, national oil companies (NOCs), and independents—are searching for and sanctioning new fields, but NOCs and oil majors dominate. NOCs are defined as companies that are set up by and given a mandate from their home country’s government to exploit natural resources within a legally defined role. Majors are large publicly traded companies such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ENI, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), upstream oil and gas investment grew steadily between 2021 and 2024, and fell slightly in 2025.
Approvals and sanctionings, in this context, refer to significant actions taken toward a project moving toward its development. These actions include: a final investment decision (FID) being reached, a field development plan (FDP) being approved by the government, preparing a final environmental impact assessment (EIA), or similar procedures when legally required. All of which are good indicators that a company is moving forward with a project and that those projects are “new fields.”
And it's not just new fields, existing production also needs to be addressed
Emissions from existing oil and gas production infrastructure could emit double the remaining 1.5 degree celsius carbon budget. Existing oil and gas production needs to fall by at least 65% by 2050. In 2030, governments are planning to produce31% more oil, and 92% more gas than global levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. By 2050, that gap widens to 260% more oil and 230% more gas than the 1.5 degree celsius pathway. Beyond global climate concerns, there are also localized impacts. The extraction and combustion of fossil fuels causes air pollution leading to an estimated 5 million premature human deaths per year, and the destruction of ecosystems.
