A significant portion of the acreage available in Q1 2020 is located in either deep or ultra-deep water, up from the previous quarter, according to leading data and analytics company, GlobalData.

The company’s report: ‘Q1 2020 Global Bid Round Outlook – Increase in Deepwater Acreage Offered in Q1 2020’ reveals that in Q1 2020, approximately 60% of the acreage available in licensing rounds either open or scheduled to close in the quarter is located in deep or ultra-deep water.

Toya Latham, Upstream Oil & Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “With the increase in deepwater exploration drilling in 2019 and the largest discoveries of last year also mostly located in deepwater settings, it is likely that deepwater acreage offered by governments will continue to attract significant company interest through 2020.”

In Q1 2020, 16 licensing rounds are open with seven scheduled to close in the quarter. The US is offering the largest volume of acreage in Lease Sale 254, which will be held in March 2020. Senegal has also officially launched its 2020 licensing round offering 12 offshore blocks, which will close in July 2020.

Latham continues: “Following the major exploration successes in the area over the past few years, Senegal’s 2020 licensing round could generate significant interest; the round will also be the first to test the country’s recently updated fiscal framework, which increases the fiscal burden for new investments.”

Looking ahead into 2020, Africa, Asia, and South America are expected to host a major portion of the potential upcoming licensing round activity including Angola, Nigeria, Thailand, and Brazil.