WoodMac Names Most Admired Explorer

Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) named BP as the Most Admired Explorer in its 17th Annual Exploration Awards, WoodMac revealed in a statement sent to Rigzone recently.

The award is determined by the votes of exploration leaders across the industry, supported by independent quantitative analysis conducted by Wood Mackenzie, WoodMac noted in the statement, which pointed out that, last year, BP discovered more than two billion barrels of oil equivalent across its global exploration portfolio.

This included discoveries potentially worth upwards of $3.5 billion, WoodMac highlighted, noting that the company’s Bumerangue discovery carries WoodMac estimated recoverable oil and gas reserves of between 2.2 and 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. WoodMac pointed out that Bumerangue is BP’s largest discovery in 25 years but added that the find now faces “significant uncertainties that must be derisked to achieve commerciality”.

“BP’s return to the top of the exploration rankings with the Bumerangue success is significant,” Andrew Latham, Senior Vice President, Energy Research, Wood Mackenzie, said in the statement.

“The 2025 results demonstrate that high-impact frontier exploration, executed with technical rigor and commercial discipline, has potential to generate transformational value,” he added.

“These discoveries matter, not just as corporate milestones, but as new options for durable, energy supply in the years ahead,” he continued.

WoodMac’s Most Admired Explorer award was one of several handed out at a company awards ceremony held alongside WoodMac’s 22nd annual Exploration Summit in May, the company highlighted in the statement.

A Discovery of the Year award was also given to BP for the Bumerangue find, and an E&P Explorer of the Year award was given to Talos Energy, the statement pointed out. 

WoodMac noted that Talos is the operator of the Daenerys (WR 107) discovery, which it described as “the largest Gulf of America discovery in many years”.

“In 2025, 19 explorers each made discoveries with net value of more than $100 million - ten of them E&P companies - reflecting a strong year for the independent sector,” WoodMac said in the statement.

WoodMac also awarded TPAO with a NOC Explorer of the Year award, the company pointed out, stating that the Turkish state oil company’s Goktepe discovery was the largest gas find in Europe since North Sakarya in 2021, “in a year when seven NOCs each added more than 200 million barrels of oil equivalent in net resources, sustaining the broader trend of growing exploration impact from national oil companies”.

Rigzone contacted BP, Talos, and TPAO for comment on WoodMac’s statement.

In response, a BP spokesperson sent Rigzone a statement Gordon Birrell, BP’s executive vice president for production and operations, made in the company’s 2025 full year results presentation. In that statement, Birrell said, “I am particularly proud of our exceptional year for exploration, with 12 discoveries in 2025, including in the Gulf of America, Namibia and of course, Brazil”.

“People ask me what’s behind our exploration success. My response is that it is a blend of a deeply experienced exploration team and the application of advanced technology,” he added.

At the time of writing, Talos and TPAO have not responded to Rigzone.

In a release sent to Rigzone last year, WoodMac revealed that ExxonMobil was crowned the “most admired upstream explorer” in WoodMac’s latest Annual Exploration Summit Survey at the time. Rigzone previously contacted ExxonMobil for comment on WoodMac’s release. Exxon did not respond to Rigzone at the time.

In a release sent to Rigzone in May 2024, WoodMac revealed that Eni had been named “the upstream industry’s most admired explorer” in Wood Mackenzie’s annual exploration survey. When Rigzone asked Eni for comment on its award at the time, the company’s Exploration Director, Aldo Napolitano, told Rigzone, “we are pleased with Eni’s exploration reputation among our peers”.

“This award is the result of our recent successes, but also of the consistency of our results over the years, worldwide. It also demonstrates our proven ability to rapidly develop discoveries and create value,” he added.

Bumerangue Discovery

In a release posted on its site on August 4, 2025, BP announced an oil and gas discovery at the Bumerangue prospect in the deepwater offshore Brazil.

Birrell described the Bumerangue find in that release as a “significant discovery” and BP’s “largest in 25 years”.

“This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team, underscoring our commitment to growing our upstream,” he added in that release.

Also back in August, Obo Idornigie, Welligence SVP, Energy Trends and Analysis, told Rigzone that “BP’s disclosure of the Bumerangue discovery points to a potentially material find” but added that “uncertainties remain regarding its size and commercial viability”.

“Preliminary data indicates elevated CO₂ levels, a technical challenge historically undermining the appeal of similar prospects. An appraisal program will be needed to assess the field’s scale and development potential,” Idornigie told Rigzone.

Rigzone previously contacted BP for comment on Idornigie’s statement. A BP spokesperson declined to comment but directed Rigzone to BP’s August 4 release announcing the oil and gas discovery at the Bumerangue prospect.

In its August release, BP noted that “results from the rig-site analysis [at Bumerangue] indicate elevated levels of carbon dioxide”.

“BP will now begin laboratory analysis to further characterize the reservoir and fluids discovered, which will provide additional insight into the potential of the Bumerangue block,” it added at the time.

“Further appraisal activities are planned to be undertaken, subject to regulatory approval,” it continued.

In another release sent to Rigzone later in 2025, Birrell said “initial results and analysis” at the Bumerangue find offshore Brazil “are extremely encouraging”.

“We are still in the exploration phase for Bumerangue, however, initial results and analysis are extremely encouraging as they indicate a very large hydrocarbon column and a significant volume of liquids in the reservoir,” Birrell stated in that release.

“We are pleased about what we have seen to date and our confidence in the potential of this field has increased,” Birrell added.

“We have a team in place and are accelerating work on proposed appraisal activities and potential development concepts, which will include the potential for an early production system,” Birrell went on to state.

In this release, BP noted that, following the announcement of the Bumerangue find back in August, initial laboratory and pressure gradient analysis “has confirmed the presence of a ~1,000 meter gross hydrocarbon column, including a ~100 meter gross oil column and a ~900 meter gross liquids rich gas-condensate column”. 

“Given the presence of liquids across the entire hydrocarbon column, the high-quality rock properties observed, and BP’s extensive technology and deepwater developments experience, BP believes that the carbon dioxide in the reservoir can be managed,” the company said in this release.

BP went on to state that it is continuing laboratory testing and other analysis to determine fluid characteristics, gas-to-oil and condensate-to-gas ratios, and an estimate of in-place volumes. The company said in this release that it will provide an update “in due course”.

“Planning of appraisal activities is ongoing with well activities expected to commence in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval,” BP said in the release.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com