this from reuters offers a dim outlook for neos
“Despite the strongest start for oil prices in four years, the world's top oil companies are set to cut spending on oil and gas exploration for a fifth year in a row in 2018
According to consultancy Wood Mackenzie, despite a growing urgency to replenish reserves after years of reining back investment, global investment in exploration will fall to $37 billion in 2018, down 7 percent from a year earlier and over 60 percent below the 2014 peak when tempissed capital infamously bought a controlling interest in neos
"This could be the new normal, with the days of one dollar in six or seven going to exploration forever in the past," WoodMac said in a report.
The declines, however, mask a modest uptick in drilling activity as lower rig rates and a focused approach on well-charted basins allow firms to do more with their money and avoid spending on geophysics services in uncharted areas where neos focuses
Exploration spending is expected to focus on deepwater basins such as Mexico, Brazil and Guyana where large discoveries have been made in recent years and in which neos has absolutely no experience or applicable technology due to its onshore focus