Polski
Business and economics, Issue 13/2025
Offshore fossil fuel extraction on the rise – global threat report
Jul
It might seem that the world is moving away from conventional energy sources in favor of RES. However, Earth Insight’s latest report shows that offshore fossil fuel extraction is steadily expanding, with 12 new offshore mining projects approved in 2024 alone. The consequences of such activities could be catastrophic for marine ecosystems.
Offshore fuel bonanza
Despite laudable environmental goals and impassioned calls to protect the oceans, governments and large corporations continue to invest huge amounts of capital in the extraction of fossil fuels – oil and natural gas – in coastal areas and offshore locations. From a report published in June this year, Ocean Frontiers at Risk: Fossil Fuel Expansion Threats to Biodiversity Hotspots and Climate Stability shows that last year 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent were discovered in new offshore locations. The absolute majority of developed and planned production projects today are in the offshore zone.
In addition to upstream infrastructure, investments are also being made in fuel processing plants and transportation networks. Expenditures related to planned and developing LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects are estimated at about $1 trillion.
Earth Insight experts, meanwhile, point out that every stage of offshore fossil fuel extraction threatens marine biodiversity – from exploration to export. The risks range from direct losses to local and regional ecosystems to an overall increase in global emissions.
How does fossil fuel extraction harm marine ecosystems?
The Earth Insight report presents 11 case studies from frontier regions, defined as areas on the fringes of existing, mature, fossil fuel extraction centers. The analysis emphasizes the environmental and social costs of oil and gas exploitation, which covers an area of 2.7 million square kilometers in the study zone, of which as much as 100,000 square kilometers overlap the extent of marine protected areas.
Based on geospatial analyses, it was estimated that fossil fuel extraction at the 11 selected sites directly threatens 22,800 square kilometers of coral reefs, 7,900 square kilometers of underwater seaweed meadows and 70,000 square kilometers of mangroves. In addition, the expansion of LNG infrastructure in the study areas poses a direct risk to dozens of unique marine mammal species.
Scale of threats along US coasts
The Gulf of California in Mexico is poised to soon become a major hub for LNG exports. There are plans to install new pipelines and liquefaction plants, the largest of which, led by conglomerate Mexico Pacific, is expected to produce 15 million tons of LNG annually. However, experts at Earth Insight remind that the region is a valuable biodiversity hotbed, home to 40 percent of global marine mammal species. Fossil fuel extraction in the Gulf of Mexico could also threaten fisheries, which generate $320 million annually and employ more than 50,000 Mexican citizens.
Intensive oil exploration is underway around Barbados. According to environmentalists, the start of mining activities in this part of the Caribbean Sea threatens mangroves and coral reefs, as well as 22 species of marine mammals, including 3 species of sperm whales. In Suriname, which plans to follow the example of neighboring Guyana (currently the third-largest oil producer per capita), areas of planned extraction overlap 93 percent with tracts of mangrove forests and 76 percent with coastal protected areas. Dolphin sotalia, manatees and sea turtles, among others, could be affected.
Brazilian authorities maintain that offshore fossil fuel extraction will help finance the country’s energy transition. However, the oil and gas blocks planned for the equatorial region overlap with 15 percent of protected coral reefs and nearly 4,000 square kilometers of the Amazon estuary, an area of great natural value. Brazil’s northeastern coast, meanwhile, is still affected by the massive 2019 oil spill, which affected 440,000 fishermen in the region.
Controversial offshore projects in Africa
Among the areas surveyed for planned expansion of fossil fuel extraction were border regions around the African continent. In Senegal, offshore exploitation began recently, and ambitious plans call for a dynamic increase in production in the coming years. Fishermen complain that the first operations have already significantly reduced catches. Fishing, meanwhile, generates 3.2 percent of GDP and employs as much as 17 percent of the country’s labor force.
Belonging to Namibia and South Africa, the Orange Basin is considered one of the most promising fossil fuel production areas in the world. Estimates say that up to 11 billion barrels of oil deposits are located on the Namibian side. Activists warn, however, that drilling will have a catastrophic impact on local wildlife, threatening valuable turtle and whale populations, among others. Indeed, as much as 55 percent of the planned mining areas overlap with protected sites, including two Namibian coastal national parks and the Namibian Islands Marine Protected Area, the second largest marine protected area in Africa, famous for nesting penguins and Cape gannets, among others.
Similar concerns accompany plans to develop fossil fuel extraction in waters belonging to Mozambique, Seychelles and Mauritius. Investors are also eagerly looking at areas around the Philippines’ Palawan and Papua New Guinea – pristine marine ecosystems that depend on fishing and tourism.
Can offshore fossil fuel extraction be stopped?
Experts from Earth Insight hope that their report will support educational and legal efforts related to the protection of unique marine and coastal ecosystems. After all, further expansion of the offshore mining industry threatens the world’s most biodiverse regions, as well as the well-being of millions of people.
The report’s authors call for halting the issuance of new exploration and drilling permits and revoking licenses that have not yet been granted to specific investors. They also suggest halting financial support and insurance for offshore and offshore mining operations while targeting renewable energy investments. In addition, they demand that oil companies be held responsible for wells where production has already ended, as well as for the restoration of damaged ecosystems and the removal of the resulting pollution. Meanwhile, it remains up to the international community to adopt a policy of firmly prohibiting further expansion of offshore fossil fuel extraction.
In the article, I used:
Earth Insight, et al. (2025). Ocean Frontiers at Risk: Fossil Fuel Expansion Threats to Biodiversity Hotspots and Climate Stability
