Offshore oil is back. At what cost?

Shell’s Vito oil platform, located in the Gulf of Mexico, represents a new era in offshore drilling. It is more efficient, technologically advanced, and environmentally friendly than previous platforms.

As oil companies invest heavily in deepwater exploration, the industry aims to lower costs and emissions while tapping into new oil reserves. This resurgence follows a period of slower growth due to past environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill.

However, critics argue that increased offshore drilling locks in long-term fossil fuel production, delaying the global transition to clean energy.

Despite this, the industry insists that new projects will help prevent oil shortages and maintain stable prices, even as environmental concerns about carbon emissions and stranded assets persist.