``Some areas in 2000 will be slow to catch up. I think the Far East will be one of them. There is less money going into this region,'' he said. IHS said it estimated 7,433 exploration and delineation wells were completed in 1999, compared with around 9,800 in 1998. Exact figures for Russia, onshore China and India were not available, IHS said.

``The fall of 24 per cent was much lower than expected at the halfway mark of the year, largely as a result of the second half upturn experienced in North America,'' the report said. At the start of 1999, oil prices stood at less than $10 per barrel basis Brent, but rose to more than $25 by the end of the year, IHS said. The reportfocused on the number of wells completed in exploration and delineation drilling.

These are the wells drilled to make initial oil and gas discoveries and to discover the extent of a field. The report did not count development wells or take into account seismic work. Development wells are drilled on fields with proven reserves and seismic surveys are carried out to discover oil-bearing geology.

``The surge in oil price was reflected by an increase in exploration work in the latter part of 1999 following a very depressing first six months,'' the IHS report said. IHS said 3,458, or 47 per cent of the wells, were drilled in Canada and 1,493, or 20 per cent, were drilled in the United States. The Far East was the most active area outside of North America at 1,010, or 14 per cent, inflated by activity by state oil firms in China and India.

The report said 334 wells, or 4.5 per cent, were completed in Latin America. Europe saw 337 completions, of which most were in Romania with 100. There were 110 wellsdrilled in the Middle East,representing 1.5 per cent of the activity. Cross said he would expect activity to bounce back in 2000 to levels seen in 1998.

Brazil, West Africa, deep water Gulf of Mexico and North America were likely to be the most active in 2000, building on their successes in 1999, Cross said.