The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that new partnerships are emerging in the global hunt for oil discoveries. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that central to this new strategy are efforts to find an ally earlier in the process of discovering new fields and, on a larger scale, in order to save money as budgets remain tight after the oil price slump of 2014. Exploration projects move between two and three years faster in full-cycle partnership, Kosmos Energy exploration chief Tracey Henderson said. Kosmos has partnered with BP to scoop up exploration licences in the northern part of the African Atlantic, rather than competing against each other. "I wouldn't be surprised to see other sorts of joint ventures announced as the year progresses," WoodMac vice-president Andrew Latham said of partnerships targeting acreage together from the outset. Other oil firms are partnering early at a different point in the exploration cycle, but the aim is the same -- to cut costs. Oil-exploration venture Seapulse in December joined with Maersk Drilling in a contract worth several hundred million dollars to drill 12 wells. Maersk estimates the JV will shave at least 10 per cent off the cost of drilling.