<P> The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major sectors : upstream ( or exploration and production - E&P ) , midstream and downstream . The upstream sector includes searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields , drilling exploratory wells , and subsequently drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface . There has been a significant shift toward including unconventional gas as a part of the upstream sector , and corresponding developments in liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) processing and transport . </P>
what is upstream project in oil and gas
searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields drilling exploratory wells drilling and operating the wells that recover and bring the crude oil or raw natural gas to the surface