Deepwater offshore area, with rich oil and gas resources, has currently become the hot area for oil and gas exploration and the main battlefield where global oil majors compete with each other. This article summarizes the current situation of deepwater oil and gas exploration and development overseas from the perspectives of exploration history, exploration achievements and technical progress, and analyzes the difficulties and challenges faced by the industry, such as low level understanding of hydrocarbon accumulation conditions, global security and environmental challenges. And then, several feasible implementation strategies have been proposed on how to actively deal with the challenges, promote Chinese oil companies’ overseas exploration, and realize efficient exploration and development of deepwater oil and gas fields overseas. These strategies consist of three aspects: profit-oriented operation principle, exploration ideas supported by theory and technology, and exploration strategy that puts safety first. In the era of low oil prices, Chinese oil companies must build up confidence, seize the opportunity and face the challenge while taking efforts to innovate technologies and theories, updates strategic ideas, and cultivate deepwater talents so as to be in an active position in global deepwater exploration and development industry in the future.