<p>This study examines the methods to plan the development of offshore oilfields over the years, which are used to support the decision-making on the development of offshore oilfields. About 100 papers are analysed and categorised into different groups of main early-stage decisions. The present study stands in contrast to the contributions of the operations research and system engineering review articles, on the one hand, and the petroleum engineering review articles, on the other. This is because it does not focus on one methodological approach, nor does it limit the literature analysis by offshore oilfield characteristics. Consequently, the present analysis may offer valuable insights, for instance, by identifying environmental planning decisions as a recent yet highly significant concern that is currently being imposed on decision-making process. Thus, it is evident that the incorporation of safety criteria within the technical-economic decision-making process for the design of production systems would be a crucial requirement at development phase.</p>