Global Data
The global subsea market is due for a period of sustained growth. An element that hasn’t been looked at in these commentaries, until now, is the installation market for manifolds.
Looking at announced prospects globally, the market for manifold installations is forecast for a sustained period of growth, with a 16% increase in the number of installations each year from 2005 to 2009. This is a high-end figure and you would expect the growth to be somewhat less due to projects suffering delays as the installation market tightens.
The split between the deepwater (>500 msw) and the shallow water markets shows a comparable growth in both markets so that in terms of absolute numbers we expect to see a growth in both shallow and deepwater installations at almost identical rates. However, it is worth noting that due to the nature of announced prospects, the deepwater projects are generally more likely to go ahead than shallow water projects.
In terms of location it is unsurprising that 30% of manifolds are expected to be installed in West Africa as large subsea arrays come online to feed the massive FPSO projects. Yet we see the emergence of Australasia and North Africa as areas of potentially significant subsea plays beyond the traditional subsea areas of the Golden Triangle and NWECS.
Will Rowley
Director of Analytical Services, Infield Systems