Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Nearly 30% of new subsea wells sanctioned globally during 2018-2019 were in UK or Norwegian waters, according to Wood Mackenzie.
Mhairidh Evans, principal analyst, upstream supply chain, speaking at Subsea Expo in Aberdeen, said the subsea market picked up significantly in 2018, after a 20-year global low for new contracts in 2016.
However, there remains a gap between supply and demand.
“Some companies’ order books are filling up – but not all,” she cautioned, adding that as oil and gas operators continue to put the brakes on spending, 2020 will likely be “flat.”
“That means we may yet see more consolidation in the supply chain,” Evans said. “When we look ahead to the next few years for subsea, what happens next is less certain.
“Companies can’t bank on a new oil and gas upcycle coming along and references to past levels of activity and spend are no longer relevant.”
Although oil and gas market remains by far the largest sector for the subsea supply chain, offshore wind is on a steep growth trajectory.
“We forecast substantial investment in offshore wind,” Evans said, “more than doubling between now and 2025 to reach €45 billion (S$49.2 billion) per year and much of that investment will be in Europe.
“There are opportunities all across the subsea supply chain in offshore wind, and it is turning the head of many of the industry’s biggest players.”
02/12/2020
