The Future of Offshore Oil & Gas - Opportunities and Strategic Considerations

The offshore energy sector is poised for significant growth and transformation in the coming years, driven by global energy demand, technological advancements, and industry consolidation. This blog outlines key trends, opportunities, and strategic considerations for companies looking to develop and expand their offshore energy business.

1. Market Overview and Projections:

Global upstream capex is projected to grow by 15.6% in 2024, reaching $213.2 billion, with offshore spending as a primary driver. The offshore growth trend is expected to continue through the decade, with total upstream offshore capex reaching $274 billion by 2028, implying a CAGR of 6.5%.

Key regional growth areas include:

• Africa: +34.3%

• Latin America: +225%

• Russia and Caspian: +21.1%

Deepwater E&P capex is set to outpace shallow-water, growing from $87.4 billion in 2023 to $142 billion in 2028.

2. Industry Consolidation and M&A Activity:

The energy sector is experiencing unprecedented consolidation, with Q2 2024 alone seeing over $30 billion in upstream M&A activity. Notable deals include:

• ConocoPhillips acquiring Marathon Oil Corporation for $22.5B

• ExxonMobil + Pioneer Natural Resources Company (Oct 2023, $59.5B)

• Chevron + Hess Corporation (Oct 2023, $53B)

This consolidation trend is driven by the need for scale, efficiency, inventory expansion, and asset diversification. It may create opportunities for smaller players to acquire divested non-core assets.

3. Offshore Drilling Market Dynamics:

Demand for both floating and jackup rigs is increasing worldwide, particularly in the "golden triangle" of the US Gulf of Mexico, Africa, and Brazil. Key trends include:

• Potential rig shortage in the US Gulf of Mexico by 2025

• Brazil potentially requiring 36 floaters by 2025

• Africa driving significant demand, needing at least four additional rigs by 2025

Ultra-deepwater rig rates are on the rise, with some contracts exceeding $500,000/day in 2024.

4. Long-term Energy Outlook:

Despite the growth in renewables, oil and natural gas are expected to supply over half the world's energy in 2050. Global energy demand is projected to increase by 15% by 2050, driven by population growth and rising prosperity in developing nations.

Emissions are projected to peak in the 2020s and decline 25% by 2050.

5. Strategic Implications and Opportunities:

a) Investment in Technology: Prioritize technologies that improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and unlock value in mature basins. Focus on innovations in areas such as subsea processing, digital twins, and autonomous operations.

b) Geographical Expansion: Consider expanding operations in high-growth regions like Africa and Latin America, where offshore capex is projected to increase significantly.

c) Deepwater Expertise: Invest in deepwater capabilities and assets to capitalize on the growing deepwater E&P capex trend.

d) Energy Transition Preparedness: While focusing on near-term oil and gas opportunities, invest in low-carbon technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore wind to ensure long-term relevance.

e) Strategic Partnerships: Explore opportunities for partnerships or acquisitions arising from industry consolidation, particularly for accessing new technologies or geographical markets.

f) Talent Acquisition and Retention: Develop strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to drive innovation and efficiency in offshore operations.

g) Supply Chain Resilience: Build robust and flexible supply chains to mitigate risks associated with increased activity and potential geopolitical tensions.

h) Regulatory Compliance: Stay ahead of evolving environmental regulations by investing in compliant technologies and practices.

i) Asset Optimization: Focus on maximizing the value of existing assets through technologies like refracs and enhanced oil recovery techniques.

Conclusion: The offshore energy sector is entering a period of significant growth and transformation. Companies that can navigate the complexities of industry consolidation, technological advancement, and the energy transition while capitalizing on the growing demand for offshore resources will be well-positioned for success. By focusing on strategic investments in technology, geographical expansion, and sustainable practices, offshore energy businesses can play a crucial role in meeting global energy needs while contributing to a lower-carbon future.

#OffshoreEnergy #EnergyFuture #EnergyAddition #EnergyOutlook2050 #GlobalEnergy

Maximizing Opportunities: cSolutions' Holistic Approach to Energy Project Engagement

At cSolutions, we've redefined what it means to engage with energy projects. Our unique approach goes beyond simple introductions or single-contract placements. Instead, we focus on maximizing opportunities for our partners and clients across entire project ecosystems. Here's how we're changing the game in the energy sector:

Comprehensive Project Engagement

We don't just aim to get our partners specified for a project's main material takeoff. Our strategy involves understanding and capitalizing on the potential to supply all bidders on a project. This "ring-fencing" approach allows us to effectively capture a global project's entire supply chain.

Our wins aren't just about individual contracts. They represent our ability to position our partners strategically across multiple facets of major energy projects.

Benefits of Our Approach

1. Broader Market Penetration: By connecting our partners with multiple bidders, we increase their chances of success, regardless of which company wins the main contract.

2. Diversified Revenue Streams: Our partners aren't reliant on a single contract but can potentially supply various aspects of the project through different contractors.

3. Enhanced Industry Visibility: This strategy puts our partners' products or services in front of a wider array of decision-makers, boosting their industry profile.

4. Risk Mitigation: By spreading involvement across multiple bidders, we reduce the risks associated with depending on a single contract award.

5. Long-term Relationship Building: This approach allows our partners to form relationships with multiple key players in the industry, setting the stage for future collaborations.

The cSolutions Difference

Our success stems from several key factors:

• Deep Industry Understanding: We know the ins and outs of the energy sector, from marine and oil & gas to renewables.

• Extensive Network: Our connections span developers, engineering firms, yards, and subcontractors.

• Value Proposition Synthesis: We craft compelling narratives that resonate across the entire project spectrum.

• Strategic Partner Matching: We ensure the right partners are connected to the right opportunities.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to navigate the evolving energy landscape, our focus remains on creating lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships. We're not just about completing transactions; we're about forging connections that stand the test of time and drive innovation in the industry.

Whether you're looking to expand your presence in offshore wind, explore opportunities in traditional oil & gas, or bridge the gap between conventional and renewable energy, cSolutions is here to help you capture opportunities across entire project ecosystems.

Ready to maximize your potential in the energy sector? Let's start a conversation about how cSolutions can help ring-fence your next global project opportunity.

#StrategicPartnerships #GlobalProjects #BusinessGrowth #NetworkedSuccess #ProjectEcosystem

Leveraging Time, Attention, and Momentum: cSolutions' Multi-Faceted Approach to Energy Sector Success

We've seen firsthand how our Time, Attention, and Momentum (TAM) principle drives success across various segments of the energy sector. I'd like to share how we've applied this strategy to benefit our diverse partner portfolio, with a special focus on our approach to early-stage projects.

Time: Identifying the right moment to introduce innovative solutions is crucial. For our HVAC partner, we recognized the nascent US offshore wind market as the perfect entry point. Similarly, we timed the introduction of our partner's revolutionary lifting technology for wind turbines just as the industry was grappling with the logistics of larger turbines. For our AI knowledge database partner, we entered as energy companies were seeking to streamline operations and reduce costs. Our subsea monitoring devices partner was introduced as offshore operators faced increased pressure for safety and environmental compliance.

Attention: Once timing is right, focusing attention on key differentiators is essential:

1. HVAC Partner: We highlighted their offshore experience and commitment to local content and competency requirements for US projects.

2. Lifting Technology Partner: We emphasized cost savings and logistical simplification for wind farm installations.

3. AI Knowledge Database Partner: We showcased how their solution enhances operational efficiency and reduces training time for energy sector personnel.

4. Subsea Monitoring Devices Partner: We stressed real-time data access for improved asset integrity, leak detection, and regulatory compliance.

Momentum: With timing and attention aligned, we build momentum through strategic actions, tailored to each partner's unique offering and market position.

Early Project Engagement: A Game-Changer

A key aspect of our TAM approach is engaging with live projects at the pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) and FEED stages. This strategy has proven to be a game-changer for several reasons:

1. Multiple Stakeholders: By entering at this early stage, we instantly connect with various stakeholders across multiple companies associated with the same project – from project managers and engineers to supply chain and financial decision-makers. This broad exposure allows our partners' solutions to be considered from multiple perspectives.

2. Shaping Project Specifications: Early involvement often allows our partners to influence project specifications, ensuring their innovative solutions are considered from the outset rather than as afterthoughts. This adds value for our clients.

3. Expanded Understanding: As we engage with these diverse stakeholders, we gain a comprehensive understanding of the project's scope, challenges, and opportunities. This insight is invaluable not just for the partner we're initially representing, but for identifying potential synergies for our other partners.

4. Portfolio Expansion: Sometimes, our early involvement reveals needs that none of our current partners address. This insight guides our efforts to expand our portfolio, seeking new partnerships to fill these gaps and offer more comprehensive solutions to our clients.

5. Building Relationships: Early engagement allows us to build strong, lasting relationships with key players in the industry. These relationships often lead to opportunities on future projects.

At cSolutions, we believe that success in the energy sector comes from more than just having great solutions – it's about presenting these solutions at the right time, to the right people, and in a way that builds unstoppable momentum. By applying our TAM principle and focusing on early-stage project engagement, we've consistently helped our partners break through market barriers, create synergies, and achieve remarkable growth.

Are you ready to see how the Time, Attention, and Momentum principle, combined with our early project engagement strategy, can transform your business in the energy sector? Let's connect and explore how cSolutions can help you harness these powerful forces for your success.

#EnergyInnovation #ProjectEngagement #BusinessDevelopment #Synergy #cSolutions

Driving Innovation: How Clear Value Propositions Power Our Partners' Success

I'm continually amazed by our partners' groundbreaking solutions. Their success stories underscore the critical importance of a well-crafted value proposition that clearly communicates the problem solved and the target audience.

Consider our partner with a revolutionary lifting technology for the wind sector. Their value proposition addresses a major challenge for wind farm operators: the astronomical costs and logistical nightmares associated with using high-capacity cranes for turbine installation and maintenance. By highlighting how their innovative system drastically reduces crane requirements, cuts installation time, and lowers overall project costs, they've captured the attention of major players in the renewable energy sector.

Another partner offers award-winning subsea monitoring devices. Their value proposition speaks directly to the energy industry's pain points: the high risks and costs associated with subsea asset failures, environmental non-compliance, and inefficient operations. By emphasizing how their devices provide real-time data on asset integrity, corrosion, leak detection, and performance - all accessible remotely - they've become indispensable to operators focused on safety, compliance, and operational efficiency.

Take our partner who developed an AI-powered interactive knowledge database. Their value proposition zeroed in on the challenges faced by enterprise customer support teams: access to information, inconsistent answers, and high employee turnover. By highlighting how their solution empowers support technicians with instant, accurate information and reduces training time, they've secured deals with major corporations looking to enhance customer experience.

In the offshore sector, our HVAC partner's value proposition addresses the costly downtime faced by offshore energy companies due to equipment failure in harsh environments. By quantifying the benefits of their rugged, reliable systems, they've become the preferred choice for industry leaders.

Lastly, our nanocoatings partner's value proposition tackles the problem of industrial equipment degradation from extreme heat, corrosion, and wear. Their focus on extending equipment lifespan and improving safety has driven rapid adoption across a diverse group of clients and sectors.

At cSolutions, we help our partners distil their unique offerings into clear, powerful value propositions. These examples all share key elements:

1. A specific problem clearly defined

2. A target audience identified

3. A concise explanation of the solution

4. Quantifiable benefits or outcomes

By focusing on these components, our partners cut through the noise and connect with decision-makers who need their solutions most.

Ready to refine your value proposition and make a lasting impact in your industry? Let's collaborate to articulate your unique value in a way that resonates and drives results.

#ValueProposition #InnovativeSolutions #IndustryImpact #PartnerSuccess

The Most Important Question We Ask: "What's Your Biggest Challenge?"

At cSolutions, the most important question we seek to address for potential partners and clients is "What's the biggest challenge you face?"

Why is this question so critical? Here are a few key reasons:

- It cuts through superficial issues to reveal deeper needs and priorities.

- Understanding core challenges allows us to offer relevant, high-impact solutions.

- It provides insights into partners' and clients' goals, pain points, and motivations. This helps us align around shared purpose.

- It identifies opportunities for collaboration where we can combine complementary capabilities for mutual benefit.

- It builds trust and transparency, laying the groundwork for open communication and lasting partnerships.

- It sparks fresh thinking and creativity as we tap diverse perspectives to address complex challenges.

- It enables us to track progress toward overcoming obstacles and achieving success together.

At cSolutions, taking the time to ask about and listen to the biggest challenges our partners and clients face is the first step in cultivating win-win relationships. It's not about quick transactions, but forging connections and co-creating solutions with real impact.

If you're looking for a partner who cares about understanding your needs and aims to help you succeed, let's connect. We'd love to learn more about your unique challenges so we can explore how to overcome them together.

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

What is the Biggest Challenge You Face? Let's Connect to Find Solutions

In the dynamic energy industry, organizations face diverse challenges - from supply chain disruption and talent shortages to evolving regulations and technology adoption. But there's one overarching hurdle we see clients grappling with again and again: making meaningful connections.

Without the right partnerships and collaborations, even the most capable organizations struggle to seize new opportunities and advance their strategic goals. Yet, identifying compatible partners, building trust, and maximizing synergy takes time, insight, and effort.

That's why at cSolutions we put connecting at the core of what we do:

- Analyzing clients' and partners' objectives, strengths, and pain points to enable better alignment

- Facilitating introductions to vetted, complementary collaborators from across the energy ecosystem

- Nurturing relationships and open communication to build transparency and trust

- Structuring win-win partnerships that combine capabilities for mutual benefit

- Providing ongoing support to optimize collaboration and achieve shared success

We recognize that when the right partners come together around common purpose and values, they can achieve exponentially more.

If making empowering, productive connections is your biggest challenge, let's talk. cSolutions can help curate the partnerships you need to reach your goals.

Let's connect to start mapping out solutions.

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

Reaching New Heights in the Energy Sector: How We Can Partner With You

Bringing your products, technologies, or services into the global energy sector comes with great potential, but also real challenges. Based on experience and research, we want to provide insight into common obstacles, motivations, aspirations, and concerns that companies face when approaching energy firms, developers, OEMs, engineering companies, and yards. Our goal is showing how cSolutions can strategically partner with you to overcome hurdles and achieve success.

Frustrations often include navigating complex regulations, establishing credibility, and tailoring messaging to resonate with energy partners. Companies desire adequate resources, connections with key players, and flexibility to optimize efforts. Your dreams may entail becoming a preferred supplier, providing cutting-edge solutions, or leading innovation in the energy space. But fears can arise around lacking sector knowledge, not getting stakeholder buy-in, or being perceived as misaligned with values.

The good news is, you don't have to go it alone. Leverage cSolutions' expertise in the energy sector to help you understand policies, build trust, and gain insights across regions. Our extensive network connects you to the right stakeholders and channels to support your goals. We assist with adapting strategy while balancing your strengths and local needs.

With cSolutions as your strategic ally, you can build the reputation, positioning, and value propositions needed to succeed with energy companies globally. We facilitate collaborations that allow you to complement providers’ capabilities and resources.

Ultimately, delivering mutual benefit to partners is key. cSolutions helps ensure you resonate with energy sector values, obtain stakeholder approval, and make a positive impact. We equip you to overcome entrenched providers, uncertainty, infrastructure issues, and more as you expand reach.

If exploring strategic alliances to unlock your full potential within the dynamic energy marketplace, cSolutions is here for you. Let’s connect and elevate your success in this vast sector together.

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

Author: Justin Hoffman

Looking to Collaborate? We Want to Hear From You!

At cSolutions, facilitating impactful partnerships is at the core of what we do. We're always seeking new connections with companies that have innovative offerings or expertise and are looking to collaborate in the energy industry.

To help us identify the right potential partners to meet client needs, we've created a questionnaire to understand key capabilities, partnership goals, challenges and more. We'll use these insights to map complementary strengths and connect dots across the value chain.

Whether you're a service provider, equipment vendor, engineering firm, fabricator, operator or anyone else with offerings that could add value, we want to learn more. By sharing your perspective, you'll help us connect you to the relationships that matter most.

The questionnaire covers areas such as:

- Company overview and areas of expertise

- Target markets and objectives

- Partnership benefits and motivations

- Ideal partner profiles

- Expectations for collaboration facilitators

- And more

We're committed to not only completing projects, but also building partnerships that stand the test of time. It starts with understanding potential partners' strategic needs and goals.

If you'd be open to a discussion about collaboration opportunities, please reach out! We'd be happy to learn more about your company and send along the questionnaire to get your insights.

Let's start connecting the dots to bring innovative solutions to life!

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

Author: Justin Hoffman

The Power of Strategic Connections

At cSolutions, we recognize that success in the energy industry relies heavily on connections. Bringing together the right partners is pivotal to delivering results for our clients. But what makes for a truly strategic connection that stands the test of time?

We've found several key ingredients:

Shared Purpose
Having alignment on end goals and motivations is crucial. Partners must share a vision of where they want to go and why collaborating makes sense. Whether it's expanding services, entering new markets or gaining capabilities, the reasons should be mutually beneficial.

Complementary Strengths  
The best partnerships leverage each partner's core competencies rather than compete. Combining diverse, complementary skill sets and resources creates solutions greater than the sum of their parts.

Trust and Transparency
Open communication, integrity and relationship-building over the long term is foundational. Trust unlocks willingness to share information and work through issues.

Generosity of Spirit
Partnership is a two-way street. Giving value without expecting immediate return builds goodwill and deeper connections. Introductions, advice and support should flow freely.

Creativity and Innovation
Diversity of perspectives breeds new ideas and fresh thinking required for complex energy projects. Partners should challenge each other in a positive way.

To help identify collaborators that align on these pillars, we’ve created a comprehensive questionnaire for potential partners. Our goal is to better understand their capabilities, objectives, challenges and more. These insights allow us to effectively match complementary strengths across the supply chain.

At cSolutions, we take the time to curate and facilitate connections. It’s not just about completing transactions, but forging lasting relationships between partners, clients and stakeholders. By bringing it all together, we help contribute to our partners’ success today while building the foundation for tomorrow.

If exploring collaboration opportunities that propel your business forward sounds appealing, reach out to start a conversation. We look forward to learning more about your organization and how we can help strategically expand your connections.

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

Author: Justin Hoffman

The Power of Bringing It All Together

In the energy industry, delivering complex projects requires bringing together many different partners across the supply chain. From operators to equipment manufacturers to service providers, there are often numerous stakeholders involved. Aligning their interests and resources in a collaborative fashion is crucial for success.

At cSolutions, "Bringing It All Together" is our guiding philosophy. We utilize our deep expertise and expansive network to connect partners who can create synergistic solutions. By facilitating collaboration between operators, technology providers, fabricators, engineering firms and more, we help streamline project execution and get innovative offerings to market faster.

Some key benefits we enable by bringing it all together:

- Shared expertise - Partners can leverage each other's technical skills and domain knowledge for more informed decision-making.

- Resource optimization - Coordinating efforts allows for better allocation of people, equipment, facilities, etc.

- Risk reduction - Close coordination minimizes missteps, delays, and other issues.

- Complementary capabilities - Each partner can focus on their core competencies and fill gaps.

- New perspectives - Diversity of thought leads to more creative problem-solving.

- Market access - Partners expand their reach by tapping into each other's networks.

As the energy landscape continues evolving, taking an integrated, partnership-based approach is imperative. Complex challenges require holistic solutions that bridge silos and boundaries.

At cSolutions, we're committed to bringing together the best partners from across the supply chain to make projects and businesses stronger and more successful. The whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts!

Let's connect on how we can help bring it all together for your next opportunity.

#connect #consult #collaborate #getcsolutions

Author: Justin Hoffman

Capitalizing on the Capabilities and Experience of the Offshore Oil and Gas Sector Can Accelerate the Development of US-Made Offshore Wind Projects.

A significant portion of my career was focused on electrical products, training, certification, and inspection. This has meant I’ve had the luxury of doing business with a large cross-section of the traditional energy supply chain, with anyone who had to turn something on/off - end users, developers, operators, drillers, engineering companies, OEM’s, package equipment vendors, yards and contractors around the world.

As a company, cSolutions focus on developing opportunities for our partners to participate in marine, oil & gas and renewables projects. Working across the supply chain to ensure their products, technologies or services are technically and commercially viable and approved for the projects in question.

My initial foray into Offshore Substation (OSS) platforms started the same way I approached a large offshore oil and gas project. Engaging with the developers and attempting to get written into their specifications, then working down through the engineering firms and yards to ring-fence the project.

What became quickly evident was that the developers didn’t have a detailed specification, at least to the level of having an approved makers list or approved vendor list beyond key technology. As such, I was connected with consulting engineering firms based in Europe with decades of experience working with these developers.

These consulting engineering firms seeking to support the development of US offshore wind didn’t have the US supply chain to support their ambitions. So, we started creating potential collaborative partnerships that could work with these consulting engineers to support them in executing projects. In essence, putting together a winning team to approach the developers with a solution to complete their project in the US.

What we found was a lot of the Gulf Coast supply chain had previously obtained stakeholder buy-in to allocate time and resources to bid for the first round of offshore windfarm projects.  Unfortunately, as they had bid and rebid these projects multiple times with no orders being placed or projects progressing, there was a certain amount of understandable reticence about making that same investment of time and resources. However, what we see now are live projects and active bid cycles.

Ørsted alone has 5000MW of offshore wind capacity on the East Coast, stimulating $2B of investments across the US. At the end of 2022, we had the following projects operational or under construction:

·        Ørsted Coastal Virginia Pilot (12MW) operational

·        Ørsted Block Island (30MW operational powering 17K homes - 2016

·        Avangrid/Vineyard Wind 1 (800MW) under construction

·        Ørsted South Fork Wind (132MW - NY) under construction at Kiewits yard in Ingleside

·        Ørsted Revolution Wind 1 & 2 (304MW - CT & 400MW - NY) under construction in Singapore

But we have a supply chain that is challenged for a variety of reasons.

You have developers with European designs and material selection, based on decades of honing their supply chain and project execution strategies for Europe.

You have EU suppliers with decades of experience in their offshore wind sector, trying to figure out where they should establish a beachhead in the US to allow them access to as many projects as possible. Trying to find the right location or partner with the vision or experience to handle large, complex, offshore projects.

Each state has its desire to have a complete supply chain, but as we’ve seen in Europe where each country has its set of resources that are then pooled together, so too must the Northeast look at combining their forces. They must look at collaborating more with neighboring states and to states with experience with complex offshore projects.

In the Northeast, you have limited resources in terms of land, access to companies, materials, or a skilled supply chain with personnel experienced in dealing with offshore projects. If developers want to ensure “local content”, that term needs to extend beyond the state level. As such you’re seeing, talent and resources being utilized here in Texas.

The Northeast has shipyards, but there is a significant difference between a shipyard and a fabrication yard. We have fabrication yards along the Gulf Coast that could build offshore substation platforms (topsides and jacket), as well as shipyards for offshore windfarm vessels.

Fabrication yards tend to be engineer one, build one (maybe two). They too will have to look at efficiencies if we want to meet the 30GW by 2030 goal for the US by producing one of two types of Offshore Substation (OSS) platform:

·        HVAC OSS platform with approx. 3-5000T topsides

·        HVDC OSS platform with 12-15,000T topsides

By contrast, a typical Gulf of Mexico wellhead platform is 3-5000T topsides, with the footprint and dimensions virtually identical to that of an HVAC substation platform. There is already plenty of experience in Texas to design, engineer, procure, fabricate, commission, and install these types of structures.

There are also opportunities to adapt current European designs to a fit-for-purpose US platform design, to expedite time to installation and dramatically lower project cost. My hope is that adherence to an EU design isn’t used to justify awarding contracts overseas.

With the first US-built offshore substation being engineered and fabricated by Kiewit, Orsted is building a team here in Houston. Equinor is partnered with BP on Empire Wind and has personnel from Houston, while Atlantic Shores has a team with Shell personnel. Principle Power is the market leader in floating offshore wind technology, with two projects operational in Portugal and Scotland, rapidly built a team here in Houston last year.

One of the significant advantages for these growing teams is the O&G personnel who have experience delivering large, complicated, long lead time, offshore projects. These companies have realized if you want to build a project team, it only makes sense to consider the vast offshore project experience here in Houston. The skills and experience needed to build, install and operate a large fixed-bottom or floating offshore project are here in Houston.

Also, in Texas, you have the first Jones Act-compliant WTIV, wind installation vessel for Dominion Energy being built down at Keppel Shipyard in Brownsville. Two other US yards are building Jones Act compliant offshore windfarm vessels;  Edison Chouest in Louisiana and Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania.

Offshore windfarms require a plethora of installation, maintenance, and support vessels, which should ideally be energy efficient and have lower carbon emissions to meet IMO 2030 requirements at the very least, but preferably IMO 2050 if you’re looking at newbuilds.  As such, 100’s more purpose-built vessels will be required to meet global offshore windfarm project demand.

One very encouraging thing I’ve seen in the offshore wind sector is strong collaboration. From personal experience at industry events, everyone is leaning in, finding out what each other is doing and where opportunities might lie to help each other.  This is essential as the risk is being pushed down onto the supply chain. At some point, developers may need to adapt to the US market and absorb some of that risk to expedite successful projects.

And if you look at the broader landscape of Texas, you have Tesla and SpaceX, both tapping into the vast experience here for complex projects. Fortescue Future Industries establishing a presence here in Houston for their hydrogen projects in the US. New Fortress Energy is building out its team to support multiple LNG projects. TotalEnergies have made a strong commitment here in Houston to help drive them into the forefront of the renewables sector.

Many companies in Houston have diversified their traditional energy business to cater to solar, battery storage, wind, hydrogen carbon capture, e-fuels, and ammonia projects.

In the last two years we have seen a profusion of small, niche, engineering and specialty service companies born off the back of much larger organizations with these teams focusing on the renewables sector. Once again, proving the value of traditional energy experience to successfully bring us through a transition and explore options to meet and service those renewable goals.

The burgeoning US offshore wind industry is being hailed as a catalyst to bring manufacturing back to American communities and revitalize local economies. This reinforces the message that there are opportunities if you can pivot to meet them, and also that the offshore wind industry has echoes of more geographic clustering from a sourcing perspective to support construction and operations.

We already have a geographic clustering of resources here in Houston and along the Gulf Coast for large, complex offshore projects. In Houston and Texas, you have a city and state already actively engaged in an energy evolution.

Author: Justin Hoffman

What's Happening Offshore?

As we collectively recover from Covid, the need for offshore oil & gas field development has not diminished, and FPSO’s are still the preferred solution. Standardisation of design has been the big push to expedite the time to first oil for the likes of SBM and MODEC, but now we’re seeing that zero emission or green floating assets are on the drawing board.

Some operators are rethinking their energy portfolio, consolidating, and focusing on core assets, while looking towards a lower carbon footprint. Companies are challenging themselves to look at how they can positively align project design and supply chain with high-level ESG policies, which are driving investments and shareholder engagement.

Offshore windfarm projects have dominated investment discussions, courtesy of renewable energy incentives and falling technology costs. With impressive gigawatt (GW) goals being announced, then increased at COP26, 2021 could well be remembered as a transformative year for offshore wind as spending doubled compared to 2019 levels. Over 2 billion in new investment was reported in the US alone.

Offshore windfarm developments require a plethora of installation, maintenance, and support vessels, which should ideally be energy efficient and have lower carbon emissions. These vessels are typically of European design, along with the majority of the offshore windfarm infrastructure. The US only has (3) Jones Act Compliant vessels currently being fabricated for their market, while 100’s more purpose-built vessels will be required to meet global offshore windfarm project demand.

You could be forgiven for thinking this is the end of the road for oil & gas but rising oil prices, with speculation of $100+ barrel oil for a prolonged period in 2022, will lead to investment growth. Different financing models are being entertained, but with new discoveries and improved oil prices, financing is always there if there are stable and good terms. For shorter term redeployments, in unstable regions, in questionable fields, it becomes more challenging.

There will be caution ahead of any major capital commitments, supported by challenges in the global supply chain, leading to operators entertaining various execution strategies to ensure profitability. The contracting model still errs towards “most competitive”, which highlights emerging markets, opportunities for new players, standardisation of design, and a focus on high performing fields to meet oil demand that will strengthen through 2022 and into 2023.

Oil & gas demand will rise to meet the desire for reliable and economical energy. Unless consumers change their energy habits, oil & gas demand will steadily increase, especially from developing nations, while we bring online and transition to alternative energy sources.

Energy Maritime Associates recently estimated that 100+ FPSO projects are at least 5 years out from operation; 69 projects in the planning phase, 35 in the bidding/final phase, primarily bound for South America, Africa & Asia.

The development mix in the medium-term spans across mature markets that don’t need large FPSO’s, so are suitable for redeployment of an existing asset, and the new markets where the lack of local infrastructure leads to the FPSO being an obvious solution.

As we’ve seen before, ownership and execution strategy can change during the evolution of a project, but with FPSO’s being designed and operating for 25+ years, companies are planning for an offshore market to 2040 and beyond.

Author: Justin Hoffman

Offshore Technology Conference 2021 Review

You can stand in one place and hope the world will pass you by or you could walk for days at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

From 4,000 attendees visiting 38,500 square feet of exhibit space for the first conference in 1969, to 108,300 attendees swarming NRG Park to cover a record 680,025 square feet over the course of 4 days in 2014, OTC has always attracted global attention.

Since 2007 I’ve used OTC to arrange strategic meetings with international clients and vendors flying in for the show, while keeping abreast of the latest products and technologies being presented.

Keeping it targeted allowed me to make the most of OTC. Bumping into someone I knew on almost every aisle made for a pleasant and productive week, combined with the numerous client appreciation and networking events in the evenings.

To say you were exhibiting at OTC was one thing, but that didn’t guarantee you’d get the people you wanted on your booth, so was OTC getting too big and too expensive to get quality visibility?

Although OTC was significantly downsized this year to just part of the NRG Center, it felt like a welcome conference reset for an industry ready for renewed growth. While the aisles were far from crowded, new technologies for the oil & gas sector were embraced (the robot dog was a big hit) and OTC welcomed the energy transition more than ever before.

Some big names were conspicuous by their absence, though we’d seen that move a couple of years ago too, which led to some new names appearing on the roster. New topics were covered during the technical sessions, that were in turn represented on the show floor by exhibitors presenting new markets, renewable energy, CCUS, ESG solutions, digital technologies, and diversification for the supply chain.

Conversations were rife with what OTC used to be, but also filled with introductions to collaborations, consortiums and joint ventures looking to move quickly to fill the thirsty void.

Amongst other topics we were able to hear about Guyana’s rapid development of a giant offshore resource, Brazil’s largest deepwater oil discovery in the world, resiliency vs efficiency, advances in digital technologies for driving innovation and transformation, big data and digital transformation, viable pathways and challenges associated with the clean energy transition, shaping a low carbon future with supplier diversity, project execution in the energy transition, advances in robotics, and the role of innovation and digitization in securing our energy future.

In addition to what was happening at OTC, industry press was awash with exciting articles about the potential awaiting existing and new market expansion, given the right impetus and leadership:

·         Offshore energy will power the world: 2021-2040 FPSO forecast (worldoil.com)

·         Biden administration's Opec+ call is a blow for US oil sector | Upstream Online

·         Existing oil and gas infrastructure has potential in offshore green hydrogen | Upstream Online

·         Estimated $1 trillion oil and gas windfall could speed decarbonisation: WoodMac | Upstream Online

·         Abandoning oil and gas would be a reckless act of self-sabotage - News for the Energy Sector (energyvoice.com)

·         Offshore wind installation vessel market booming | Offshore (offshore-mag.com)

·         'Absolutely applicable': Offshore oil expertise deemed crucial for massive US wind power buildout | Upstream Online

On the bell curve there are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. In bringing new products and technologies to the energy market the challenge has always been, not only meeting the rigorous supplier qualification process, but also the “fast second” approach of so many majors.

We’re seeing plenty of green signaling, and hopefully a responsible holistic transition to reliable renewable energy can be obtained without negating the significant contribution, amazing technology, and outstanding talent that we rely on daily from the oil & gas sector. The diverse energy markets are not mutually exclusive, together they can support ambitious goals to improve our current industry and make new energy sources viable.

At OTC 2021, I gleaned valuable insight from the sessions and caught up with good people on the exhibition floor, and during the offsite networking evenings. There are other conferences that offer more niche audiences, but regardless, I think OTC still has its place for now…

Author: Justin Hoffman

UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLVING MARKET

All expectations for 2020 were tempered quickly as the pandemic took hold, but there’s hope as we enter 2021 and companies seek to prioritise the distribution of oil & gas and renewable energy project capital expenditure.

With larger, more complex projects, some players have identified opportunities through standardization to simplify processes from design and construction through to installation and start-up. To create a menu of options that can be produced on spec, without the need for detailed design or engineering, to expedite time to first oil by then allocating their resources to project management.

With the compounding impact of multiple industry setbacks, we’ve seen companies hemorrhaging talented individuals, some never to return. This has put additional pressure on remaining resources to fulfill the same workload, which presents opportunity to companies that can offer them greater project efficiencies through better execution strategies.

The great crew change brings with it challenges, but also opportunities for the “old way of doing things” to be looked at with fresh eyes. With companies resistant to taking on additional headcount, for fear of having to go through the cycle of redundancy or layoff again, there is another opportunity in the supply chain for specialist providers or contractors to fill the void, or for a new project execution strategy to be considered.

Whether we’re talking about standardising or simplifying, something along these lines requires dialogue and compromise from all parties and is more akin to a collaborative partnership model.

Additionally, in a time of slowed project development, where supply chain is looking to further reduce cost and efficiency, the challenge will be when activity does ramp up, will there be the resources to maintain the same price and delivery promised during the slow times. Certainty of outcome is elusive.

Offshore oil & gas assets are trending towards reduced headcount, with technology leading us towards digital twins, unmanned facilities manned from shore, and fully autonomous functions. Adoption of new technology may be stymied by those fearful to be first, but the appetite for change is there.

In 2020 we saw a surging interest in renewables in the US and internationally, which looks to have passed the tipping point at which, even with oil & gas projects coming back to life, will continue to move forward.

As we enter 2021, the oil & gas projects that were put on hold or kept alive by means of a paced pre-FEED study, are being considered again and prioritized for their next development phase in Q1/Q2. All this momentum and renewed activity will bring opportunities across the supply chain.

Having continued to support our existing clients and develop new opportunities last year, and with the vaccine rollout now in effect, we’re well positioned, with flexible execution strategies, backed by the capabilities and experience of our partners to achieve positive results in 2021.

Author: Justin Hoffman