Subsea engineering opportunity: International Market Insights Report series – offshore wind

This report is the first in a series of reports considering the opportunities for the Scottish oil and gas (O&G) subsea supply chain in other subsea and related markets. It focuses on offshore wind (OW). The report considers the international activity of the sector including where there is current activity and where there is the potential for activity based on published targets and available resource and opportunity. The report also considers the particular synergies of the sector and the subsea O&G supply chain. These opportunities cover where there is a direct cross over and also where there are opportunities for collaboration to provide innovative solutions.

The research involved a desk review of existing evidence.

The report finds that OW is an interesting prospect for the O&G subsea supply chain as there are many potential synergies across the depth and breadth of the supply chain, many of which are already being exploited. The greatest synergies with subsea O&G were found to be around: surveys (such as environmental, geophysical, geotechnical & meteorological required for site selection, project design and EIAs including their analysis and interpretation); design and installation (particularly for floating OW foundations and moorings); and operations and maintenance (O&M). OW also enjoys a global reach in terms of potential and ambition. Currently Europe is the main offshore wind market with 90% of the installed capacity (12.6 GW out of 14.4 GW). China was identified as the only other country with significant capacity installed at present. The potential and ambition for growing the OW market exists in: Europe, expanding the current capacity five-fold by 2030; Asia with approximately 46 GW targeted to 2030 and beyond and the Americas with the USA targeting 22 GW by 2030. The opportunities for the Scottish O&G subsea supply chain to diversify into the OW market exist both in Europe where there is a significant pace to the industry, and cost reduction emphasis is creating opportunities for innovation and collaboration from outwith the sector as well as in the rest of the world where countries are taking their first steps into OW. The opportunities are particularly from countries where there is an ambition to harness OW, such as Taiwan, Japan, etc. but the market is still immature. It is suggested that the opportunity in these emerging markets is likely to be greatest in countries that do not have an indigenous O&G market.

The report does not make any specific recommendations.