Subsea engineering opportunity: International Market Insights Report series – ocean science

This report is part of 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 the ocean science sector, which encompasses the biological, physical, chemical and geological observations of the ocean environment. The report provides an overview of the sector and 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 highlights that oceanographic work is largely carried out by consultants, research institutes and universities for subsea activities/installations and research purposes. Ocean science is used to underpin all subsea activities by providing specific project information, from the understanding of resource, monitoring of conditions, developing defence strategies and facilitating installations by analysing a localised environment. It also enables understanding of the changing climate through monitoring and understanding ocean circulation and trends and anomalies in the environment. The report finds that there is crossover from ocean science to all other sectors that require observation of the ocean environment. Specifically, the cross over with subsea O&G will be around the ocean science data, such as the understanding of marine geology; the infrastructure required for collecting the data, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and sensors; offshore operations experience and data analysis. Globally, the report notes there are well over 60 countries that have research institutes, that in total number in the hundreds (690 research institutes are networked within International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)) dedicated to ocean and marine sciences, across the continents. There are also a number of international groups.

The report does not make any specific recommendations.