Subsea Deepwater Market to spend $25 billion annually by 2012
“The offshore oilfield services sector is facing unprecedented levels of business; some companies that might normally have a six-month backlog are now booking work for 2011. Recent $100 oil has only served to add to the already massive demand for the products and services of firms that supply the offshore oil & gas companies. Suppliers are virtually beating off the customers, but demand continues to grow. In his annual address to some 150 oil industry executives at the Society of Underwater Technology in Houston today, John Westwood, of energy business analysts Douglas-Westwood, delivered a portfolio of forecasts of future prospects for offshore energy industry business sectors.
Deepwater
He particularly highlighted deepwater oil & gas exploration and production (E&P). “Virtually the only place where giant fields will be found in future years is in deepwater, with Brazil’s recent Tupi elephant find is testament to that. Douglas-Westwood expects world deepwater production to grow from 6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2007 to 11 mm boe/day in 2011.”
Quoting from ‘The World Deepwater Report’ he said that nearly $25 billion will be spent annually in deepwater capital expenditure by 2012. This represents a 30% growth for the 2008-2012 period in comparison to the previous five years. “This will drive demand for deepwater drilling rigs, floating production systems, subsea production hardware and more,” said Westwood.“This drive to produce, what is very high cost oil, from deepwater is the oil companies’ response to declining production in offshore continental shelf areas such as the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico and the increasingly onerous terms being sought by the biggest holders of on-shore oil reserves; the National Oil Companies (NOCs).
