Page 29: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2012)

trated in Angola, Ghana and Nigeria. Latin America is likely to experience substantial growth, exceeding Africas deepwater expenditure towards the end of the forecast period. Activity in the region will be driven by Petrobras investing in development of its pre-salt Campos and Santos fields off Brazil. Asia and Australasia are relatively small markets, but will become increasingly important areas for deepwater activity. Asian Capex is expected to total $19bn over the next five years, with important deep- water projects being developed off India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Australasia deepwater activity is focused in basins off the Western Coast, with notable projects feeding LNG export plants. Drilling and completion of subsea wells dominates deep- water spend during the 2012-2016 period. Forecast expenditure will build each year over with expenditure on the drilling and completion of subsea wells to total $82bn, more than double the previous five year period. ConclusionsIn the global context, the overall outlook for the global deepwater business is clearly one of significant long-term opportunity with substantial growth in activity in West Africa, Brazil and Asia. Political intervention and uncer- tainty is not a new challenge for the oil industry but it does threaten to over-shadow the great technical progress in recent years that has resulted in remarkable feats of engi- neering and the ability to explore for oil in water depths to 3,000m. As deepwater projects become increasingly capi- tal-intensive there is an economic challenge for E&P com- panies and a significant potential prize for international oilfield service and equipment vendors. The World Deepwater Market Report 2012-2016 is anacclaimed series of business studies used by organizationsin more than 60 countries, including oil majors, invest- ment banks, OEMs, offshore contractors, agencies and gov- ernment departments. Established in 1990, Douglas- Westwood is an independent company and the leading provider of business research & analysis, strategy and com- mercial due diligence on the global energy services sectors. The company has offices in Canterbury, Aberdeen, London and New York and, to date, has completed more than 750 projects in 70 countries across the globe.