Page 7: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jul/Aug 2021)

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Houston-Bound never thought I’d utter these words, but I’m looking forward to being in Houston in August. Don’t get me wrong, Houston is a great city with some of my favorite people, restaurants and watering holes. But I’ve been there many, many times in

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August, and it gives a new defnition to the word ‘hot’. But this year – for so many reasons – is different.

I and most of our Offshore Engineer crew were ‘road warriors’ in every sense of the word, traveling relentlessly to exhibitions, conferences and to visit individual clients globally. Then came COVID, and I literally have not traveled on business from New

York City for 518 days (and counting). The good news: my wife and my dog still like me. The bad news: I sorely miss the in-person, one-on-one interaction. We, like the rest of the planet, have embraced the effciency of online video meetings via the platform of your choice, and with Zoom, Teams and GoogleMeet I’m able to literally skip through several continents in the course of a normal business day. While the challenges – both from COVID for the past 18 months and courtesy of the energy markets for the past 6+ years – have mounted, it has failed to stop innovation, which is at the heart of OE’s coverage 24/7/365.

Front and center in this edition is Elaine Maslin’s coverage on the evolution of robotic solutions across the industry, from the creatively named metal, composite and chip driven critters climbing on a rig near you to the innovative ‘pipeline repair habitat’ which graces our cover, a system that is seeking to bring 3D printed repair solutions to the seafoor. Our 12 pages of robotics coverage, with updates on some of the most compelling recent trials globally, starts on page 24. While the price per barrel has made a strong rebound and the immediate future looks bright indeed for solid footing in the offshore oil and gas sector, you cannot ignore energy transition and all that it entails.

Phil Lewis, Director of Research at World Energy Reports, offers and encyclopedic knowledge of all matters offshore wind, from insights on the supply chain to the latest technologies to the maritime side of the equation. Most importantly, he has detailed

OEDigital.com insights on the major projects, from the fnancials to the timelines. In this edition he 220,887 shares two features: the frst on the evolution of the U.S. offshore wind sector, which monthly pageviews today is 40 projects in the planning stage representing $135B in CAPEX and $4.2B in annual OPEX; and the second on the international WTIV market, highlighting the tremendous need for investment and installation ships to fuel the global demand.

OEToday eNew 53,685 5X/Week

Gregory R. Trauthwein

Editorial Director & Associate Publisher [email protected] t: +1.212.477.6700 • m: +1-516.810.7405

JULY/AUGUST 2021 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 7