Page 44: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2023)

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FEATURE OIL AND GAS ffshore oil and gas production probably in many countries. The war in Europe is causing a cost of matters now more than ever,” declared living crisis in many countries, and widespread food short-

Audun Martinsen. The Rystad Energy ages in others. “O

Partner and Head of Energy Research told Rystad’s analysis reveals that the Middle East is a

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. hotspot for spending (see chart). Offshore capex across “It is one of the lower carbon-intensive methods of ex- the region will exceed all others, driven by huge projects tracting hydrocarbons and there is signifcant scope to de- in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, carbonize the production process further. Offshore opera- according to Rystad analysis. But strong growth is evident tors should expect a windfall in the coming years as global elsewhere , too. superpowers try to reduce their carbon footprint while ad- South America, notably Brazil, is second, followed close- vancing the energy transition.” ly by Western Europe, specifcally the North Sea. North

Martinsen was commenting after the Oslo-based frm America comes next, with more than $17 billion of capital revealed that offshore oil and gas investment is lined up to investment expected this year. hit $214 billion in the two years ending December 2023,

What’s the problem?

the frst time it has reached this 24-month level since 2012-13. And offshore activity is expected to account for There is clearly a public perception problem, not 68% of all sanctioned conventional hydrocarbons this year helped by the super-profts clawed in by the world’s larg- and next, up from a pre-pandemic average of around 40%. est energy majors over the last two years. Electric cars

There are many factors at work, but post-Covid recov- may help by replacing gas guzzlers to some extent, but ery, China’s re-opening, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine global lithium supplies could not sustain a long-term have driven energy security to the very top of the agenda switch without new technologies. 44 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM