Offshore pipeline installations in the North Sea are forecast to drop to a 35-year low this year as the decline in oil price hits the region’s subsea industry.
According to new analysis from IHS Markit, less than 300km of pipe is expected to be installed in northern European waters this year.
It will mark the lowest level of activity since 1980.
Mark Rae, principal researcher at IHS Markit, said: “We’re seeing an unprecedented shrinking of the offshore pipelay market in the North Sea. Operators have cancelled almost all non-essential North Sea pipeline installations, and new developments have ground to a halt in the face of the low oil price.
“The low number of front-end engineering design (FEED) awards for subsea projects in the North Sea over the past 18 months suggests that pipelay activity in 2017 will be even lower than in 2016.
“Offshore vessel managers that previously focused on work in the North Sea have begun to turn their alternative markets such as Brazil and West Africa in an effort to keep their vessel working.
“But for many, 2016 and 2017 will be characterised by extremely low demand for offshore pipelay vessels.”
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