UK investment needed in Asia’s offshore wind supply chain
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has identified opportunities for experienced UK offshore wind companies to invest in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific markets.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has identified opportunities for experienced UK offshore wind companies to invest in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific markets.
A pragmatic approach based on alliances with established European contractors is the best way to learn quickly.
The levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for utility solar and onshore wind in Asia Pacific were up 16% and 12% respectively since 2020, as equipment, construction costs and interest rates rose in the region. However, China was insulated from the trend.
Some $24 billion is expected to be spent on subsea and offshore pipelines in Asia Pacific over the next five years, data from energy research firm Wood Mackenzie shows.
Danish wind developer Orsted has opened what it says is the largest offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) hub in Asia Pacific to support its Greater Changhua wind farms offshore Taiwan. Significantly, it is the first operations hub it has built outside Europe.
The coal plus renewables energy transition led by Asia Pacific’s largest growth markets – China and India – is gathering speed. Significantly, it is a lot cheaper than the natural gas plus renewables path followed by the EU and US to lower emissions.
Norway’s PGS will become a major shareholder in Perth-based deepC Store in exchange for PGS providing geological and geophysical advisory services. The pair said they have also agreed to explore broader collaboration opportunities in Asia Pacific for co-developing commercial scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
Shell (LON:SHEL) is upbeat about the opportunities for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Asia Pacific, as the supermajor explores various potential storage site options across its portfolio in the region, which includes Australia, Malaysia and Brunei.
More merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities are expected to hit the market in Asia Pacific, as international oil companies (IOCs) continue to rationalise their portfolios, and ESG concerns trigger further divestments. This will help to unlock the deal flow in APAC, but potential acquirers could struggle to secure necessary finance without a strong ESG narrative.
Aberdeen-headquartered ADC Energy has been awarded a third contract in Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the first quarter of this year.
Subsea opportunities will be plentiful in Asia Pacific over the coming years as international oil companies (IOCs) and national oil companies (NOCs) advance a backlog of projects, while offshore wind developers accelerate activity across the region.
Exploration activity is set to recover in Asia Pacific this year with exciting campaigns on the horizon driven by the region’s hunger for natural gas and a rising sense of urgency to prove up new resources, analysis from energy research firm Wood Mackenzie shows.
Orsted has announced that Matthias Bausenwein will return to Europe for family reasons and take on a new role outside of Orsted. He will therefore step down from his position as president of Asia-Pacific and chairman of Orsted Taiwan on 20 January.
EnerMech has appointed Garry Ford as regional director for Asia Pacific as the group looks to drive further growth and strengthen its existing oil and gas operations across the region.
Aberdeen-headquartered EnerMech has secured more than half a billion pounds of business over the last 12 months, increasing its headcount by 30% compared with 2020.
ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), which set up a low-carbon solutions division in February, is focusing on building a carbon capture and storage (CCS) business in Asia. Significantly, ExxonMobil believes there is over 300 billion tonnes of storage capacity in Southeast Asia alone, Tracy Lothian, vice president marketing, finance & commercial development, low carbon solutions, at the US giant, said today.
First Subsea is to expand its north-east operations after securing a number of major offshore wind contracts.
Aberdeen-headquartered EnerMech has appointed its first Asia director to support its increasing operations in the region.
Investments in Asia Pacific wind and solar power could double to $1.3 trillion over the current decade to 2030 compared with the period 2011-20, predicts Wood Mackenzie. However, in most Asian markets, subsidy-free renewable power will not be able to compete with coal power until 2025 or later, cautioned the energy research company.
The offshore wind market in Asia is expected to experience massive expansion over the next five to 10 years, particularly in the more advanced economies of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, as governments face increasing pressure to focus on climate change and hit their net-zero emissions targets.
Asia Pacific has been driving global upstream sanctioning activity over recent months with multiple projects approved in Malaysia and Australia.
Renewables now make up 37% of all power generation projects under construction in Asia, representing a 4% increase in share from the previous quarter, according to the latest IHS Markit Renewable Additions Index (RAI) for Asia Pacific. Although coal power projects remain strong despite climate pressure.
Asia remains the world’s largest and fastest expanding energy demand centre. Significantly, regional investments in the transition towards a cleaner energy system have maintained pace during the coronavirus pandemic.
Global energy consultancy Xodus Group has appointed a new late life and decommissioning lead in Asia-Pacific following a significant increase in activity in the region.
More than A$50 billion ($40.5 billion) of necessary decommissioning work needs to be carried out on Australia’s offshore oil and gas infrastructure, over half of which must be started within the next ten years.