Offshore opportunities build

The Asia-Pacific offshore energy sector is experiencing a surge in activity, especially in the upstream segment, with increased activity and growing potential for innovation.

In response to near-constant demand for supply vessels, drilling ships, and floating production storage and offloading units, the region’s ports are looking to accommodate onshore projects and meet growing demand for offshore initiatives. Competition is intense, particularly for mobilisation and demobilisation.

DUAL SPEED SECTOR
As companies aim to control supply costs and minimise risks, ports across Southeast Asia have seen increased demand.

Offshore wind projects, in particular, are getting bigger and more ambitious, prompting ports in the region to develop new infrastructure, logistics facilities, open yard space, and offshore support vessel docking facilities.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) predicts significant global offshore wind industry growth over the next decade, with approximately half of this coming from the Asia Pacific region.

As an early starter in the sector, Taiwan in particular has developed the policies, gained experience and attracted international investment to position itself as an important player in the future of the region’s offshore development. Other countries are rapidly catching up.

While ports in China, South Korea, and Singapore are well-established and possess strategically located maritime hubs with modern infrastructure and robust regulatory frameworks that allow them to readily take on offshore energy projects, emerging markets like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are now playing catch-up as they seek to enhance their infrastructure

This is particularly visible in Indonesia, which has significant potential for offshore energy. With more than 17,000 islands and a landscape rich in natural resources, it is ideally positioned for both offshore wind and oil & gas projects. Similarly, Malaysia’s abundance of offshore oil & gas pockets makes it a strong contender for a key regional energy role. At end of 2022, the Philippines started to make a pathway for offshore wind energy and has moved ahead rapidly in laying the groundwork since.

Ports in countries like Malaysia and Vietnam are in the early stages of enhancing their facilities and capabilities to cater for the anticipated surge in offshore energy projects.

Herman Jorgensen, GAC Malaysia’s Managing Director, says recent growth at ports across the Asia-Pacific region promises – in part – to alleviate the region’s tight supply conditions and enable them to cater to the needs of offshore projects more effectively.

“Many countries in the region are expanding and modernising their facilities and developing their gateway ports into regional hubs that can manage a multitude of maritime operations, from containers to offshore,” he adds.

“Ports in up-and-coming Asia-Pacific markets, including Malaysia, are upgrading terminals to act as supply and maintenance bases for the offshore industry. But with development in the region in its infancy, right now they looking to keep up with demand from both the floating and fixed offshore wind categories and the existing oil & gas sector. Finding a port in the Asia-Pacific that has the required capabilities and is available at the right time is a challenge.”

Regional ports need to invest in developing the expertise and knowledge of their respective workforces to expand successfully into effective offshore energy support. specific needs and skill sets.

CROSS-BORDER SUPPORT
“Stakeholders should focus on investing in training, retaining experts, and addressing labour shortages to remain competitive and maintain sustainable processes,” underlines Jorgensen.

“GAC has the advantage of established experience, expertise and resources throughout the Asia-Pacific region that we can tap into to support operations more effectively. By thinking and working across borders, we can provide more cost-effective and efficient offshore solutions for our customers. Being able to seamlessly access multifaceted and efficient cross-border support will help alleviate some of the supply chain woes that have built up in the region over the past couple of years”.

Such interconnectivity will become increasingly important for emerging Asia-Pacific offshore energy projects right through from taking advantage of economies of scale to enabling countries to achieve the best returns from their offshore energy opportunities.