By Marek Grzybowski

Offshore wind energy has been treated as the best business under the sun since the beginning of the 21st century. But for the last two years, offshore oil and gas production has been highly profitable. Rystad Energy forecasts that the offshore oil industry can expect capital expenditures of around USD 200 billion in 2024 and 2025. This is twice the expected investment in offshore renewable energy sources. Investment projects at sea exceed the value of oil projects on land by approximately 50%. Polish shipyards and steel structure manufacturers have a chance to join the division of the growing pie. CRIST and Nauta, shipyards from the Remontowa Group and Mostostal Gdańsk have their chance before the offshore wind energy market really takes off. Over the next two years, the offshore oil and gas (O&G) sector will experience its highest growth in a decade. Today, expenditure on new investments in offshore oil and gas is estimated at USD 214 billion. Rystad Energy research shows that annual capital expenditures exceeded the USD 100 billion threshold in 2022 and will exceed it again in 2023. This is the first time the USD 100 million threshold has been broken. annually from 2012 and 2013 Global demand for fossil fuels remains and prices ensure the profitability of investments in the offshore oil and gas sector. Companies with concessions on the shelves are looking for environmentally friendly production sources at sea. Offshore O&G is back in the spotlight.

USD 500 million in investments by 2030 A broader perspective is provided by the “Horizons” report prepared by Wood Mackenzie. Many countries and companies have announced investment activity in O&G in 2023. The value of USD 500 million (according to information from 2023) will be achieved by investments in the development of global oil and gas assets. This is sufficient to meet peak demand in the 2030s. According to the report “More for Less: Is there enough investment in the mining segment?”, current spending on the mining segment is just over half of the 2014 peak of $914 billion (2023 estimates). “This apparent shortfall has led to widespread belief that the industry is under-investing and that a supply crunch is inevitable, sooner or later,” warned the authors of the Wood Mackenzie report, based on market information. “This has never been Wood Mackenzie’s opinion,” said Fraser McKay, Wood Mackenzie’s director of mining analysis. He stressed that: We have long held the view that spending and supply will increase to meet growing demand, and that the mining industry will not and cannot repeat the shameful years of peak inefficiency of the early 2010s.

Shell – 5 times more in oil than in wind New analysis shows that Shell invested 5 times more in oil and gas in the third quarter than “Renewable Energy Solutions” reports the company. Payouts to shareholders totaled $5 billion. The company also announced an increase in share repurchases next quarter to $3.5 billion, bringing the total announced shareholder payout for 2023 to approximately $23 billion. Payouts to shareholders were 7 times higher than for investors operating in the “low-emission” segment in the third quarter of 2023. An analysis by the Common Wealth think tank shows that in the results for the third quarter of 2023, Shell recorded profits of USD 6.2 billion . Payouts to shareholders totaled $5 billion. The company also announced an increase in share repurchases next quarter to $3.5 billion, bringing the total announced shareholder payout for 2023 to ~$23 billion.Oil is better than before the pandemic – Offshore activities are expected to account for 68% of all conventional hydrocarbons in 2023 and 2024, compared to 40% in 2015–2018, says Rystad Energy. Comparisons with the period from 5 years ago are cautious because it precedes the Covid-19 pandemic and the related decline in oil prices. In terms of total number of projects, offshore investments will account for almost half of all projects in the next two years. In the years 2015–2018, this share was only 29%.

More: The gas and oil business is better than the offshore wind farm business  https://www.bssc.pl/2024/01/11/the-gas-and-oil-business-is-better-than-…