Offshore opportunities
AgustaWestland AW189 landing on oil platform
After a rough few years, the offshore oil and gas market might be recovering.
Early 2018 figures from Westwood Global Energy show the market starting to recover next year, with global expenditure increasing to approximately $3 billion from around $2.7 billion per year.
Expenditure across the period 2018-2022 is expected to total $16 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1%.
It’s not only offshore oil and gas that will provide opportunities for the helicopter market, though – more offshore windfarms are being built and will require helicopter services.
MBA Redbook hosted a webinar on the state of the helicopter market recently, and released a statement saying that offshore wind will “likely be a small, but essential aspect of demand going forward”.
Right now, there are more than 3,000 turbines installed globally and 600 more are under construction. With one helicopter being able to serve 80 turbines, there is a market there and it’s only growing.
Westwood expects almost 6,000 turbines to be installed globally over the 2018-2022 period, bringing the total number to 9,000 to 10,000.
The year opened with an air of slight positivity. At Helicopter Investor London 2017, the general mood across the board was, at the very least, not as pessimistic as it has been the last few years. Now we are seeing that positivity come to fruition.
Coming out of one of the worst market downturns the market has seen, one has to remain cautious. However, with existing markets looking like they are recovering and new opportunities opening up, I expect the air at Helicopter Investor London 2018 to be just that little more positive.
Subscribe to our free newsletter
For more opinions from Helicopter Investor, subscribe to our email newsletter.
