Offshore project commitments count set for record in coming years

Offshore project commitments count set for record in coming years

OSLO — Offshore project commitments are expected to not only recover going forward, but their number is also set to reach a new record in the five-year period towards 2025, cumulatively almost 600 projects, a Rystad Energy report shows.Deepwater commitments will enjoy the largest growth as their cost has now become much more competitive against greenfield continental shelf reserves.For the purpose of this analysis, we have defined that a project is committed when more than 25% of its overall greenfield capex is awarded through contracts.Looking at five-year intervals, total offshore project commitments declined in the period 2016-2020 to 355 projects, down from 478 in the period 2011-2015.From the beginning of 2021 and up until the end of 2025, Rystad Energy's exact forecast is for 592 commitments, with growth across all water depth levels — shallow water (0-125 meters), deepwater (125-1500 meters) and ultra-deepwater (beyond 1500 meters).Although shallow water commitments will take the largest share of the total offshore project pie, rising to 356 from just 206 in the last five years, the