Oil & gas supply chain sector should start looking into ways to diversify into renewables as oil is expected to gradually lose its share in the fossil fuel mix and renewables are projected to be the fastest growing fuel source, Paul Appleby, BP’s head of Energy Economics, said during a panel discussion at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam.
The share of renewables is expected to increase from 3 percent today to about nine percent in 2035, Appleby said while presenting a brief version of BP’s Energy Outlook.
Appleby’s message was also echoed by Bart Cornelissen, Partner of Monitor Deloitte, who said that the oil & gas supply chain players should look into the alternatives such as renewables and the USD 17 billion decommissioning market in the North Sea.
Cornelissen pointed to the example of Fugro, a company which, he said, now does more seismic surveys for the renewable energy sector than for the oil & gas.
Fraser Weir, Netherlands Asset Director, Centrica, and Rob van der Hage, Program Director Offshore Wind, TenneT were also speaking at the panel.
Both Weir and van der Hage said they could imagine offshore wind turbines and offshore oil and& gas platforms operating close to each other, which was not the case in the past.
On the offshore wind turbines, Van Der Hage said the coastal area in the Netherlands was too crowded with the projects already under construction there, meaning future wind farms would need to go further offshore, which does offer stronger winds, but also calls for more infrastructure.