Subsea Tieback 2023: Heard on the show floor

Compiled by Ariana Hurtado, Editor and Director of Special Reports

The annual Subsea Tieback Forum & Exhibition took place from Feb. 28 to March 2 in Galveston, Texas.

The Offshore team chatted with energy leaders and technology SMEs about the challenges facing the subsea sector of the oil and gas industry, the current state of the overall energy industry and the path forward heading into 2023 and 2024. No surprise, the trending topics on the show floor were about subsea technologies and offshore systems. 

Catch up on the conversations you missed...

The energy transition

"The narrative in the global energy sector has shifted significantly in the past 12 months. It is now understood and accepted that the world will continue to require reliable sources of responsibly produced hydrocarbons for many decades to come to facilitate the energy transition; this creates a sense of relative stability in the offshore sector in particular that has been absent since the downturn of 2014-2016 and gives decision-makers in all levels of the supply chain more confidence to invest in capacity and in developing new technology. There was a palpable energy and optimism at the Subsea Tieback Forum this year."

“The energy sector is entering a truly exciting new phase. The energy transition and a move toward reducing the carbon footprint associated with offshore oil and gas production has led to many innovative and technology-led solutions. This has resulted in other market sectors, like offshore renewables and carbon capture and storage, benefitting from many of these achievements.”

—Stephen Auld, Global Business Manager for Subsea Asset Monitoring, Sonardyne

Offshore technologies

“In 2022 Woodside Energy undertook drone surveys on our operated floating production storage and offloading facilities and offshore platforms in Western Australia and the US Gulf of Mexico. The use of innovative drone-based technology is intended to enhance location and quantification of key methane emission sources, enabling the prioritization of mitigation projects in our asset decarbonization plans. Woodside’s methane emissions were less than 0.1% of our production by volume in 2021, already well below the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) 2025 methane intensity target of below 0.2%. In September 2022, we were also the first Australasian company to sign the OGCI’s Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative, committing to strive to reach near-zero methane emissions from our operated assets by 2030.”

—Tony Cudmore, Executive Vice President Strategy & Climate, Woodside Energy

“With energy security at the forefront of the agenda on the global stage, there is increased demand for reliable and effective offshore systems. Our work class ROVs are designed to deliver high performance in challenging subsea environments supporting our clients with their subsea operations. Manufactured from our facility in the UK, our flexibility in production ensures these ROVs can be tailored according to operator requirements, further driving capabilities in the industry.”

—Kevin Taylor, Vice President of Subsea Vehicles, Forum Energy Technologies

Embracing the industry camaraderie

“Baker Hughes is thrilled to take a leadership role at this year’s Subsea Tieback Forum. Subsea Tiebacks are an instrumental part of meeting the world’s growing energy demands in the quest to provide secure, reliable and affordable energy. We embrace the opportunity to forge new connections, reconnect with old ones and learn from others throughout the week.”  

—Mathew Dossey, OFSE RP Leader, Baker Hughes

"The industry is known for its ability to deliver exceptional results, despite the complexity of long-distance tiebacks and numerous factors that can complicate the success of offshore developments. We enjoyed returning to the show and celebrating recent milestones with our customers, who are overcoming once staggering challenges in the field and continuing to push the boundaries of oil and gas. We are witnessing extraordinary feats every day and impressed by the level of cooperation ensuring the success of some of the world’s most notable offshore projects." 

—Will Bruckmann, Head of NORAM Offshore, Clariant Oil Services

“Subsea Tieback 2023 was great! It gave us a chance to showcase how our patented C-Kore Subsea testing tools are saving operators in the GoM time and money on their subsea testing operations. Especially our new Topside Wireless unit and Subsea Optical TDR attracted a lot of attention. The opportunity to speak with our customers and meet new potential users all under one roof is invaluable. We will definitely be back for Subsea Tieback 2024 in San Antonio!”

03.03.2023