NEW YORK CITY – Operator demand for subsea trees, manifolds, and other subsea equipment is ramping up as evidenced by orders placed in the 1Q 2023, according to Evercore ISI’s latest Offshore Oracle report.
Both SLB and Baker Hughes “got off to a great start” for their subsea equipment offerings in the first quarter of this year following “a resurgence in offshore exploration and development,” according to the report.
Evercore noted that SLB booked subsea orders for Brazil from multiple operators (Petrobras, PRIO, and Enauta), as well as a global well construction and reservoir evaluation contract with Shell that includes Brazil, Egypt, and the Crux project in Australia.
Courtesy Evercore ISI
Baker Hughes also reported strong 1Q subsea bookings, according to Evercore, with the oilfield services company receiving a major award for the Agogo field offshore Angola. The 23 trees and 11 manifolds award was the company’s largest subsea tree order in almost five years, the report said.
Wood Mackenzie has forecasted that up to 435 trees could be awarded this year, up from nearly 350 trees in all of 2022 and up sharply from a record low 88 trees ordered in 2016.
Latin America is expected to remain the key driver of subsea tree awards, with up to 132 trees or 30% of all trees ordered, but Africa could be in a close second place with up to 120 trees or 28% of all trees awarded.
Evercore says that this is up sharply from the trailing eight-year average of 35 trees, a trend that “supports a broadening out of the offshore recovery.”
