PNEC

Letter from the Conference Director


Dear industry colleague,


I invite you to participate in a new and unique initiative presented by Offshore magazine that aims to bring together energy industry thought leaders that are involved in offshore resource development with floating systems. The first edition of this new conference titled “Floating Energy Systems,” is scheduled for June 7-9, 2022. The mission of the event is to advance technology for safe, clean, and cost-effective floating systems for sustainable offshore energy development.


Offshore resource development is evolving to meet growing populations of carbon-conscious energy consumers. This is spurring a decarbonization of industries, and a measured shifting of capital expenditures to renewable energy development. But oil and natural gas are expected to remain critical resources for fuel and power for decades to come. 


A significant amount of the oil, gas, and renewable resources that will be required to meet the future energy demand are far from shore, where water depths exceed the economic limits of fixed-bottom facilities. Floating production systems, originally conceived for the oil and gas industry, are the key technical enablers for energy development in these water depths. 
 

As of early 2021, there were over 420 floating oil and gas production systems in operation; over 40 on order; more than 40 available for redeployment; and an additional 70-150 units that could be required over the next five years. 
 

It is still early days for floating wind development, but the pipeline of projects is growing, and new markets are emerging. New technology and the development of local supply chains will help bring down the overall cost of offshore wind facilities and enable more floating wind projects to move forward. The outlook is for about 3-19 GW of new floating wind capacity by 2030, with the number of floating wind units projected to grow to 12,000 by 2040. 


Recognizing the synergies between offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy development, wind developers are adopting the core characteristics of the floating designs from the oil and gas industry. These include spar, semisubmersible, TLP, and hybrid-based systems. Meanwhile, demand is increasing for the conversion of wave and solar energy into power with floating systems as well. 


Oil and gas operators and renewable energy developers are benefiting from cross-industry partnering and the sharing of skills, resources, and lessons learned for offshore energy development. But more collaboration is needed to improve the overall economics and carbon footprint of the offshore industry.  
 

This new conference aims to bring together global operators, developers, and suppliers to explore the technologies, construction and installation techniques, operational challenges, and regulatory/permitting issues that face today’s offshore energy industry. 


I look forward to hearing your experiences and perspectives at Floating Energy Systems in June 2022. 

Sincerely,
David Paganie
Chief Editor and Conference Director
Offshore