GUH set to help UK companies take advantage of Australian opportunities
Global Underwater Hub (GUH) and Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia (SICA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in an effort to grow the subsea sector in both hemispheres. GUH represents the UK’s £9.2 billion underwater industry will collaborate with SICA to bring about innovation.
Supply chains across both regions will be shared to support each other but without entering their respective markets. Market intelligence will also be shared, allowing for a diversification in strategies. Information sharing will be about energy transition and defence, along with security and protection of critical underwater infrastructure.
Neil Gordon, GUH chief executive, said: “Australia has a broad conventional energy mix with strong ambitions towards net zero, powered by carbon capture and a growing pipeline of offshore wind projects in both the West and South East Australian regions.”
Fostering collaboration across the companies will be a priority to establish innovation.
Gordon added: “Crucially, and similar to the UK, Australia champions a just transition which builds in energy resiliency and security with opportunities in sustained oil and gas production, decommissioning, offshore wind and carbon capture. Supply chain companies are encouraged to bring innovative, collaborative and sustainable solutions to this diversified market.”
Colin McIvor, SICA cluster manager, said: “This MOU marks an important step in strengthening collaboration between Australia and the UK’s subsea sectors. By working with Global Underwater Hub, we’re opening new opportunities for innovation, knowledge sharing, and international market access for SICA members. Both organisations bring unique strengths: SICA’s agility and cross-sector innovation focus and GUH’s depth of experience and established global networks. By sharing these, we can deliver real impact for established and emerging industries and accelerate significant growth for both countries.”
Oil and gas production in Australia is continuing at normal rates, providing new opportunities for new developments and expansion of ongoing production for operators such as Woodside and Santos. An increased focus on carbon capture and storage has augmented this. A high CO2 content in gas production in the region has pushed this move, as currently 18 carbon projects are in planning.
McIvor added: “Decommissioning is a significant opportunity in Australia where the inventory of subsea assets requiring to be decommissioned includes over 1,500 wells and structures and 4,500km of pipelines with major opportunities for specialist plugging, cutting, inspection and recovery technologies.”
Browse and other large-scale projects have substantial infrastructure installation requirements, to be followed up with an inspection of work conducted, with further repair and maintenance over the lifetime of the project.
McIvor said: “Meanwhile, in offshore wind, largely focused on key areas in the South East and Western Australia, there are projects totalling 11GW. The subsea requirement for cables, foundations, survey and protection systems across upwards of 700 turbines provides a significant future opportunity for UK subsea companies.”
The AUKUS alliance for advanced subsea robotics and the global telecoms market provide additional opportunities in the market, especially in defence. Western Australian is a key landing point for undersea communication links, due to its proximity to Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Mr Gordon concluded: “Similar to the UK, the underwater components, engineering and services are not necessarily required to operate in extreme water depths as in some other deepwater global basins. Instead, environmental and sustainability are key drivers and there is therefore a strong desire from Australian operators and developers to bring in expertise and best practice from UK companies who have almost five decades of experience.”
