Just about every offshore support vessel in the Middle East is back in action. Demand for their services is so strong that oil majors working in the offshore oil and gas industries there are getting increasingly worried that they may be unable to get the ships they need.
This is leading to a relaxing of 15-year age limits on vessels that oil majors have steadfastly maintained until now.
After nearly a decade of underinvestment, the region’s offshore sector is set for sustained growth, with almost $70bn of projects set to be awarded in 2023 — around 30% more than in 2022, according to Mohamed Al Ali, senior vice president of operations for offshore logistics at Abu Dhabi National Oil (Adnoc).