More Singapore offshore and marine firms tack into wind ventures in Scotland as demand rises

ABERDEEN – Wind turbines generating renewable energy in the North Sea might seem far removed from Singapore, but local firms are increasingly making their mark there, contributing to vital nodes in the global offshore wind supply chain.

Over the years, many Singapore offshore and marine companies have pivoted from just servicing the oil and gas sector to also doing business in renewables. Several are redeploying assets and recalibrating solutions for offshore wind generation.

For instance, Seatrium provides offshore platforms that transmit electricity generated by offshore wind turbines to onshore grids, while Mooreast provides the solutions to anchor the turbines to the seabed. Meanwhile, Cyan Renewables operates wind-farm support vessels.

These Singapore companies all have a presence in Britain, where some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms are located, and more are exploring opportunities to diversify or expand into this sector. The North Sea is located to the east of Britain.

The global offshore wind market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 22 per cent between 2022 and 2030. By 2030, the industry is expected to be worth approximately US$126 billion (S$169 billion).

Mr Alan Yeo, Enterprise Singapore’s director for Europe, said: “In Europe, the green transition is among the top priorities of governments. There are ambitious plans and targets, with large projects in the pipeline.

“Specific to Britain, it is looking to generate 50GW of offshore wind power by 2030, with 5GW from floating offshore wind.”

SPH Media Limited, its related corporations and affiliates as well as their agents and authorised service providers.

 marketing and promotions.

In June, Enterprise Singapore brought nine Singapore companies to Britain to explore potential opportunities in offshore wind.

While Singapore has no domestic wind energy market, local companies, particularly those in oil and gas, have capabilities that can cross over into that space due to their experience in building oil rigs and supporting offshore activities.

Mr Yeo said: “The scale of the infrastructure and assets, as well as operating conditions in the offshore oil and gas space, have similarities to offshore wind farms.”

He added that marine and offshore energy companies can adapt and participate in areas such as constructing offshore substations, support vessels and mooring products, which are all part of the offshore wind value chain.

Mr Wilson Ang, executive director of the Association of Singapore Marine and Offshore Energy Industries, said local companies had been moving into the offshore wind space in the last five years to take advantage of growing global demand for cleaner energy.

“Offshore wind has been identified as a new growth area for our marine and offshore energy companies, to put our strong engineering capabilities to good use,” he said.

“Our companies have already made successful inroads into Taiwan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. More will be seen in countries like Japan and Vietnam.”

Mr Steven Toy, managing director of AME International, said that while oil and gas are still the company’s bread and butter, it is diversifying into renewables.

The Singapore engineering group is one of a growing number of local firms that have pivoted to offshore wind. It bought a subsea equipment machining facility from oil and gas giant Baker Hughes in Scotland, which it will repurpose to manufacture offshore wind equipment.

Mr Toy said the firm hopes to get its first customer in the renewables space by 2025, and for renewables to ideally contribute 20 per cent to 30 per cent to annual revenues in the future.

The Singapore companies are entering the offshore wind market at a time when there are still big gaps in the offshore wind supply chain that they can fill. 

Cyan Renewables chief executive Lee Keng Lin noted that offshore wind turbines can be taller than the Eiffel Tower, making it a huge operation to install and maintain them.

There is a big demand for wind turbines, but a shortage of support service providers with vessels that can transport such large structures and support the installation of the turbines.

Cyan Renewables aims to invest in, own and operate vessels that support offshore wind operations.

In January, it bought a majority stake in Sentinel Marine, a UK-based maritime environmental response vessel operator, and in July, acquired Australian offshore marine services provider MMA Offshore for US$702 million.

Mr Lee said his firm will support Sentinel Marine in getting new vessels to pivot to offshore wind and growing new capabilities, such as monitoring subsea cables.

He added that the plan is to establish a single platform serving both Europe and the Asia-Pacific, building on the track record with Sentinel.

Mr Lee said: “We want to be an accelerator of net zero... We take a very long-term infrastructure view of the business. So we are happy with low sustainable earnings, compared with the traditional shipowner, where it will want to milk it when the cycle is high. We value long-term contracts by working with our partners, we value long-term partner relationships.”

Temasek-backed Seatrium has also been winning global offshore wind projects.

In Britain, it is working on a 1.4GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore converter platform for Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, which will help to transmit offshore wind power to the mainland power grid.

Seatrium’s Sofia platform is 13 storeys high and was constructed in Asia for transportation to the UK North Sea in August, followed by installation and offshore completion.

The company is also working on projects in Taiwan, the German and Dutch North Sea, and the US, among others. 

Mr Samuel Wong, executive vice-president of fixed platforms at Seatrium, said the company wants to build a globally diversified portfolio as it solidifies its market position as a global leader in offshore wind solutions.  

Mr Colin Yaxley, managing director for the UK office at Seatrium Offshore Renewable Services, a subsidiary of Singapore-headquartered Seatrium Group, added that the demand for fixed offshore wind solutions remains strong, with floating offshore wind solutions coming into play in the future.

He noted that Seatrium is using the UK as a base because it is the “heart of growth for the renewable sector”, which can service and support its expansion in Europe. The UK also has a talent pool that can support the company’s operations.

Another Singapore company seizing opportunities in the UK is mooring systems company Moor­east, which is also listed here.

It is building a manufacturing facility in Aberdeen, its first outside Singapore, that can serve the European offshore wind market in the future.

Executive director Sim Koon Lam said Mooreast chose to be based in Scotland because of the shared common language and similar commercial laws as Singapore’s. Aberdeen can also provide the skilled manpower needed and bring the company closer to its European customers.

Mr Sim said: “Moving forward, renewable energy will be the next wave. Oil and gas won’t be dead but because of climate change, every country is looking at green energy.”

Invite partners to see the activities of Pacific Group Co., Ltd.
FanPage: https://www.facebook.com/Pacific-Group
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PacificGroupCoLt