Industry Trends in the Offshore Access Niche
One of the most overlooked but also profitable industries at the moment is the offshore access business. Companies in this niche enable clients like Shell and Origins Energy to transfer personnel and goods from point A to point B on sea, for example, from a boat to an offshore oil platform. The demand for this service grows every month.
Profitable Business
The purpose of this article is to describe the industry trends that business owners in this industry have to pay attention to.
Offshore Oil Brazil
Not too long ago, there were major oil discoveries near the coasts of Brazil. The offshore oil & gas segment is one of the most lucrative market parts to serve for the offshore access industry. It is expected that a huge demand for offshore access methods will arise here, so it would be a wise move to focus on Brazil. However, in order to be able to operate in this market, you will need to have consent from Petrobras the local oil & gas monopolist.
Offshore Wind
The fastest growing market segment this industry serves is the offshore wind industry. This is mainly due to the plans of England and Germany to build lots of offshore wind-parks in the near future. Because of this it is relatively easy to gain market share in this industry. The offshore wind industry is the best place to begin when you are just starting a business in the offshore access niche.
Environmentalists
Although the offshore access niche is not under direct threat of environmentalists like Greenpeace, their clients can be disturbed by protest actions. This can hinder offshore oil & gas companies in their operations and possible lead to a decrease in the demand for offshore access solutions. Another threat is that local governments can hinder the industry with mandates and regulations. Because of this, it is best to spread your focus over multiple geographic market segments, instead of putting all your eggs in one basket.
Conservatism
As a new company, it is very hard to get a foot in the door in the offshore oil & gas industry. This is mainly due to the fact that clients in this industry are gigantic multinationals like Shell. It is very hard to create brand awareness, because if you serve one department of such a company, it does not automatically mean the whole company will know your company. In order to truly succeed in this industry, you will need consistent and resilient marketing efforts. However, if you do breakthrough, great profits are to be made.
Heave Compensated Gangway
One of the latest inventions in the industry is the so called heave compensated gangway. This is a machine with five or six hydraulic legs that are able to compensate wave motions with technology that is also used in flight simulators. Moreover, the system has a gangway that is used to connect to the targeted offshore platform. It is expected that this offshore access solution will soon take over the industry.