Westwood Global Energy Group expects USD 119 million of offshore wind-related helicopter expenditure over the period 2018-2022 with a CAGR of 39%, as the world could see the number of installed offshore wind turbines reaching 10,000 by 2022.
This is according to Westwood’s annual World Offshore Helicopter Market Forecast, covering the period 2018-2022, which states that global helicopter fleet utilisation hit a low of 54% in 2017 due to falling demand and increased supply from orders placed pre-downturn in the oil & gas market .
However, Westwood sees significant opportunities for the supply chain both in emerging geographies and in offshore wind , and predicts global utilisation to pick up to an average of 59% for the medium and large helicopter fleet.
On growth opportunities in the offshore wind industry, Steve Robertson , Head of OFS Research at Westwood Global Energy Group said: “As the next generation of projects becomes commercially competitive and developers build further from shore, clusters of projects will likely share infrastructure and logistics. Helicopter operators that get in early will benefit from this future growth.”
In offshore oil & gas as the primary market, Westwood expects helicopter expenditure to total USD 16 billion over 2018-2022, growing at a CAGR of 1% over the period, a modest rate of recovery that has been anticipated by the supply chain and according to which helicopter operators have re-structured and re-organised.