In focus: The energy transition in high summer

Although we are in the midst of the summer holidays and mails are returned with out-of-office messages, some moves were made on the offshore energy chess board. Moves that show that the strategy of the game is changing towards a more sustainable future. In this weekly update recent developments from the offshore energy industry that focus on the energy transition and sustainable solutions are gathered.

DEME has taken delivery of its giant new cutter suction dredger (CSD) Spartacus from Dutch shipyard Royal IHC this week.

According to DEME, the Spartacus sets a new benchmark in the global dredging market – this is the world’s largest and most powerful self-propelled cutter suction dredger and the first able to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The CSD also has a waste heat recovery system that converts heat from the exhaust gases into electrical energy. This is another move towards a low carbon future for shipping.

Projects like Spartacus do not take the easy road. It starts with the drive to do something different with social responsibility in mind.

In this light, the U.S. offshore engineering and construction services firm McDermott International has set up emission reduction targets, outlined in its recent sustainability report.

McDermott’s aim is to reach a 50% reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, as well as a 35% reduction in scope 3 GHG emissions for ten key supply chain categories by 2030.

Additionally, the U.S. company has dedicated itself to having zero office waste-to-landfill by 2025 and to halve its reduction in waste generation by 2030.

But good intentions and opportunities often go hand in hand.

KCA Deutag, a drilling, engineering, and technology contractor, has created a new business unit that will expand its offering in both the hydrocarbons and energy transition markets as part of its efforts to pursue energy transition market opportunities.

The new business unit, Kenera, will consolidate and leverage the skills, competencies, and experience of the existing group with the Bentec and RDS businesses to create scale and allow the development of additional technologies and services, KCA Deutag explained last week.

When it comes to energy transition, no one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.

That is why Irish renewable energy developer DP Energy has teamed up with Japanese shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) and power utility company Chubu Electric Power to develop the Uisce Tapa tidal energy project in Nova Scotia, Canada.

As part of the project, three tidal turbines are planned to be installed in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, with the aim to start operation of the first turbine in 2023.

Going further together is also the idea behind an agreement between the companies Subsea 7 and Nautilus Floating Solutions.

Subsea engineering, construction and services company Subsea 7 has acquired a majority interest in the equity of Nautilus Floating Solutions S.L. a developer of technology for the floating wind market based in Bilbao, Spain.

According to Subsea 7, Nautilus has developed a promising concept for a floating wind foundation based on a semi-submersible steel structure that supports a centrally-placed wind turbine