UK and Australia forge alliance to drive subsea growth in both hemispheres

UK’s trade and development body for the underwater industry Global Underwater Hub (GUH) and Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia (SICA), a membership organization of companies in the Australian subsea industry, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster innovation, collaboration and growth among companies and organizations in the subsea sector in the two countries.

The partners aim to promote opportunities for the subsea supply chains in both the UK and Australia, support each other’s members in entering their respective markets, as well as share market intelligence and learnings around diversification strategies, particularly in energy transition and defence, including the security and protection of critical underwater infrastructure.

“This MOU marks an important step in strengthening collaboration between Australia and the UK’s subsea sectors. By working with Global Underwater Hub, we’re opening new opportunities for innovation, knowledge sharing, and international market access for SICA members,” said Colin McIvor, SICA Cluster Manager.

“Both organisations bring unique strengths: SICA’s agility and cross-sector innovation focus and GUH’s depth of experience and established global networks. By sharing these, we can deliver real impact for established and emerging industries and accelerate significant growth for both countries.” 

According to the GUH Chief Neil Gordon, the agreement will help UK companies capitalize on significant opportunities in Australia, from oil & gas to decommissioning, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore wind.

The partnership will also work to establish partnership innovation programs between UK and Australian firms to develop and implement technology suitable for both regions.  

“Decommissioning is a significant opportunity in Australia where the inventory of subsea assets requiring to be decommissioned includes over 1,500 wells and structures and 4,500km of pipelines with major opportunities for specialist plugging, cutting, inspection and recovery technologies,” Gordon said.

“Similar to the UK, the underwater components, engineering and services are not necessarily required to operate in extreme water depths as in some other deepwater global basins. Instead, environmental and sustainability are key drivers and there is therefore a strong desire from Australian operators and developers to bring in expertise and best practice from UK companies who have almost five decades of experience.”