UK oil & gas operator eyeing SeaTwirl floating wind tech to decarbonise offshore production

Swedish floating wind turbine developer SeaTwirl has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based oil and gas operator Serica Energy, under which the two companies will explore decarbonizing Serica Energy’s offshore assets.

With the MoU, the two companies plan to work together on identifying and assessing potential opportunities to decarbonize offshore oil and gas production and other associated offshore electrification opportunities using renewable power and, where applicable, subsea energy storage, according to SeaTwirl.

The work will include collating data from Serica’s operations which will allow SeaTwirl to assess the commercial viability and suitability of its technology for offshore assets.

“We are truly excited to enter into this MoU with such a strong and innovative oil & gas operator as Serica Energy, which operates multiple assets in the North Sea and has a solid reputation around innovation and decarbonization of their operations. We will explore a range of options with a clear ambition to develop an electrification solution that could be the first of its kind in the industry”, said Johan Sandberg, Chief Executive Officer at SeaTwirl.

Serica Energy is delivering production from eleven fields with over 80% of its production operated by the company, according to information on Serica’s website.

In May this year, the UK oil and gas player received approval from the country’s regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), to develop its 100% owned and operated Belinda field which will be tied back to an existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel Triton.

SeaTwirl, the developer of a floating vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), also recently signed an MoU with UK-based energy management and energy storage company Verlume to collaborate on the electrification of offshore assets and decarbonization of the oil and gas industry.

Around the same time, the Swedish floating wind technology developer also signed an MoU with Sumitomo Corporation Power & Mobility (SCPM) to promote its vertical-axis offshore floating wind turbine in Japan.