Trelleborg: Looking ahead to 2019

Having summed up some milestones for 2018, it’s time to take a look at what 2019 holds for the oil and gas fluid handling sector. After a year of rapid technical evolution and signs that the market is regaining optimism after several challenging years, what are the main themes that are going to shape our world in 2019? And more importantly, what are we going to do about it?

 More efficient operations – in all sense

OK, so maybe this isn’t really a trend – it’s hardly likely that any sector would prioritise inefficiency! However, what’s interesting this year is that the onus is on the sector to not only operate more efficiently, but to clean up its act and begin to address the emissions from our activities, at the same time as we look at moving towards lower carbon fuels.

One such example is the fact that the Johan Sverdrup platform will be powered by electricity from shore, meaning that the field will have one of the lowest carbon emissions in the world. Every part of the supply chain needs to ensure that our operations are as clean as possible. This will continue to be a focus area for us in 2019 – for example, continuing to enhance the reliability and performance of our hoses to minimise exposure to risk in operation.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we can forget about operational efficiency. This is why we’ll be continuing to ensure that for every project we undertake, we model the conditions under which a hose will function, and analyse the environment, in order to ensure the solutions we supply are as easy to install and maintain as possible.

Extension of life projects

According to Claxton engineering, as companies investigate ways to extend the life of their assets to save costs, we can expect to see an increase in extension of life projects. They cite The Valhall field as an example - one of the longest standing fields in the North Sea, which is now expected to produce until 2060. A series of initiatives are underway to ensure this is achieved by its operator, Aker BP.

This means that asset lifecycle is back on the agenda, and companies need to think long term about ensuring maximum performance. For us, this means making sure that the industry is aware of the full scope of options available to them for oil transfer, from the standard and ubiquitous SEALINE, to the nippleless KLELINE, which can be used for up to 10 years, even in challenging conditions. This also applies in the field of STS transfer, where looking at different standards – potentially using GMPHOM 2009 rather than EN 1765, which increases operability and service life,

New faces, new talent

Leaner years have led to a loss of talent throughout the industry, which is looking to be redressed this year. Forty-one per cent of companies increased headcount in 2018, and according to Claxton again, this is likely to continue into 2019. Fresh talent and new thinking will be vital to the industry’s continued health in 2019 – so it’s imperative that suppliers can support them with expertise as much as the products and services we provide.

At Trelleborg, we’re lucky enough to have a long legacy of innovation to draw on, that we can leverage for the benefit of our customers – and we see this as an important differentiator going into 2019.

Record year for LNG?

According to Gas Strategies, LNG FIDs will bounce back in 2019 - predicting up to 35-40 mtpa of LNG capacity to reach this crucial milestone – a level that they note has not been seen since 2011. New supply projects are being enabled by robust LNG demand growth and an increasingly bullish outlook from LNG buyers. The challenge for suppliers then is to develop infrastructure that can keep pace – as we will continue to do into 2019.

The scramble for cleaner fuel

Of course, no look ahead to 2019 would be complete without touching on the looming deadline for the IMO 2020 sulphur cap - a regulation for cleaner fuels that could potentially have far-reaching consequences for global energy and fuels markets far beyond shipping.

In shipping, this means that the industry is having to rapidly adapt to a fuels market that will be completely different to what’s gone before – and has been compared to the shift from coal to diesel. The LNG bunkering sector, virtually non-existent a few years ago, is developing at pace, ahead of regulation.

At the end of last year, we demonstrated that the technology is ready to support a new wave of LNG-fueled vessels. Going into 2019, we’ll be working with partners throughout Trelleborg and the industry to ensure that safe, smart, and secure systems for LNG bunkering are readily available.