Offshore Mooring Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Spread, SPM, Dynamic Positioning, Tendons), By Application (TLP, Semi-Submersible, SPAR, FPSO, Drill Ships), By Anchorage, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global offshore mooring systems market size was valued at USD 1,086 million in 2016. Rapid expansion of oil and gas E&P from the offshore fields along with the rising development of high-temperature gas hydrate basins for sustainable future growth is expected to drive the industry over the forecast period.

Constantly increasing requirements for subsea explorations, commercialization of wind & hydro-energy farms in the U.S. coastal regions especially in the Gulf of Mexico have led to large deployment of advanced mooring system installations. Growing energy demand across North America coupled with a shift towards clean electricity is expected to steer the market expansion in the region.

U.S. offshore mooring systems market revenue by type, 2014 - 2025 (USD Million)

The growing offshore complexities and many of the adverse mooring accidents in the past have influenced the newly framed regulations. The new regulations framed have strict directions for some specific areas, which include mooring system of design, installation assurance & methodology, operations, inspection & maintenance, recovery preparedness & tracking, and development of common met ocean & soil type data sets.

Rising population and increase in per capita energy consumption is also expected to benefit the overall market growth. High technological developments concerning maximum utilization of wind energy and wave energy is anticipated to boost the overall market. However, lack of basic technical knowledge among the business players may emerge as a major concern for the overall market growth.

Crude oil price slump over the past three years has tremendously impacted the profitability of the industry participants across the upstream petroleum value chain, thereby, leading to discontinuation of various offshore activities. North America offshore rig count fell around 30% as compared to the previous year (2016). Discontinuation of offshore activities worldwide along with growing pressure on operating companies by organizations such as OPEC to reduce daily production rates are the key challenges faced by the offshore mooring systems industry participants.

Product Insights

Spread mooring systems dominated the global demand while accounting for over 32% of the total revenue in 2016. These are the most commonly used moors that can be utilized in a wide range of platforms ranging from mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) to the ships with catenary systems being the major product category. 

Spread mooring systems can be used in applications requiring long service life, in any water depth, and on any size of the vessel. Spread mooring systems are most commonly used in unidirectional environments on floating offshore structures that are insensitive to the direction of environmental loads.

Single point mooring (SPM) systems are generally used on ships that allow them to weathervane into environmental conditions. The ship is often free to rotate through 360 degrees. Most of the SPM are turret based which are mostly used in floating, production, storage & offloading (FPSO) platforms, FLNG ships, and service vessels. The segment is expected to reach a net worth exceeding USD 66 million in North America by 2025.

The tendons & tension systems are used for horizontal movement with wave turbulence and bobbing, owing to this it is used for stability, such as in the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico. Dynamic positioning is also estimated to witness above-average growth over the next nine years with significant deployment of the CALM and SALM systems, especially for the ships. The market is driven by the development of vessels, which include floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO), floating, drilling, production, storage and offloading (FDPSO) and fluidized liquid natural gas (FLNG).

Application Insights

The FPSO market has witnessed decent growth in the past few years, based on the increasing demand for global energy, and the rise in investments from operators for deep-water drilling activities. North America offshore mooring systems demand in FPSO is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 1.9% over the forecast period. 

The decrease in crude oil prices is the main reason affecting the market in the present scenario. The political unrest in the Middle East, violence in Ukraine, and the opening of the Mexico market are some of the geopolitical issues negatively influencing the industry in the present scenario.

SBM Offshore has designed and constructed the world’s largest internal turret mooring system, for the Shell Prelude FLNG, which is currently under integration in Korea. The turret weighs around 12,000 tons and was designed to enable the FLNG facility to resist the most extreme weather conditions so allowing it to safely remain on location.

FPSO, FLNG, TLP, and semi-submersible platforms are on high demand for oil and gas offshore exploration, production, and storage facilities. One of the new examples of the offshore platform along with the mooring system is Gulfstar FPS, developed by Williams Partners L.P. It is a flexible 21,500-ton oil & gas production solution for deepwater producers in the Gulf of Mexico. Along with it, “Timberland” provided for the Gulfstar’s 9-point mooring system including chain jacks, underwater fairleads, and electro-hydraulic power unit for its mooring operations.

Anchorage Insights

In terms of anchorage, the industry has been segmented into suction anchors, drag embedment anchors (DEA), and vertical load anchors. Amongst these, to carry on ultra-deepwater drilling, suction anchors have proven to be cost-effective and safe globally. Vertical load anchors dominated the global market while accounting for over 25% of the total revenue in 2016. 

DEA are used for semi-submersibles, SPM buoys, and floating production systems (FPS) generally used in shallow to deep water while suction anchors are used in ultra-deepwater for systems requiring taut or semi-taut preset mooring systems.

Global offshore mooring systems market revenue share by anchorage, 2016 (%)

The difference is that when the VLA reaches its design depth, the angle the anchor makes with the mooring line changes, which enables the system to withstand the vertical load. When the anchor has to be removed, the mooring line is pulled in the direction the anchor is not facing, after which the anchor can be pulled out relatively easy. Driven piles are deep foundation elements driven to a design depth or resistance. If penetration of dense soil is required, predrilling may be required for the pile to penetrate to the design depth.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific offshore mooring systems market dominated the global industry while accounting for over 28% of the total revenue in 2016. Offshore activities especially in the South China Sea (spread across countries including China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and Myanmar) only accounted for over 11% of the global industry. 

Additionally, countries such as Australia, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia have emerged as the leading FPSO markets globally. The regional market is anticipated to witness overwhelming growth over the next eight years owing to increasing oil and gas E&P to further boost domestic production and reduce the dependence on imports.

In Europe, the market is expected to witness significant growth owing to rising demand in industries such as subsea exploration, renewable energy, and petroleum. Countries including Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, and Italy are anticipated to have brisk progress over the forecast period. High technological developments concerning maximum utilization of wind energy and wave energy is anticipated to boost the overall market over the next few years. However, strict environmental regulations and HSE norms may adversely affect the market

Africa held over 15.0% share of offshore capital expenditure in 2015, particularly with developments in offshore Angola. In West Africa, offshore Ghana and Congo are anticipated to witness increasing expenditure over the next few years. Total's giant, the Egina development offshore Nigeria, is anticipated to be the single most capital-intensive project in offshore West Africa.

The offshore drilling industry in the Middle East is anticipated to grow over the forecast period in spite of challenges faced in deepwater drilling worldwide. Key players including BP and Total are investing in the region and have become the leading stakeholders. Countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia are developing their shallow and deep-sea reserves for offshore drilling.

Offshore Mooring Systems Market Share Insight

Some of the major players include Offspring International, Mampaey Offshore Industries B.V., Single Point Mooring Systems, Rigzone Mooring Systems, and ScanaIndustrier ASA. Fossen Shipping is one of the prominent equipment suppliers to mooring service providers. 

Companies such as Delmar Systems, Inc., Sofec, Moorsure Mooring Systems Solutions Pty Ltd, Blue Water Energy and AMOG Engineering Services offer analysis, design, and supply of specialist mooring technologies and systems. They cater to the specific requirements of their clients, offering them customized mooring technology and services in accordance with explicit requirements. 

Some of the major service providers and fabricators in the industry would include MODEC, Offspring International Ltd., Mampaey Offshore Industries B.V., Lamprell, and BW Offshore Ltd.

There are various end-uses of the mooring systems in the offshore oil and gas industry. Some of these include FPSO, FLNG, tension leg, and semi-submersible platforms.

Companies such as Balltech Engineered Solutions, FMC Technology, Inc., and SBM Offshore are highly integrated into the value chain. They offer mooring system design, planning, technologies, components, and even services to the offshore oil and gas industry.

Report Scope 

Segments Covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global & country levels and provides an analysis of the trends in each of the sub-markets from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the offshore mooring systems market on the basis of product, application, anchorage, and region: 

• Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Spread Mooring

  • Single Point Mooring (SPM)

  • Dynamic Positioning

  • Tendons & Tension Mooring

  • Others

• Anchorage Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Drag Embedment Anchors

  • Suction Anchors

  • Vertical Load Anchors

  • Driven pile

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Tension Leg Platforms

  • Semi-Submersible Platforms

  • SPAR Platforms

  • FPSO

  • Drill Ships

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • The U.K.

    • Norway

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Indonesia

    • India

  • Middle East

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE

  • Africa

    • Nigeria

    • Angola

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil