At EIC's North Sea Decarbonisation Conference, for which ABL Group is our principal partner, industry leaders discussed today gaps in policy, funding, & supply chain readiness.
The two-day event started this morning at Minster Building in London, gathering supply chain leaders to address key challenges, including electrification of offshore assets, decommissioning strategies, tidal energy potential, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Carbon Capture, among other areas. Policy issues were obviously an overarching theme.
Here are some key takeaways:
Electrifying the North Sea
Norway leads in offshore electrification while the UK lags behind on vessel charging infrastructure and retrofitting ageing assets. EIC’s Neil Golding (EIC) noted: "Incentivising electrification for soon-to-decom assets is a Catch-22."
Critical hurdles include:
- No existing charging infrastructure for vessels
- Outdated CFD regimes requiring reform
- Urgent need for grid upgrades
- Potential in co-location (wind + CCUS) projects
Decommissioning Challenges
The UK's 50-year-old oil and gas regulations conflict with global standards. As one speaker observed: "Repurposing pipelines for hydrogen/CCUS cuts costs, but operators need certainty."
Supply chain vulnerabilities were highlighted, with one expert warning: "One project shift can break SMEs.”
Wave & Tidal Potential
With 36.5GW potential from UK tidal/wave energy, significant opportunities exist. "Barriers aren't tech—it's policy. We need to expand CfD sites and fix insurance gaps," as one speaker said.
Progress includes:
- Proteus targeting 92MW by 2029, with UK turbines being tested in France and Alaska
- Tidal projects achieving 80% UK content - surpassing wind and solar
SAF & CCUS
NSDC25 also spotlighted Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Carbon Capture:
• UK targets 10% SAF by 2030, with Teesside hosting world-leading projects
• 146 CCUS projects tracked (by EICDataStream database) in North Sea; cross-border transport remains critical. As one expert put it, "Linking emitters to storage sites is the missing link."
Policy debate
EIC's Rebecca Groundwater raised concerns about carbon pricing and leakage risks from coal-heavy imports. On workforce development, one panelist urged: "Rebrand O&G engineers as net-zero leaders" to drive skills transition.
Final thought: As one panelist concluded, "Merge ambition with accountability. Without deadlines and collaboration, we'll repeat offshore wind's supply chain misses."
As the day started discussing the policy landscape and how to keep the UK supply chain here, so it ended, running the threads through the whole conference.
The event continues tomorrow with yet more interesting stuff and, importantly, we have UK Minister for Energy Michael Shanks MP as our keynote speaker.