By Tsvetana Paraskova
The supply chain of the global energy industry is broadening its horizons beyond oil and gas exploration and production and infrastructure development. Companies with expertise in the energy sector now have opportunities to grow their business with service and support work for offshore wind energy and wells and fields decommissioning amid booming renewable energy capacity additions and many mature oil and gas fields reaching end of life production.
Decommissioning Opportunities
From the UK to Australia, the decommissioning industry has entered a new stage of development with operators’ bill on decommissioning growing as basins mature.
OEUK’s 2025 Decommissioning Report from November 2025 highlighted the resilience, innovation, and commitment of the UK offshore energy industry as it navigates the complex challenges of decommissioning while advancing toward net-zero ambitions.
Decommissioning accounted for 15 percent of total oil and gas expenditure in the UKCS in 2024, with projections indicating this share could exceed 30 percent by the end of the decade, OEUK said.
“Decommissioning is not just about removing infrastructure—it’s about creating a legacy of sustainability, innovation, and value for the UK offshore energy sector as the industry evolves,” said Ricky Thomson, OEUK’s head of decommissioning.
“Together, we will secure and reinforce the UK’s position as the global leader in decommissioning.”
Also in November 2025, the Australian government published the Australian offshore oil and gas decommissioning liability estimate 2025 report estimating how much industry will spend to decommission their infrastructure in Commonwealth waters over the coming decades.
The report, developed by Xodus Group, estimates industry will spend AUS$43.6 billion by 2070 on decommissioning, with about 55 percent of the decommissioning activity occurring before 2040.
Another key finding of the report is that at least 2.7 million tonnes of infrastructure will be removed. A large portion of this is steel, which may have the potential for local recycling.
The decommissioning report found there are opportunities for further improvements in efficiency through operator cooperation, more technological advances, and industry investment in onshore disposal and recycling.
Wind Power Becomes Energy Security Pillar amid Middle East Crisis
The rapid expansion of wind energy capacity and installations of other homegrown renewable energy sources has been vindicated in recent months by the worst oil and gas supply disruption in history.
Many countries doubled down on their goals to boost wind, solar, and battery capacity additions as a means to bolster energy security amid a new geopolitical crisis that has choked about 10 percent of daily global oil shipments and nearly 20 percent of daily LNG supply.
The global wind industry installed a record-breaking 165 GW of new wind capacity last year – up by 40 percent on the previous year – in the clearest sign yet of the sector’s rapid growth, data from the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) 2026 Global Wind Report showed.
Global wind capacity reached 1,299 GW by the end of 2025, with 138 countries now using wind power. The Asian market, led by China and India, commissioned 131 GW of new capacity, or 80 percent of the global total last year, while Europe, North America, Africa, and the Middle East defied expectations to install significant volumes of new wind projects.
Europe exceeded in 2025 the 300 GW threshold of total installed wind power capacity. At 19.1 GW capacity additions, Europe last year installed its second highest volume of new wind capacity, up by 16 percent on the previous year’s new capacity, driven in part by strong growth in Germany and Türkiye. Installations in the European Union rose by 17 percent from 2024, and were at 15.1 GW. This annual growth in wind capacity additions is still lower than the annual average growth needed for the EU to meet its 2030 energy and climate targets, GWEC said.
In the United States, annual onshore wind installations increased by almost 7 GW – demonstrating the strength of an industry underpinned by strong economic fundamentals.
“At a time when skyrocketing oil and gas prices and supply shocks are once again causing disruption to economies around the world, the wind sector has demonstrated its ability to scale at speed,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC.
Yet, global wind installations growth remains uneven across countries and regions, and the world as a whole is still not on track to triple renewable capacity by 2030, Backwell noted.
“Bureaucratic red tape and slow roll-out of grids is stopping badly needed projects from being built in many areas of the world,” Backwell said.
“However, by acting decisively to address the blockages, policymakers can quickly access a huge pipeline of ready to invest projects.”
According to RenewableUK’s EnergyPulse data, last year was the fourth biggest year of delivery of global offshore wind capacity on record (8.8 GW). The RenewableUK’s report forecasts that 18.8 GW could be delivered in 2026 with projects completing in China, UK, Germany, USA, Taiwan, and Poland, among others.
Currently, the global offshore wind pipeline stands at 1,565 projects at every stage of development, with a capacity of 1,157 GW in 49 markets. This includes projects which are operational, under construction, consented, submitted into the planning system, and at an early stage of development.
RenewableUK’s report forecasts that 236 GW could be operational worldwide by the end of 2030 – more than two and a half times as much global capacity as we have today.
“A significant level of private investment has gone into new offshore wind projects worldwide over the last twelve months, with final investment decisions worth nearly £40 billion across 38 offshore wind farms, demonstrating the huge contribution the industry is making to global economic growth,” RenewableUK’s Singh said.
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