Call +353 1 253 0460 or email contact@loboleasing.com
Send your or email to contact@loboleasing.com.
Helicopters have been essential to the offshore oil and gas industry from the beginning, providing regular access to oil rigs and drilling platforms. More recently, helicopters have found a role in supporting the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
The common feature of this mission-type is that energy companies are the underlying customers. But there is considerable variance in requirements. Offshore platforms require helicopters with long range and high passenger capacity; wind farms require smaller helicopters with winch capability.
The energy mission-type usually includes the requirement to fly offshore and this drives the requirement for safety equipment such as floats, life rafts and push-out windows.
However, not all energy missions are offshore (e.g. pipeline work). For these onshore roles, the line between “energy” and “utility” mission-types is somewhat blurred.
In 2014, a dramatic and sustained fall in oil price changed the market for helicopters in the energy sector. Cutbacks in production and efficiency drives from energy companies lead to an overcapacity problem which still exists today.
A fall in operating revenues lead to multiple operator bankruptcies as well as a lessor bankruptcy. In 2020, Covid-19 caused a further (roughly 30%) decline in helicopter energy work.
A wide range of helicopters serve the energy mission-type. The AW139 is the most popular, providing the optimum balance between passenger capacity, range and cost. The S-92, AW189 and H175 perform longer-range work and offer a higher passenger capacity. The S76C remains popular (particularly in the Brazilian ad-hoc market) but is no longer used in Europe. The S76D has the potential to compete with the AW139 but has seen limited market penetration.
The H225 no longer serves the European market after a fatal accident in 2016 but continues to work on energy missions elsewhere. It remains to be seen if the new-technology Bell 525 (Relentless) will find a role in this market (for which it was designed). The smaller H145 is currently dominating the wind-farm support role.
.svg)