The future has never looked so bright for UK steel and metal manufacturers according to the leader of an oil and gas industry body.
Subsea UK chief executive Alistair Birnie said there were opportunities for specialist metals in the oil and gas market.
Estimates reveal that planned subsea oil and gas projects around the world will require around 90 platforms, over 1000 trees, 80 manifolds and around 12000 kilometres of pipelines and flow lines, said Mr Birnie. It represents a huge amount of steel with a high content of specialist materials.
As global oil and gas projects move into increasingly deeper waters, the technological and metallurgical challenges increase significantly and that is where UK companies can exploit major new opportunities.
A recent Subsea UK study revealed the UK subsea industry is now worth £5.9bn, a third of the £18.9bn global market.