On behalf of Blue Water Energy LLP, a specialist private equity firm, Westwood provided a commercial due diligence report covering the work class remotely operated vehicle (W-ROV) industry.
Project Brief
Building on a 2017 buy-side exercise whereby Westwood supported a Blue Water Energy LLP injection of c. GBP 56 million into ROVOP in exchange for a c. 50% equity in the business, Westwood were engaged again in October 2023 to provide a sell-side commercial due diligence report covering the current state and outlook for the global work-class remotely operated vehicle (W-ROV) industry. Our scope of work included:
- A review of the underwater robotics sectors established and emerging technologies
- Commercial changes and composition – pricing, market fundamentals and end-markets
- Offshore energy market trends and medium-term assessment: forecasted activity and equipment spend across the global renewable, oil, gas and utilities sectors
- W-ROV supplier landscape: fleet size, area deployed, owner performance and backlog
- W-ROV buyer landscape: demand drivers, market structure and key stakeholders
- Business and operating environment assessment – supply and demand outlook by region (including attrition and investment), dayrates and longer-term investment rationale
Consulting Sectors: Upstream Oil & Gas Consulting, Offshore Energy Services Consulting, Marine Consulting
Westwood Approach
Leveraging our core Offshore databases, alongside our rich heritage in Autonomous Underwater Vehicle and Remote Underwater Vehicle publications, Westwood completed an assessment of the underwater robotics industry and the key drivers of demand across its commercial market applications.
Blending primary and secondary research methods, we developed a bottom-up model of the expected demand for W-ROVs, their associated revenue potential and mapped this against our understanding of the evolution of the offshore renewables, oil, gas and utilities sectors. We also reviewed the W-ROV value chain – including contracting, as well as the roles of policy, technology and finance in enabling structural change and the potential growth pathways.
Project Outcome
Blue Water Energy had been a significant ROVOP investor since 2017, and a full equity owner of the underwater robotics business since 2022. Westwood’s appointment as provider of due diligence data, analytics and reporting helped prospective investors fully assess ROVOP, its markets and prospects, and ultimately led to its purchase by Edison Chouest in May 2024.
Westwood Consulting Project Team
For every energy consultancy mandate that Westwood delivers, we define key roles to ensure the smooth management and delivery of each project.
Nick Patience
Working closely with ROVOP's CEO, CFO and Bluewater's specialist private equity team, Nick defined, developed and helped deliver a mandate that would ultimately provide an evidence-based assessment of ROVOP's business and its prospects. This included editorial oversight of project deliverables and ongoing client engagement.
Chen Wei
With a strong background in the marine and offshore energy sectors, Chen Wei brought insight and leadership, alongside focused vessel analytics, ROV technology evolution and competitive landscape. Chen Wei heads up our marine offering, with extensive experience in the execution of asset benchmarking and strategic advisory projects.
Pei Yu Quek
Pei Yu created a series of quantitative assessments, including ROV demand by segment and region, current and future ROV commercial KPIs, the route-to-market and a review of buyers across the oil, gas and renewable energy sectors. Pei Yu brings deep expertise in offshore marine mandates and delivers insightful, data-driven analysis.
Lee Ying Kun
Lee Ying Kun was responsible for gathering and collating much of the data that was used in modelling sector fundamentals, and in accurately mapping out the supply chain. As a Senior Analyst in Westwood’s marine team, Ying Kun has a proven track record of delivering insightful research and analysis for offshore marine related mandates.
