In a stark change from early 2022, contractor confidence once again fell in June due to backlogs falling into the negative for the first time since January. Meanwhile, the outlook for sales and staffing levels also declined from the previous month. 

While investing in the low-carbon economy was a big stock-market theme in 2020 and 2021, the trend has not maintained momentum throughout the first half of 2022. Due to the current geopolitical crisis, the price of hydrocarbons is in flux, while the oil and gas industry performed exceptionally well in the stock market during that same time.   

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed by the House this week, included an attached provision that would change the rules for manning offshore vessels in U.S. waters. While the goal of including this provision was to foster American jobs in the offshore wind industry, it may have a negative impact on the nation's plans to have 30 gigawatts of offshore wind installed by 2030. 

A geophysical survey campaign is underway at the South Irish Sea offshore wind farm in Ireland. Ocean Infinity is carrying out the survey, which concludes on Aug. 30. The wind farm is planned to have a generation capacity of 600-800 megawatts and is expected to provide about 800 jobs during construction. 

Reach Subsea and Volstad have entered into an agreement for use of the subsea vessel Deep Cygnus as part of its Reach Remote concept, which allows the company to offer high-quality subsea services to its clients. Launch and recovery systems, as well as remotely-operated vehicles, will be installed prior to delivery. 

Plans for a new gas field in the North Sea that will run on wind energy are being challenged by environmentalist groups. Environmental Action Germany and other groups recently filed a lawsuit with the Court of Justice in The Hague and claims construction of a new platform in the North Sea "will increase our long-term dependence on fossil energy." 

Dutch company Fugro took a large step forward in the development of its next generation of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) by signing a contract with Kooiman Engineering and Van Oossanen Naval Architects for the naval design of Blue Prism. These USVs combine an ultra-low carbon footprint with high-quality data collection, weather resilience and endurance characteristics, according to the company.

Pump protection assemblies have been shown to safeguard pumps from sand, extending the lifespan of electric submersible pump systems (ESPs) in unconventional wells by controlling the flowback from frac sand and other solids, thus eliminating issues related to particle size-distribution uncertainty. 

DAN Europe's DANA-Health Sports Monitoring & Advanced Telemedicine system, a real-time diver monitoring system, has been in the making for 50 years. The makers of DANA-Health say that the device not only will provide a new level of diving safety but will also open up new avenues for diving research.

H2 Green, a Getech business, has signed a deal with Shoreham Port to develop a renewable energy hub that will remove emissions from its fleet of trucks and HGVs and be a catalyst for the wider region’s transport decarbonization.