Organisers of next month’s Subsea Expo event in Aberdeen have confirmed the full conference programme for the leading two-day industry event, which is being supported by Boskalis Subsea Services.
Taking place at P&J Live on Wednesday, 4 and Thursday, 5 February, this well-established annual exhibition and conference will feature debate and discussion from over 60 speakers on a broad range of subjects that are shaping the future of the offshore energy sector and underwater industry.
From the North Sea Future Plan, offshore wind Allocation Round 7 (AR7) awards and the hybrid navy, to innovation in underwater robotics, the circular economy, subsea power and the subsea world of 2035, there will be much for delegates to learn about in the conference programme.
Organised by Global Underwater Hub (GUH), the leading trade and industry development body for the UK’s underwater sectors, the theme for the 2026 edition of Subsea Expo is ‘The Next Wave’. Under this banner, sessions will explore where the next projects and innovations are coming from in offshore wind, oil and gas, defence, marine energy and beyond, both in the UK and overseas.
Setting the tone for the two-day conference, Subsea Expo’s opening breakfast plenary session on Wednesday morning will bring together leaders from across the subsea and offshore energy sectors. Panellists will explore the implications of the UK Government’s North Sea Future Plan for traditional energy activity, alongside the opportunities arising from the latest offshore wind AR7 awards, and what both mean for growth, energy security and the UK’s net-zero ambitions.
Joining the session chair, GUH chief executive Neil Gordon, will be Pauline Innes from the North Sea Transition Authority, Stuart Cameron of Boskalis Subsea Services, Barry MacLeod from Flotation Energy and Serica Energy’s Mike Killeen.
An extensive conference programme will feature at Subsea Expo 2026
Running alongside the exhibition, the full conference programme features around 15 sessions that reflect the evolving face of offshore energy and changing focus of companies involved in the subsea sector and wider underwater industry.
Day one of the conference programme includes a defence-focused session, led by representatives of the Royal Navy, and another on oil and gas, which will include contributions from bp, TechnipFMC and Westwood Global Energy Group.
Subjects taking centre stage in the conference programme on the second day will be offshore wind and decommissioning. With a significant pipeline of UK offshore wind projects, the offshore wind session will see Crown Estate Scotland, Great British Energy, the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and SSE Renewables look at the investment, innovation, reskilling and workforce expansion required to deliver these planned schemes. The decommissioning session will see Decom Mission bring together a panel of industry experts to examine international projects and opportunities.
Companies from across the underwater supply chain will also deliver presentations in a series of themed spotlight sessions running over the two-days. Topics being explored are late-life management, advanced manufacturing and engineering, diving systems and operations, underwater robotics, the circular economy, data and digitisation, subsea power and what the coming decade of subsea innovation will look like, in a session titled Subsea 2035.
Doors to Subsea Expo open at 09:00 on Wednesday, 04 February, with the show continuing the following day. Around 80 companies will feature in the exhibition hall, showcasing the latest technologies and innovations that are driving forward the subsea sector and wider underwater industry.
Among the companies exhibiting are Boskalis Subsea Services, C-Kore Systems, Concept Cables, Digital Edge Subsea, MacArtney UK, Spectis Robotics, STATS Group, Tracerco, Underwater Contracting, Viewport3 and Walker Subsea. Notable exhibits include RockSalt Subsea’s Fast Rescue Daughter Craft (FRDC) Falcon 1, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from Film-Ocean and an ROV stealth skid from Aberdeenshire firm Tool Tec.
Neil Gordon, chief executive of Global Underwater Hub, which organises Subsea Expo, said: “Through its expertise and innovative thinking, the UK’s world-leading underwater supply chain will play a pivotal role in helping power the future offshore energy industry and blue economy around the world. This is reflected in the well-rounded conference programme that features at this year’s Subsea Expo. Alongside a lot to see in the exhibition, there is much to debate and discuss over the two days in the conference as we continue to champion an underwater industry that is vital to the UK’s economy and 52,000 people it employs.”
In addition to the exhibition and conference, the Subsea Expo Awards will be presented at a black-tie dinner on the Wednesday evening. Nine awards will be presented on the night, which will be hosted by comedian and TV personality Cally Beaton. A limited number of individual tickets and tables of 10 remain available to purchase for the dinner.
Full details on Subsea Expo, including how to register to attend the event and purchase tickets for the opening breakfast plenary and awards dinner, are available at www.subseaexpo.com.