The UK’s oil and gas industry in the North Sea has a bright future, thanks to an increasing interest in and engagement with new technology, through the work of the Oil and Gas Technology Centre.

As the centre celebrates its first anniversary, industry executives and government ministers have all praised the centre for its ‘commitment to innovation’ and ‘outperforming expectations’.

The centre has brought together oil and gas operators, supply chain companies, technology developers and experts from academia and other industries, across five solution centres, boasting more than 80 members.

Over 200 start-ups and SMEs from across 24 countries have applied for funding and support, through the OGTC’s TechX accelerator, with the 10 most outstanding companies invited to join the OGTC’s first pioneer programme in June 2018, with the opportunity to receive up to £100,000 in funding.

The centre’s series of calls for ideas have so far attracted 68 concepts focused on the use of big data and machine learning to increase and unlock the potential of the North Sea.

Big Data Sets

In addition, the OGTC will invest approximately £1 million in a portfolio of projects to assess in excess of 175,000 items of existing data, provided by the Oil & Gas Authority, Common Data Access and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, to identify oil and gas reserves in mature fields.

Field Trials

The centre is working with Spirit Energy and nine other North sea companies to complete field-trials of a new well-plugging and abandonment technology that promises up to £100 million of annual cost-savings.

Interwell’s thermite tool is being deployed at Spirit Energy’s onshore Caythorpe well. The tool melts materials in the wellbore to form an impermeable barrier, sealing the well.

The OGTC is also working with SPi Performance Coatings to tackle corrosion, one the major causes of downtime of well downtime, on a revolutionary protective coating that ‘eats’ rust on surfaces and self-heals when damaged.

A field-trial has already been completed on Total E&P UK’s Elgin platform with further trials planned across 2018.

Colette Cohen, CEO of the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, said:

“We’ve made great progress to establish the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, identify hundreds of exciting technologies and co-invest £37 million in more than 70 projects with our industry partners to develop and deploy new technologies.

“From SMEs to technology developers to oil majors – the response has been fantastic and we’ve also enjoyed excellent support from the UK and Scottish Governments, the
Oil & Gas Authority, local councils and regional partners.

5,000 people have visited the Centre to take part in events and workshops, and we have built strong connections across the UK innovation ecosystem. We’ve made a positive start but there’s so much more to do and I look forward to another exciting year.

“I’m confident, together with industry, we can help unlock the full potential of the UK North Sea, anchor the supply chain in North East Scotland and create a culture of innovation in the region.”

Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Government Business, Innovation & Energy Minister said:

“Innovation is absolutely key to a sustainable future for our oil and gas industry and to enable our supply chain to continue to win new business. The leaders of innovation for the sector will always be oil and gas companies themselves, however, there is an important role for government, working in partnership with business.

“That’s why the Scottish Government has committed £90 million over ten years to develop our Oil & Gas Technology Centre, helping create a more positive environment for investment in the North East of Scotland.”

Sir Ian Wood GBE, Chairman of Opportunity North East said:

“The City Region Deal funding which established the OGTC was a strong endorsement from UK and Scottish Governments of North East Scotland’s industrial resilience, innovation and growth potential. ONE is proud of the role we played in the formation of OGTC and are very impressed with the speed at which it is clearly making a significant impact. It’s also very heartening to see industry’s positive response to co-investment in projects that take new technologies from development to deployment.

“We believe the OGTC will clearly play a pivotal role in maximising the remaining North Sea oil and gas opportunity, looking at diversified energy opportunities, while stimulating local economic and employment opportunities for our region.”

Lord Duncan, UK Government Minister said:

“The Oil & Gas Technology Centre is funded with more than £90 million of UK Government investment through the Aberdeen City Region Deal, and one year on is already seeing results. I have been impressed on previous visits by its commitment to innovation and technologies of the future, and I am confident that it will continue to contribute towards a prosperous future for the North East of Scotland.”

Councillor Jim Gifford, chair of the City Region Deal Joint Committee, said:

“The Oil & Gas Technology Centre has out-performed even the most ambitious expectations that any of us had when the business case was first approved. Getting it off the ground, as well as going on to exceed their targets in the first year alone is a great achievement. This demonstrates that there was a real need in the market for a facility like this, and also proves, conclusively, that our City Region Deal is delivering projects that will make a difference to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in the long term. I wish them every success for the years to come and look forward to watching them grow yet further.”

Councillor Jenny Laing, Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council, said:

“We congratulate the Oil & Gas Technology Centre team on the achievements of the past year and the Council is proud to be a partner. In the months and years ahead we will continue to see the Centre and other valuable Aberdeen City Region Deal projects gather momentum, making a significant impact on the economy of the area. The Technology Centre is an excellent example of a concept which was very swiftly brought to fruition and I’ve been impressed by the progress made in a short period of time.

“Innovation is central to our ambitions for Aberdeen and the Oil & Gas Technology Centre is an example of the partnership approach and new ways of working which will push us forward as a city and a region. Our regional economic strategy recognises the importance of anchoring the oil and gas supply chain to the area and ensuring a long term future as a global energy hub. Pushing the boundaries using the vast expertise we have in Aberdeen will be crucial to achieving those aims and the Centre is playing an important role.”

Andy Samuel, Chief Executive of the Oil and Gas Authority, said:

“I am really pleased to see the outstanding work from the Oil and Gas Technology Centre since opening last year. By bringing together industry and technology developers, the centre is driving the industry into the 21st century; and we’re actually starting to see some real deployment. A great example of this is their MER UK Award winning collaboration with Total to trial asset integrity technologies which could have significant cost savings.

“We also really need technology to help unlock the next generation of projects, such as the 3.2bn barrels in undeveloped discoveries (including ‘small pools’), and we are encouraged by industry’s response to our asset stewardship Technology Plans and licensing rounds.”

Deirdre Michie, Chief Executive of Oil & Gas UK, said:

“New technology can play a key role in helping prolong the life of the UK Continental Shelf. Our industry operates in the most hostile and challenging of conditions but has enjoyed longevity thanks to the ground-breaking thinking and technological innovations developed by our world class supply chain.

“The Oil & Gas Technology Centre has made great headway in its first year and we look forward to more of its pioneering activity and developments that will help us go after the billions of barrels of oil and gas the UK North Sea still holds.”

DIGIT said:

“Happy birthday OGTC. Here’s to an ever better second year.”