Industry News: 2017

Exnics identified the need to develop a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) to support its Hot Rings system which harnesses the heat from subsea pipelines and converts it into DC electrical power. Having approached OGIC, Exnics collaborated with Heriot-Watt University to develop a novel and bespoke TEG, integral to the Hot Rings device, with the overall aim of maximising electrical power output. - Read More

Kibosh Ltd engaged with OGIC to identify a University to undertake research on the design and application of its patented domestic pipe repair and freezing clamps for use in Oil & Gas, selecting Heriot-Watt University as their academic partner. - Read More

SDS Ltd. recognised the need for a testing programme to provide proof of concept and necessary data to build on and plan for next stage of development of their deployment vessel, engaging with OGIC to identify appropriate University expertise. The company selected the Department of Naval Architecture Ocean and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde to verify their technology. - Read More

Varel engaged with OGIC and selected the University of Aberdeen as its academic partner to develop what would be a significant advance in drill bit design, offering cost benefits by reducing drilling time and maximizing bit life in exploration and development drilling. - Read More

CENSIS is seeking three dynamic and inspiring individuals to join their Governing Board and play a strategic part in driving the future success of technology innovation and adoption by companies in Scotland. - Read More

Hydrasun is a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the Oil and Gas, renewable energy, OEM, marine and defense industries worldwide. Hydrasun has a track record of offering a diversified range of products & services, providing customers with a suite of integrated solutions that meet all their fluid transfer, power a& control requirement. Through customer engagement, Hydrasun identified an opportunity to develop a lighter, self-supporting flexible hose for applications such as well intervention; pipeline intervention/commissioning and emergency response. Being lighter and load bearing, the new flexible hose solution would be quicker to deploy, therefore cheaper to use. This development would offer operational, technical and commercial benefits over alternative hoses, composite pipes and coiled tubing. - Read More

The meeting of the Offshore Oil and Gas Technical Group is on the topic of the cost reduction and integrity management of pipelines and will cover a wide range of topics, from the latest advances in integrity management techniques through to cost reduction approaches. A group of speakers have been assembled for this meeting with many years of experience in the industry.​​ - Read More

Robotics Week: The OGTC

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre’s Robotics Week will connect industry, experts and academia to explore and accelerate the use of robotics offshore. The potential application of robotics in the oil & gas industry is almost limitless. Companies could re-imagine their business processes and reap a productivity transformation. But this will only be possible if we understand the challenges and collaborate on the potential solutions. The intent of the week is to connect various oil and gas, robotics, and academic experts to explore and accelerate the use of robotics offshore. - Read More

The Badger Explorer is a new formation and reservoir evaluation device that drills into the subsurface without the economic and environmental risks, costs, and complexity of using a rig. The device penetrates the subsurface and buries itself, relating information about encountered formations to the surface. It features an electrically powered drilling system and carries sensors, which continuously record data and produce logs. The device also provides continuous long-term data in surveillance mode. A successful first project phase was undertaken in collaboration with both Badger Explorer ASA (now Huntly Group ASA) and ETREMA Products, Inc., who fabricated ultrasonic horns designed at the University of Glasgow for integration with their magnetostrictive transducers. - Read More

Xi Engineering’s wind energy experience, combined with client input, identified a potential solution to a related issue within oil and gas. Namely, flow induced main line vibrations causing high cycle fatigue in small bore pipe connections and cantilever valves. Ageing assets can exacerbate the issue due to changing flow rates and previous fatigue exposure. This vibration has the potential to result in fatigue failure and containment loss of hydrocarbons. Xi needed to test APD effectiveness below 40Hz to prove the concept for application on small bore pipework. Xi Engineering engaged with OGIC to prove the concept and selected Robert Gordon University as its academic partner. - Read More

Shell International Limited’s enterprise support programme for UK’s innovative low-carbon businesses is now open for applications. Shell Springboard will award one national winner £150,000, and a further five regional winners will each get £40,000 of equity-free funding to help grow their low-carbon businesses. Winners also receive business development feedback from leading experts in the low-carbon sector to help their companies thrive. - Read More

James Hutton Limited is hosting a Technology Awareness Day at the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, on the 26th October 2017 from 9am. Primarily suitable for geologists in the Oil & Gas and Environmental sectors with expert case studies, tours and presentations. - Read More

OGIC is proud to be sponsoring the Innovator Award at the 2018 Offshore Achievement Awards (OOA). To encourage participation in the awards, OGIC, together with the OOA team, are hosting a 'lunch and learn' session for companies considering entering the awards. - Read More

The risks and uncertainties associated with bringing a new technology to market are inherently high. There is significant financial investment required to research, develop, test, and commercialise a concept, and there is the ever-present concern that the concept or idea might not work. The way in which the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) works to help companies find appropriate research expertise in the university system in Scotland and to access funding for R&D presents a real opportunity to de-risk R&D. - Read More

RSE Enterprise Fellowships are now available to apply for. These fellowships enable promising science and technology researchers to develop into successful entrepreneurs. Awardees get to focus solely on refining their business ideas, whilst receiving one year’s salary, expert training in entrepreneurship and access to mentorship from business Fellows of the RSE and other successful entrepreneurs in the business community. - Read More

ITF Energy have announced the second event in their series of Innovation Network Tech Talks, supported by Decom North Sea. This Innovation Network Tech Talk, supported by Decom North Sea, will focus on Decommissioning and Well Abandonment. Technology developers, Industry bodies and operators will take part in an interactive session where they will present the challenges faced by industry as well as showcase technologies and developments to assist the decommissioning challenges. - Read More

The gap between the UK’s innovation performance, and its ability to commercialise those inventions, could be narrowed by a new toolkit developed by the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The MTC’s new ‘Technology Readiness Measurement Toolkit’ provides a rigorous and independent assessment of the progress of early stage technologies. It will improve communication between investors and entrepreneurs, speed up the development of British inventions and support stronger growth in engineering and exports. - Read More

Come and join Interface for an informative event on REACH and Europe - what this means for your chemical and life science business and what support is available. You will hear directly from the experts at Enterprise Europe Network Alsace, the export department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Alsace, who will discuss the concept and scope of REACH, the latest registration updates and the impacts that this will have for Scottish companies, particularly for exporting chemicals. - Read More

The Information Technology Facilitator is travelling across the UK on an interactive roadshow looking for innovative technologies and solutions from organisations and experts outside of the oil and gas industry to address challenges in Asset Integrity, Small Pools, Well Construction and Decommissioning, presented by Key Operators and Service Companies and the Oil and Gas Authority. - Read More

The second Oiltech Investment Network’s (Oiltech) Entrepreneurs’ Advisory Workshop in 2017 is taking place on Wednesday, 6th September at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen. The event aims to connect innovative technology providers with access to funding opportunities within the oil and gas sector. The event will provide guidance in terms of getting your technology to market in the fastest and most effective way. - Read More

Zero Waste Scotland are currently inviting applications from manufacturers and service providers for projects as part of the wider £18m Circular Economy Investment Fund. The company is looking for projects that drive forward innovation through manufacturing processes and services that achieve material, energy and business savings through sustainable, low carbon business models. - Read More

Cavitas Energy engaged with OGIC and the University of Strathclyde to develop a downhole deployable device that will produce heated fluid or steam within the wellbore of injection wells, or could be used as a bypass fluid heater in production wells. The device has enhanced oil recovery applications in primarily heavy oil environments. As downhole Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) devices utilizing mechanical heating mechanisms are not currently offered within the market, this technology is a unique offering and fits neatly into the oil industry's requirement for technology innovation. - Read More

Subsea Expo is the world’s largest subsea exhibition and conference. Following the success of the previous two years OGIC will again be hosting an innovation zone at Subsea Expo 2018, offering developers and universities a cost effective way to exhibit. - Read More

Standards Matter

Join us on Thursday 22 June 2017 for an exciting and interactive day exploring some of the big questions coming up in standardization. We have a number of sessions planned across four broad themes: Standards supporting global growth, innovation in a digital world, future of standards development, and our future society. - Read More

This flagship conference covers all aspects of ocean science, technology and engineering and returns to Aberdeen, highlighting the importance and size of the oceanic industry to the region. The conference programme will include not only the traditional OCEANS themes but there will also be special topics focusing on the region’s expertise. - Read More

UK businesses can apply for a share of £8.5 million to fund feasibility studies in infrastructure systems or health and life sciences. This is a pilot programme for Innovate UK. It provides simultaneous grant funding and venture capital investment for early stage projects led by UK companies. - Read More

A former health and safety manager for the oil and gas industry has designed an innovative garment aimed at saving the lives of offshore workers in the event of an accident at sea. Simon Lamont, from Dundee, came up with the idea for the Centurion 3, which is specially engineered to produce immediate heat when submerged in extreme cold water, after the 2009 fatal Super Puma crash in the North Sea. - Read More

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre's Open Innovation Programme brings us all together via technology showcases, Tech Talks and workshops that inspire new thinking. The Call for Ideas process is a key part of the Open Innovation Programme. - Read More

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Heriot-Watt University (HWU) in Edinburgh yesterday to mark the start of a new five-year partnership between oil giant Total and HWU’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering. The agreement, estimated to be worth at least £2.5million, was signed by Total Exploration and Production UK managing director Elisabeth Proust and HWU business and enterprise deputy principal Gillian Murray. - Read More

RSE Enterprise Fellowships support promising science and technology researchers to become successful entrepreneurs. Since 1997, over 200 individuals have benefited from this highly competitive and prestigious programme which is supported by Scottish Enterprise, BBSRC, STFC and, new for this round; QuantIC. - Read More

CodeOpt Scotland: Call for Expressions of Interest CodeOpt Scotland is a new programme designed to increase company competitiveness by optimising the performance of business-critical software. EPCC, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Intel, is pleased to announce the launch of the funded CodeOpt Scotland programme, and invites Expressions of Interest for participation from companies across Scotland. - Read More

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) and the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) have joined forces to fund and support the development of innovations which could reduce costs, raise production efficiency, and improve safety and environmental performance. OGIC has made £1 million available to support companies with projects that require research and development to be undertaken at a Scottish university. OGIC can fund up to 70% of these costs and ITF can potentially ‘top-up’ financial support if an innovative project engages the interest of its members. - Read More

The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre has signed its thirty-first project agreement, which will see the development of a system which will allow heat from subsea pipelines to be converted to DC electrical power. The project is one of four that have recently been agreed, signalling a £230,000 investment from OGIC, and will see companies developing innovative technology with direct applications across the oil and gas industry. - Read More

NERC is inviting proposals for innovation projects focused on developing innovative monitoring approaches for the infrastructure, oil & gas and offshore renewable energy sectors. Projects should be challenge-led, focusing on the application of existing environmental science monitoring capabilities and expertise (eg technologies, techniques and tools for measuring and modelling, deployment and interpretation). - Read More

The role that the industrial application of 3D printing could play in transforming the production of bespoke, high-value, low-volume manufacturing in the oil and gas industry will be the focus for an event in Aberdeen in March. The additive manufacturing (AM) seminar, organised by the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) and TWI, will feature industrial case studies and presentations on design, materials and process development, component manufacture, validation techniques and certification routes. - Read More

The ITF Technology Showcase is a collaborative, innovation and technology focused exhibition and conference.The 2017 Technology Showcase is the industry event that innovators and operators alike can’t afford to miss. The conference and exhibition brings together some of the brightest minds from inside and outside of oil and gas to challenge current thinking and bring fresh focus on progressing new solutions. - Read More

Scottish universities’ involvement in oil and gas technology development will ramp up once a few misconceptions are banished, an industry veteran has said. Willie Reid, director of the Strathclyde Oil and Gas Institute, said many people still underestimated universities’ ability to work further up the “value chain”. Mr Reid, who has more than 30 years’ experience in oil and gas, also said universities were better at transferring technologies between sectors than many companies understood. - Read More

OGIC Project Case Study: Xodus Group with University of Dundee Analysis methods and design guidance for the removal of subsea structures   Xodus Group offers engineering and advisory support for oil and gas upstream operators and renewable energy developers worldwide. Recognising the need to develop new processes and technology for the emerging decommissioning market, Xodus sought to … Continued - Read More

Venture Showcase 2017

Statoil Technology Invest will host the annual Venture Showcase on 20 April 2017 at Statoil’s Business Center in Stavanger - Read More

Innovative oil and gas technologies and the world-class research capabilities of Scottish Universities are set to be highlighted at Subsea Expo by the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC). OGIC will host companies developing new technology and two Scottish Universities with energy-related research and development strengths at its innovation zone at the event in Aberdeen this week, which is expected to attract more than 5,000 delegates over three days. - Read More

The oil and gas decommissioning industry is growing massively, in the North Sea. A large amount of digital technology is involved. The Digital Energy Journal went to the Decom Offshore 2016 conference in Aberdeen in May to find out more. - Read More

Oil giant Apache has awarded a contract to an Aberdeen energy engineering consultancy for two new wells on existing North Sea fields. Xodus Group will deliver subsea engineering services for the infill wells to be drilled on the Nevis and Skene fields in the Northern North Sea. - Read More

When looking at oil price trends over the years since the 1920s, it becomes apparent that apart from the cyclical spikes every few years, $100 plus was never going to be the norm. However, we became complacent in that unprecedented period of sustained, high oil price and the thought of living in $50 – $55 oil seemed unthinkable in 2014. Well, two years on and we’ve got to get used to it. This is the new norm and the recovery is much more about how we deal with the current price, rather than waiting for oil prices to “recover”. - Read More

Finalists in a prestigious annual awards scheme celebrating the oil and gas industry have been unveiled. Hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section, the 2017 Offshore Achievement Awards recognise some of the industry’s most innovative technology developments as well as talented individuals and exceptional large and small company performance. This year’s shortlist … Continued - Read More

Will 2017 be the turnaround year for the upstream oil and gas industry? In terms of the industry learning to embrace innovative technology and the potential for this technology to deliver transformational operational and financial performance benefits – then I say yes! - Read More

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