The UK’s Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) has announced the appointment of industrial director Russell Stevenson to lead the establishment of two new research and development centres in North-East Scotland.
OGTC is establishing the National Decommissioning Centre and the National Subsea Centre in partnership with the University of Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon university, respectively, alongside other industrial and academic partners. The National Decommissioning Centre is due to open later this year, according to OGTC’s chief executive officer Colette Cohen.
The establishment of the two centres follows news earlier this year that around 100 platforms and 7,500 km of pipeline on the UK’s Continental Shelf are due for decommissioning over the next decade, with an estimated cost of $59Bn to 2050. The Oil & Gas Authority has challenged the industry to reduce these costs by 35%.
The National Decommisisoning centre will develop technology to enable cost-effective decommissioning, both at the end of a field’s life and during oil and gas production operations, including so-called “small piece” techniques, while the National Subsea Centre will seek to tackle subsea engineering challenges in areas such as automation and communications.
Chartered engineer Mr Stevenson, who holds an MBA and a PhD in mechanical engineering, joins the OGTC following 25 years at UK-based engineering and project management consultancy Amec Foster Wheeler.
Mr Stevenson said: “By combining the talent, expertise and opportunities of both the academic and the industrial sectors we can achieve our goal of helping to maximise economic recovery from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and anchor the supply chain in the North-East of Scotland.”
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