Sir Ian Wood has kickstarted funding for a new £8million Aberdeen-based oil and gas institute with a £500,000 donation to Robert Gordon University.
The university today has announced plans to establish the International Institute for Oil and Gas as part of its new oil and gas strategy.
The institute will work with industry to deliver high quality oil and gas training and research for the sector.
RGU principal, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, outlined the university’s plans to invest £8 million over the next five years to bring leading experts in oil and gas to Aberdeen.
“The university has an international reputation for focused and relevant engagement with industry,” said Professor Prondzynski.
“This investment, which reflects RGU’s priority commitment to oil and gas, will secure for the north-east of Scotland high value expertise that will support the industry in exploiting the oil reserves in the UK continental shelf and in building up innovation and enterprise in the supply chain.”
The institute will focus on brownfield development through enhanced oil recovery, asset integrity, subsea engineering and decommissioning; unconventional oil and gas; leadership; industry collaboration; oil and gas finance and economics, and applied offshore healthcare.
“It is essential for both the UK and Aberdeen’s future growth and prosperity that we maximise recovery of our offshore oil and gas resource,” said Sir Ian.
“The creation of RGU’s new Oil and Gas Institute will provide an important focus for the sector as a whole. It will attract and develop expertise in key areas such as exploration, infrastructure, regional hub development, production efficiency, improved and enhanced oil recovery, and decommissioning at a critical time in the development of the North Sea.”
A director will be appointed to lead the new institute, with a primary focus on engagement with industry and management of the university’s oil and gas research agenda.
Watch our interview with Professor Prondzynski below
Robert Gordon University’s oil and gas strategy aims to position the university as the local, national and international go-to provider for industry knowledge, training and expertise.
This will be achieved through working together with key industry players and by forming research partnerships with other academic institutions.
Included in the strategy are plans to launch two new taught postgraduate programmes in improved and enhanced oil recovery and energy policy.
There are also plans to introduce the drilling and advanced rig training facility and well engineering passport concept to the campus.
RGU says this will be achieved by working together with the DART facility manufacturer to research and develop emerging technologies in simulation, and also by establishing a drilling simulation operations centre, available for industry use, through specific high-profile industry collaboration.
The university also plans to develop new niche research capability, with the aid of investment. This will initially focus on asset integrity and enhanced oil recovery, as well as decommissioning and subsea monitoring.
There are also plans to extend the university’s expertise to include reservoir engineering.
Also included in the RGU oil and gas strategy are plans to establish a drilling simulation and real-time engineering operations centre at the university.
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