Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a raft of additional measures including an £20million package of investment in exploration, innovation and skills to support the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The politician, who was in Aberdeen as a cash boost of £250million was announced through the city region deal, said further action has been set out.
Plummeting oil prices have resulted in thousands of job losses, but now the UK Government hopes the funding for seismic surveys will help uncover new oil reserves, with the data that is uncovered to be made publicly available.
A total of £1 million of the fund will then be awarded to innovative uses of the data to help unlock new fields.
The data will be made publically available, with £1million allocated to award innovative use of data to unlock new wells.
An Oil and Gas Ambassador will also be appointed to help ensure the best possible access for UK companies to market overseas, promote the North Sea around the world and boost inward investment.
In a statement the government said the move would ensure the UK got “more value” from the UKCS.
It added: “It will deliver the Oil and Gas Authority’s mandate, setting out how it will manage the basin over the long-term, and make most of the remainin UKCS.”
The OGA (Oil and Gas Authority) will also publish a UKCS Decommissioning plan which is expected by the early summer.
The plan is expected to help the Aberdeen service sector to become the “centre of a new global market for decommissioning” as well as helping UK firms to capitalise on new opportunities.
It is expected to be supported by the Natural Environmental Research Council who are investing up to £1million in new projects aimed at the development of expertise in the UK on decommissioning and its environmental impact.
Meanwhile the UK Government said it was also setting out a new strategy to maximise the economic recovery of offshore oil and gas in the UK – the MER UK strategy – which is expected to help get “more value” from the UKCS.
It will deliver the OGA’s mandate and set out how it will manage the basin over the long-term and make the most of the remaining UKCS.
UK Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said the measures show “the UK Government is backing our oil and gas industry, the hard-working people it employs and the families it supports.”
She said:“We’re stepping in to provide the extra support needed now with £20 million of funding for seismic exploration to help industry find new oil and gas reserves.
“But we’re also determined to build a bridge to the future and make sure the expertise we hold in areas such as decommissioning can become a UK success story, boosting our economy, supporting jobs and creating more financial security for families.”
Innovate UK has also launched an “Energy Game Changer” which will make £1.5million available for innovators including micro businesses and SMESs from outside the energy sector.
They will be tasked with coming up with solutions and technologies in response to the challenges set by the energy industry.
These include monitoring corrosion under installation, vessel inspection and the use of sensors and data.
The government will also invest £700,000 in the development of a world class 3D Visualisation facilities at the Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.
The Natural Environment Research Council is allocating an additional £1million investment in the Oil and Gas Centre for Doctoral Training led by Heriot Watt University, with Aberdeen University as its core partner.
The Government said this further investmenr would enable the programme to be extended for a further year and bring the total number of PhD students funded under the scheme to 120 in total.
The £20million package comes after the City Region Deal was announced earlier today.
As well as the UK Government announcing a £250million boost for the region, the Scottish Government agreed to fund the investment on a 50-50 basis.
Last night, the Scottish Government – which has agreed to fund the investment on a 50-50 basis – also pledged an additional £254million for infrastructure in the area.
In March last year, Chancellor George Osborne announced a raft of new measures worth £1.3billion to help boost the North Sea oil and gas industry in March last year.
This included the introduction of a “single, simple and generous” tax allowance for the industry from next month, with the Government also investing in new seismic surveys in under explored areas of the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf).
The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) has assessed that it will boost North Sea production by 15% by the end of the decade.
As previously hoped, the supplementary tax has been reduced from 30% to 20% – which the Chancellor said will be backdated to January of this year.
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