The £180million technology centre proposed for the oil and gas sector in Aberdeen will be like nothing the industry has seen before, a spokeswoman has claimed.
Maggie McGinlay, senior director of energy at Scottish Enterprise said the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) would be “unlike any oil and gas focussed facility we’ve seen in the region or UK before”.
Ms McGinlay, who will be discussing the project at the Technology Showcase in Aberdeen on Wednesday, likened the project to the £2billion Aerospace Technology Institute in Milton Keynes.
She said: “We have a major opportunity through the creation of a global centre for oil and gas technology innovation to support economic recovery from the North Sea basin by initially targeting solutions to challenges around small pools, well construction, asset integrity and decommissioning.
“This is unlike any oil and gas focussed facility we’ve seen in the region or UK before and, in terms of public and private sector backing, will be similar to the Aerospace Technology Institute, which has secured significant research and technology investment to maintain the UK’s competitive position in a global marketplace.”
Professor Paul de Leeuw, Director of the Oil and Gas Institute at Robert Gordon University (RGU), has been part of the team developing the OGTC concept. He said: “This is a new and different approach for our industry and is expected to leverage capabilities from across the UK and beyond, helping to make the North East world renowned for excellence in oil and gas innovation.”
Further details of the OGTC will be revealed to delegates at the Technology Showcase in Aberdeen on Wednesday.
Delegates at the conference and exhibition, organised by the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) in partnership with Oil & Gas UK, will hear more about the public sector funding that the Aberdeen City Region Deal has allocated for the world class OGTC and plans to secure further private sector engagement and funding for the project.
The OGTC has been developed with and is supported by industry stakeholders including the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA), Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), the Technology Leadership Board (TLB), Opportunity North East (ONE), Scottish Enterprise, the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University. The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) and Oil and Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) will also have a role to play in supporting OGTC activities.
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