Nine oil and gas majors, including BP, Shell and Equinor, will provide £600,000 of funding to back the University of Aberdeen’s energy transition research.
The money will support the creation of a new research initiative focused on decarbonising the oil and gas sector and advancing the shift to clean energy.
The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) will be based in the School of Geosciences and led by the university’s director for energy transition John Underhill.
The CDT will focus on delivering academic research to accelerate the energy transition and train researchers, helping them gain the skills needed to balance the UK’s energy security with reducing emissions and decarbonise.
Chevron, CNOOC, ExxonMobil, Harbour Energy, Spirit Energy and TotalEnergies also make up the nine companies, with Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) endorsing the initiative.
Shell previously agreed to provide £150,000 to fund five energy transition scholarships for masters students at Aberdeen University’s Centre for Energy Transition.
Underhill said: “The starting point on the journey to net zero is very challenging as oil and gas still provides three quarters of the UK’s energy needs and finding ways to decarbonise industry at pace while supplementing this activity with carbon storage, wind farms, geothermal and other renewable technologies.
“In supporting these studentships our funders have sent a strong message about the confidence industry has in the centre’s ability to progress the energy transition and support the industry’s shift to a cleaner future.”
Aberdeen University has undertaken several research projects to better understand the challenges of moving from oil and gas to renewables.
These including the colocation of offshore wind and carbon capture and storage projects, training the next generation of mineral resource experts, and helping coastal communities cope with the energy transition.
There have been growing concerns among industry experts that a “collapse” of geoscience skills in the UK is putting the country’s energy transition at risk.
Academics have warned that geoscience undergrad numbers have been dropping in recent years, reducing the number of future energy workers.
OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said: “The centre can help to create the next generation of experts we need to lead a homegrown energy transition right here in the UK.
“Skilled people are this sector’s most valuable asset, and it will be exciting to see graduates from this centre work on the innovative breakthroughs we need to build our energy future for many years to come.”
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