ENERGEIA

NEWS FROM THE ABERDEEN INSTITUTE OF ENERGY

Fracks
& figures
The science behind
the headlines
Decommissioning Special:
Lasers & Law
Iceberg vs Pipeline
Next Gen Subsea Sensors

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

ENERGEIA

CONTENTS
3/5 Cutting edge
technology
6/7 Decommissioning
a legal overview
8/9 The man with
two hats
10/11 Fracks &
figures
12/13 Oilfield of the
future
14/15 Just the tip of
the iceberg

s I write this, energy is firmly at the forefront of the public

debate now gathering pace in the run-up to this autumns
referendum on the constitutional future of Scotland
a debate to which I am delighted to see academic colleagues
contributing their experience and expertise.
Whatever the people of Scotland decide this September,
fundamental challenges will remain. They will include
the balance of investment between recovering remaining
hydrocarbons including unconventionals and efforts to
increase the contribution of renewable developments; achieving
energy security across a world of troubled regions and volatile
politics; protecting our environment and ecosystems from
human activity; and all the while gaining greater understanding
of climate change and how we might mitigate its extremes.
One challenge understandably close to my heart is the
contribution universities can make both in finding solutions and
answers, and in developing the talent and skills of those who
will take them forward.

16/17 A picture tells

a thousand words

Energeia
is published by
University of Aberdeen
Kings College, Aberdeen
AB24 3FX
Scotland, UK

18/19 Capturing the

energy

Tel +44 (0)1224 272014

communications@abdn.ac.uk

20/21 Powering our

business
22/23 Student energy
summit

Principal & Vicechancellor

Professor SIR Ian Diamond
FBA FRSE AcSS
Editor
Euan Wemyss
Editorial
Shaunagh Kirby
Jo Milne
Julienne Mathonniere
Photography
Kalyan Veera
Cover image
Fractures in shale-sand
sediments. Pages 10-11
Designed & Produced by
Hampton Associates
Aberdeen, Tel: 01224 620562
www.hamptonassociates.com

This is the rationale behind our new Aberdeen Institute of

Energy, and the reason we are committing over 90 million to a
state of the art facility which will send a powerful statement of
confidence and ambition from North East Scotland to all corners
of the globe.

Printed by
NB Group
Paper sourced from
sustainable forests

Our commitment is to work for and with the industry, for

those charged with making and influencing social and economic
policy, and for the next generation of professionals who will
make energy their career.

www.abdn.ac.uk

Professor Sir Ian Diamond FBA FRSE AcSS

Principal and Vice-Chancellor
University of Aberdeen

2014 University of
Aberdeen

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

With the cost of decommissioning

in the North Sea estimated at
4.5bn over the next five years and
up to 35bn by 2040, operators are
focussed on establishing safe and
effective strategies for the removal
of structures while keeping costs
to a minimum.

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ENERGEIA

Under test
conditions, weve
managed to cut
through 40mm steel
using a 4kW laser

The legislation surrounding

North Sea decommissioning is
discussed on p6-7 but when it
comes to physically removing the
installations that have reached
the end of their operational life,
cutting is generally involved
because of the size and
complexity of the structures and
the fact that most were never
designed to be removed.
Although a number of underwater
cutting technologies exist,
each has its own drawbacks.
Diamond Wire Cutting Systems,
which act a bit like band saws

but with a diamond coated wire,

are vulnerable to jamming due
to compression between the
cut faces. Hydraulic Shears as
seen in some of the footage from
Macondo are extremely heavy
and difficult to deploy whilst also
requiring large power packs. Their
size also limits their deployment
in areas around the nodes of
the structure where it is often
desirable to cut. Abrasive water
cutting, meanwhile, involves high
pressure pumps and the large
amount of grit required can result
in pipeline blockages.
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

The idea behind the cutter was to have

something smaller, lighter and more agile
than existing techniques. Space is restricted,
so mobility is a key requirement, as well as
something that doesnt use excessive power.
Lasers seem to fit the bill in that they can cut
with relatively low power compared to the
likes of abrasive water jet cutting
As a result of the need
for new technologies for
decommissioning, around
four years ago the Industry
Technology Facilitator (ITF)
put out a call for proposals for
technologies that could be used
to tackle the problem.
Dr Richard Neilson, from
the Universitys School of
Engineering, along with Professor
William Deans and Dr Peter
Gledhill of Deep Ocean Limited,
put forward a bid to explore
the feasibility of developing an
underwater laser cutting head.
The idea behind the cutter was
to have something smaller, lighter
and more agile than existing
techniques, explains Dr Neilson.
Space is restricted, so mobility
is a key requirement, as well
as something that doesnt use
excessive power. Lasers seem
to fit the bill in that they can
cut with relatively low power
compared to the likes of abrasive
water jet cutting.
The proposal was the only one
in the call to be supported and
sponsors BP, ConocoPhillips, and
Shell, contributed 239,000 for
the first phase of testing between
2009-2011 and a further 104,000
between 2012-2013 for phase 1a.
The project is ongoing but Dr
Neilson says progress has so far
been promising.
Under test conditions, weve
managed to cut through 40mm
steel using a 4kW laser, he said.
The thickest sections of steel
weve come across to date are
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

from legs of the jacket supporting

CNRs Murchison platform which
are about 85mm thick. We are
unlikely to attempt to cut these
thicknesses but if we can get
to the stage where we can cut
through 50mm steel, then we
estimate we can cut about 7080% of the members on a typical
steel jacket. We think we can do
that using around 8kW of power,
which is significantly lower
than current underwater cutting
methods.
Aside from the technological
challenge of developing a device
to cut through sufficient thickness
of steel, the physical demands of
underwater work makes the task
even more complicated.
Dr Neilson added: Were looking
at working in depths of up to 160180m of water which means 16-18
bars of water pressure. These
depths would allow us to work
in the vast majority of the North
Sea. Youve got optics, sensors,
lighting and cameras to see what
you are doing, along with loads
of salt water at high pressure the challenge is trying to keep
everything clean and clear as well
as watertight.
Weve been working with
Professor Bill ONeill, Professor at
the Institute for Manufacturing
at the University of Cambridge,
during the early development
stages in the lab. He has cut
through about 80mm steel
in air using a laser with pure
oxygen as the cutting gas. His
work is state of the art and the
thickest cut of this type that we

know of. However, within our

underwater cutting trials, weve
not been using oxygen because
underwater, any build-up of highpressure oxygen has the potential
to cause large explosions with
consequent risk to divers, ROVs
or the structure itself. Although
we could use oxygen underwater
to cut thicker materials, the risk
is increased massively and one of
our aims was to produce a safe
cutting system. Weve been
balancing this by using nitrogen.
With a readily available inert gas,
theres no risk of explosion but
the cuttings slower because you
dont have the oxygen burning
the metal.
There are more than 600
offshore oil and gas installations
in the North Sea, 470 of which

are in UK waters, so the scope

for the application is massive.
We are currently seeking
funding for the next phase of
development which involves
purchase of a laser and are in
discussions to bring two more
partners into the Joint Industry
Project. Our aim is to undertake
large scale tank testing followed
by shallow and then deep water
open water testing in near
deployment conditions.

For more information contact:

Dr Richard Neilson at
r.d.neilson@abdn.ac.uk or
+44(0)1224 272797

ENERGEIA

Professor John Paterson from the

University of Aberdeens Centre
for Energy Law discusses the key
legal and regulatory issues.

North sea
decommissioning
more questions
than answers

he United Kingdom
Continental Shelf (UKCS) has
had considerable exposure
in the mainstream media in
recent months. Offshore oil
and gas have been a key focus
of the debate surrounding
the forthcoming referendum
on Scottish independence.
But what exactly is the
casual observer to make of
the information they are
being presented with?

Seemingly contradictory
information abounds: some reports
focus on record investment by
the oil & gas industry last year
and high levels in the current year
while others point to a dearth of
exploratory drilling activity. Some
focus on a hydrocarbon province
well past its peak, yet others
point to the fact that a significant
proportion of the exploitable
value remains to be extracted
and to new opportunities
on the Atlantic Margin.

Which, if any, of these presents

the true picture? The answer
is that they all do: the UKCS
is a complex thing.
While there has been a very
significant amount of spending
on both brownfield and new
developments, it is also true
that exploratory drilling is at a
low level. Similarly, while there
appears still to be a significant
amount of oil and gas to be
found, much of the province can
now be regarded as mature.
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ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

the additional returns obtainable

from the reservoir or whether the
time has come to decommission.
For a number of years the
predicted imminent surge in
decommissioning projects
appears to have been delayed
by relatively high and rising oil
prices. With oil prices currently
stable and costs on the UKCS
rising, it is not hard to see why
some are suggesting that this time
the surge in decommissioning
projects may well indeed be close.
The legal and regulatory
dimension of decommissioning
presents a rich context for
research. Even as from time to
time it seems issues that were
once uncertain have become
clearer, things have a habit of
becoming less certain again.
Following the controversy
surrounding the disposal of the
Brent Spar in the mid-90s it
seemed clear that dumping of
installations (including whole or
partial leaving in place) would
only be countenanced in specific
circumstances where removal was
difficult. And yet one detects an
increasing questioning of whether
the disturbance of ecosystems
that have grown up around
infrastructure will actually cause
a greater environmental impact
than leaving at least some of that
infrastructure in place. What is
the international and regional
legal position on this possibility?

But in the midst of this complexity,

the last point is beginning to
weigh ever more heavily in
the thinking of the industry.
An increasing amount of the
infrastructure on the UKCS is at
or beyond its design life and is
associated with reservoirs where
production levels are declining.
Operators therefore need to
calculate whether additional
investment in Enhanced Oil
Recovery (EOR) and upgrading
of infrastructure is justified by
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

Similarly, the question of residual

liability for infrastructure left
wholly or partly in place appeared
to have a clear answer: the owner
of the infrastructure would bear
residual liability in perpetuity.
But since the Crown Estate
now issues leases in relation to
renewables and carbon capture
and storage projects, this would
appear to indicate a claim of
ownership in the seabed on the
continental shelf. So who actually
owns fixtures such as installations
left wholly or partially in place?
And what of the innovative
decommissioning relief agreement
which guarantees that should
a future parliament reduce the

Working with
colleagues from
other disciplines
in the Aberdeen
Institute of Energy,
the Centre for Energy
Law is attempting to
identify and provide
answers to the
emergent legal and
regulatory questions
decommissioning allowances
available against tax, then
the operator would receive a
balancing payment to provide
the expected level of relief? What
happens if a future parliament also
removes the provision of money
required to meet the contractual
obligations of the Minister of the
Crown who signed the deed? The
usual answer to the last question
is that it would not arise given the
damage to investor confidence
such a move would occasion.
But might Parliaments attitude
to decommissioning allowances
change if the expected cost is
not, as is currently reported,
35 billion, but ultimately 50
billion or even 100 billion?
These are just some of the legal
and regulatory questions raised
by decommissioning and the
ease or difficulty with which any
one of them may be answered is
also affected by the fact that they
are, of course, interconnected.
For example, decommissioning
costs (and thus the amount
essentially borne by the tax payer
via allowances) may be reduced if

more infrastructure is left in place

for environmental reasons, but that
picture would be complicated by
concern over residual liability.
But perhaps the answers to these
questions can to some extent be
deferred as a consequence of the
reforms proposed in the review
by Sir Ian Wood into Maximising
Economic Recovery on the
UKCS published in February
2014. These could see a more
powerful regulator taking a more
interventionist stance to ensure
assets are not prematurely
decommissioned in order
that infrastructure is available
to assist the development of
reserves that might otherwise be
stranded. Might such powers in
the hands of the regulator require
existing petroleum licences to
be retrospectively amended?
What are the implications for the
Health and Safety Executives
concerns with ageing assets?
And what happens if the
vote in the independence
referendum is yes?
These are interesting times for the
UKCS. Working with colleagues
from other disciplines in the
Aberdeen Institute of Energy,
the Centre for Energy Law is
attempting to identify and provide
answers to the emergent legal
and regulatory questions.

For more information contact:

Professor John Paterson on
j.paterson@abdn.ac.uk or
+44 (0)1224 273888

ENERGEIA

The man
with
two hats
W

ith more than 30 years oil & gas industry experience, the
new Executive Director of the Aberdeen Institute of Energy is now
viewing industry problems through the prism of what the University
of Aberdeen can do to solve them.
Having worked for a number of leading
companies across the globe, John Scrimgeour,
a University alumnus, was the person
chosen to front the Institute launched
last year with the aim of creating a focal
point for all the energy-related research
being carried out at the University.
John has been in place for more than
six months, but he admits the role
was not originally on his radar.
I didnt see myself taking on a role in an
academic situation, he explains. My skills
are other than academic. I think Im a people
person, but Id always seen academics as
people sitting in rooms, looking at problems.
But I enjoyed my time at the University of
Aberdeen, it set me up for life, so I agreed
to listen to what they had to say.
I spent a day on campus, where I met
some very impressive researchers and I
realised how great the capability was here
something that I previously wasnt aware
of and that sold me on the position.
What really surprised me is the breadth of the
research being carried out here. In industry
you have a very narrow perception of what, for
example, law is about, and what lawyers do.
But here the lawyers are looking at all manner
of things with wide-ranging consequences
that enable other things to happen. Such as
getting the legislative framework correct to
make North Sea decommissioning work, and
investigating how the Crown Estate needs
to handle windfarms in order for the industry
to develop in a proper matter. In industry you
think inside the box, but here at the University
theres a lot of out of the box thinking.
Ive been in the industry for 35 years, and
8

used to work as a reservoir engineer. I think

Ive a pretty good idea conceptually of how
a reservoir works. But some of the geologists
here are looking at things in ways I had never
thought of. Some of it is simply genius!
John has quickly established that in some
areas there is a lack of understanding
about the full extent of expertise
that resides at the University.
The industry is aware there are bright
people here but I dont think they realise how
applicable the research is to problems that
industry is facing right now, he added. I
think some sections of the industry, nor even
some of the academics fully realise that.
My main focus is speaking to industry,
finding out where their issues lie, letting
them know about the capability here
at the University and trying to get our
academics involved to see what we
can do to help solve their problems.
The University of Aberdeen has been
working in conjunction with the oil & gas
industry for decades but some may ask
what role it can play when it comes to
addressing the big challenges facing the
future of the North Sea sector and beyond.
John added: My strategy on technology has
been to only use what was tried and tested.
Small companies tend to leave the larger firms
to pioneer new technology because the feeling
was that smaller firms wouldnt reap the same
benefits. But that thinking is flawed in my
opinion. Youve got to advance technology.
There are things happening in the North Sea,
that if the technology isnt advanced, the
North Sea will suffer, and could even suffer
a premature death. So I think adapting new

technologies, new strategies and thinking

is important for the future and the industry
needs to find ways to encourage this.
It is getting tougher but there are
some brilliant minds, and its going to
take some innovative thinking. We have
people with that capability here at the
University and they are being strongly
encouraged and supported to apply that
thinking to address industry problems.

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ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Theres a large, broad capability here that is

keen to work with industry. When Im meeting
with industry representatives, Im stressing
how affordable and simply it can be accessed.
If the University can help the industry
further, it is a mutually beneficial relationship.
That in turn helps the city to grow its
capability and anchor the capability
and supply chain here in Aberdeen.
The response from industry has
been good. Theyre pleased that the
University is reaching out to them.
As well as collaborating with individual
companies to address specific industry
problems, the University is addressing the
wider skills shortage with its extensive
range of taught postgraduate courses,
including brand new offerings in Petroleum
Engineering; Reservoir Engineering;
Geophysics; Renewable Energy Engineering;
Oil and Gas Computing; Energy, Politics &
Law, and Energy Management, adding to
the existing suite of around 20 distinctive
programmes. This makes the University
an important energy educator globally.

I spent a day on campus,

where I met some very
impressive researchers
and I realised how
great the capability
was here something
that I previously wasnt
aware of and that sold
me on the position
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

While all firms would support doing something

for the greater good of the industry longterm, the question will remain, what can the
University of Aberdeen do for my company?.
A lot of the smaller technology-driven
companies could really use the help of
the University, and they dont know about
things like Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
(KTPs) and how easy and cost-effective
it can be to work with us, said John.

Even before I joined the University, I was

a strong advocate of postgraduate study,
John added. A Masters in Petroleum
Engineering gave my career a real kick
start all those years ago and the demand for
trained specialists in the energy sector is
still high today. I always say to those about
to graduate, or people in industry looking
for a change in career direction extra
study can make all the difference.

For more information contact:

The Aberdeen Institute of Energy on
aie@abdn.ac.uk or +44 (0)1224 272081

ENERGEIA

Fracks
& figures
The science behind the headlines
F

ew energy issues in recent

years have provoked such
controversy as that of hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking. As this
article is written, anti-fracking
demonstrators remain in situ
at a protest camp near the
Barton Moss exploration facility
in Greater Manchester, where
theyve been since last October.
Is it any wonder the development of
proposed fracking plans in the UK has
provoked such a furore from some?
A quick trawl of the internet reveals
videos of flammable tap water in the
USA, mentions of earthquakes and
other environmental concerns.
In a bid to educate the public about the
scientific facts behind the media headlines,
University of Aberdeen geologist Dr Clare
Bond has taken part in a public discussion
event in the city specifically about fracking.
I think its part of a scientists job to explain
the science, and to stick to the facts and to
flag up misrepresentation, she explains.
At the Caf Scientifique event, run by
the Universitys Public Engagement with
Research Unit, we tried to explain some
of the jargon and do some myth-busting.
It gives people the opportunity to ask
questions. But we stick to the facts and
dont get involved in the politics!
10

Fracking works by drilling into the

earth, usually horizontally, before
pumping a mixture of water, sand and
chemicals at high pressure into the
well to cause a fracture, allowing gas
to escape and flow to the wellhead.
You can understand that people dont
like the sound of chemicals being pumped
underground, but at the Caf Scientifique
event, we explained whats in the fluid
thats used to create the cracks, and what
the additives actually do. Dr Bond added.
Generally, its around 94.6% water and
5.23% sand or ceramic beads which
prop the cracks open when the water
pressure drops the cracks close. Theres
about 0.17% other stuff descaler like
you would find inside a domestic kettle;
a biocide to stop corrosion of the well; a
very small amount of acid which helps the
cracks propagate; surfactant to decrease
the viscosity of the fluid, and a friction
reducer to decrease friction between the
fluid and the well. All the chemicals used
are found in normal household cleaners,
shampoos etc. and unlike when we wash
our car, or how the liquid may be dealt
with in the USA, UK operators wont just
be able to flush the fluid down the drain.
There have been issues in the USA, as
there was little in the way of legislation to
regulate the fracking process companies
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ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

As this is a new area of exploration in the

UK, theres little baseline data. In Scotland
there are plans to collect information from
the areas where the licences are going to
be monitoring greenhouse emissions and
peoples general health and wellbeing.
Within the University of Aberdeens
acclaimed School of Geosciences, research
related to fracking is already under way,
with the potential for more to come.
The central belt in Scotland used to be a big
fresh water lake, and with any lake, layers and
layers of sediment build up over time. In reality,
they may not be very thick, theyre more likely
to be little layers rather than one big thick layer.
Each layer is mechanically different from another.
Some will behave more plastically, and some will
be more brittle and are more likely to fracture.

didnt have to disclose what they were putting

into the ground, and afterwards, they were allowed
to release it back into the ground water. Thats
something that just wont happen in the UK. The
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
is already starting to think about regulations
and the British Geological Survey is also pulling
together a report to look at the Scottish resource.
Other concerns centre on whether or not
the process can cause earth tremors. It is
generally recognised as a potential hazard of
the technique but these are tiny micro seismic
events that no one would be able to feel. The two
that happened in Blackpool in 2011 following
fracking were just 1.5 and 2.3 magnitude.

In a bid to educate the public

about the scientific facts
behind the media headlines,
University of Aberdeen
geologist Dr Clare Bond
has taken part in a public
discussion event in the city
specifically about fracking
The industry and government sees fracking as
an opportunity to prolong the UKs gas security
and as such licences have been granted and are
being considered across large areas of England
and parts of the central belt in Scotland.
In Scotland were really looking at potential for
finding coal bed methane as well as shale gas
and if theres to be any resource potential, it
will be in the central belt area. Shale-gas is the
most common gas that theyll be looking for in
other parts of the UK, but in Scotland, it seems
coal bed methane might play a bigger role.

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

So if you initiate a fracture in one layer, my

interest lies in how that crack propagates,
and when it hits one of these boundaries
between layers, what happens to it? Whether it
propagates through or whether it dissipates.
Im also interested in examining at what level
of water pressure does the fracture fail and what
the mechanics are in that failure. Faults are bigger
features that offset horizons. Faults have different
mechanical properties to the surrounding rock, so
Im looking at how they fail, if we can calculate
how strong a fault is, and if we can determine
how much pressure is required to activate it.
The industry drive focuses on optimising the
fracturing process, to ensure just the right amount
of fluid and pressure is used to create the cracks.
This cannot be done without a fundamental
understanding of how the process will react with
the different mechanical layers involved, and
how the fractures themselves will develop.
Dr Bond added: When they drill in, they try to go
in at an angle, so theyll produce the most optimum
fractures. There is a need to understand the stress
field. They need to find the least compressive stress
because the rock will fracture in the direction
where the rock is being squeezed least. You dont
want the fracture to be too big or too small.
Weve been studying existing fractures in
outcrops and seeing how representative
they may be of 2-5km below the ground.
There are still a lot of unknowns about the science
behind fracking, and theres a lot of research being
done by universities across the country.

For more information contact: Dr Clare Bond on

clare.bond@abdn.ac.uk or +44(0)1224 273492

11

ENERGEIA

Subsea sensors and the

oilfield of the future

T

he oilfield of the future has many

different definitions but what is certain
is there will be a drive towards a greater
degree of automation.
Subsea sensors are
an invaluable tool in
the modern oil and
gas field, measuring
everything from pressure
and temperature, to
water movement.
Dr Alastair Allen of the
University of Aberdeens
School of Engineering
is exploring the next
generation but one
of these sensors in
collaboration with Professor
Marian Wiercigroch
and assisted by PhD
student Beenish Ayaz.
Oil firms are interested
in sensors that talk to
each other and pass
12

information back to the

surface, he explained.
With a trend towards
more complex and more
extensive fields fields
that are marginal or deep
water theres a need to
have more automation.
The use of divers is
expensive and carries
its own complications
and dangers. Sensors
can help reduce these.
Currently most of these
sensors are hardwired,
with information
travelling by wires or
optical fibre back to the
platform. Cabling at such
depths presents various
difficulties and expenses,

so an important part of
the future is wireless.
If you have an offshore
renewables installation
such as a windfarm or
tidal farm, you might
want 20, 50 or 100 sensors
distributed to record
movement of the water
etc. and it would be a
nightmare to wire them
up. So you put down the
wireless sensors, switch
them on, and the data
comes back automatically.
Conceivably these
could have helped in
incidents such as the
Gulf of Mexico. It was a
complicated scenario and
I wouldnt try to simplify
the causes, but it can only
help to have more sensors
near where things might
potentially go wrong.

Chemical
sensors are one
of the next big
areas being
worked on at
Aberdeen. The
ability to sense
very small
quantities of
a constituent
of oil and gas
accurately
As well as the need
to operate wirelessly,
sensors of the future
will be required to be
more energy efficient.
For the foreseeable future
were going to be up
against constrained power
for these sensors. If you
have a standalone device
on the sea bed, its going

to be powered through
some kind of energy
scavenging approach,
such as differences in
temperature, or water
movement. These can
be used to produce
small amounts of power
enough to power a
pressure sensor, for
example, and enough to
send an acoustic signal
back to the surface.
With energy at a premium,
sensors will need to be
wirelessly networked to
improve efficiency and
smart enough to adapt
autonomously to change
or system failure, in order
to ensure the data stream
remains unbroken.
You might have a group
of sensors measuring
temperature, for
example, and they all
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ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

would automatically
choose the next best
route to the surface a
dynamic reconfiguration
of the network.
As well as coping with
failed sensors, the network
would also be able to
incorporate new sensors
into the group, such as an
Autonomous Underwater
Vehicle (AUV). The AUV
would come within range
of the acoustic signals of
the other sensors; become
part of the network whilst
it transmitted its data,
and then move out of
the network again.
As well as the
requirement for sensors to
communicate and behave
more intelligently, there
is an industry demand
to collect data on a far
greater range of variables.

have exactly the same

reading at a particular
time. Rather than send
four or five messages
back up to the surface,
if theyre close enough
together, they can pass
all their information on
to one designated sensor
which can then send the
combined information
back up. So were looking
at ways of compressing
data and making the
sensors more efficient.
Similarly, if you have
a number of sensors
taking readings from
different points, if one
of these sensors stops
working then the system
should be designed so
that doesnt matter.
Wed need neighbouring
sensors to detect when
one has failed and they
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

Chemical sensors are

one of the next big areas
being worked on at
Aberdeen. The ability to
sense very small quantities
of a constituent of oil
and gas accurately and
quickly is very desirable.
It can already be done
to a degree, but not with
the range of potential
chemical substances
that companies might
want to detect.
Relatively recently theres
been some development
of using electromagnetic
waves underwater. Theres
a lot of acoustic noise
and interference when
youre near the surface,
so for relatively shallow
applications, theres
something to be said for
sending electromagnetic
waves through the water.
That is okay over short
distances but you really
need acoustic waves over
long distances. Our design
takes account of both of
these approaches. You
could have a network
with a mix of acoustic and
electromagnetic waves.

Rather than
send four or
five messages
back up to
the surface, if
theyre close
enough together,
they can pass all
their information
on to one
designated
sensor which
can then send
the combined
information
back up
In related work, Dr Allen is
involved in a Knowledge
Transfer Partnership
(KTP) with Nautronix
relating to a subsea
positioning system.
It works by putting
acoustic transmitters
on the sea bed. Perhaps
a ship is servicing a
component of a wellhead.
There is a need to
position the boat in the
appropriate place, taking
into account current, so
the component can be
lowered as close to the
wellhead as possible.
You can position the
boat using GPS, but
beneath the water you
need a different system
for positioning the item
thats being lowered
down, as the current
means it may not be
directly below the boat.
The system is sold
to firms that want to
position things accurately
underwater. Were
involved in developing
the system further and
making it easier to send
positioning data from
one part of the field to
another by hopping data
from one positioning
node to the next.
i

For more information

contact Dr Alastair Allen
at a.allen@abdn.ac.uk
or +44(0)1224 272501

Chaotic
Communications
Wireless communications systems
are usually inferior to wired systems
due to physical barriers that the
signal must overcome such as
buildings, mountains and the
atmosphere - but underwater the
problem is further exacerbated.
Dr Murilo Baptista from the
University of Aberdeens Institute for
Complex Systems and Mathematical
Biology is conducting research
into how wireless communication
could be implemented with chaotic
signals, and has found that these
could result in superior performance.
The research could have
implications for all wireless
communication systems
underwater included.
When you transmit a signal over
wireless technology, over different
paths, there is a direct path, but
also an indirect path. The signal
can be reflected in many ways
and eventually reach the receiver
at different times with delay into
the same receiver. In a harsh
environment like underwater a
signals bandwidth is reduced and
the amplitude is dampened.
With chaotic signals, you never
have the same signal, ever. Each
signal is always a little different.
Our findings have shown that
the information transmitted by a
chaotic signal is not modified the
information remains the same from
where it was transmitted to where
it was received even though it has
travelled through wireless media.
Usually when you transmit a signal,
at the other end you have to do a
lot of complicated mathematical
equations to recover the signal,
which takes time, software and
energy. In chaotic signals you dont
need to do this. The decoding of the
information is absolutely clean.

For more information

contact Dr Murilo Baptista
at m.baptista@abdn.ac.uk
or +44(0)1224 272501

13

ENERGEIA

When it comes to problems facing

the expanding search for oil and
gas in remote parts of the world,
few are as physically big as the
icebergs found in the Arctic

obviously once they start

moving, it will disturb the
soil which can produce
strains and stresses
that can be potentially
transferred to any nearby
buried pipeline, which
could be damaged.

Canada and Russia are

the main areas of interest
for this research at the
moment. It has been an
issue in Canada for over
20 years. As new areas of
exploration open up, then
the interest in solving this
problem could increase.

hese massive,
almost majestic
blocks of ice are a
vision of serenity
above the surface,
but below the
waterline, they are
causing a major
headache for the oil
industry in new areas
of exploration.

14

Pushed and pulled by tidal

currents and wind, as they
drift into shallower waters
the base of icebergs scour
the seabed displacing
massive amounts of soil
and potentially disturbing
trenched pipelines.
Pipelines are usually
buried around 1.5m 2m
into the seabed, explains
Dr Ana Ivanovic from the
University of Aberdeens
School of Engineering.
These icebergs scours
can be as wide as 50m
and as deep as 5m, and

her team are attempting

to find the optimum
safe burial depth to
place pipelines in areas
likely to come into
contact with icebergs.

Attempts have been made

elsewhere to develop a tool
that can trench pipelines
at greater depths but
more research is required
into what is the ideal
depth to bury them at.

Its about developing

a better understanding
of the scour process in
order to determine the
optimum depth more
accurately. Too shallow
and you risk icebergs
moving the pipeline. But
of course the deeper you
dig the more expensive
and time consuming
it is, so the industry is
desperate to find the
happy medium. The
scouring could happen
over just ten metres,
or up to kilometres, so
it is quite varied.

In collaboration with
energy services giant
Technip, Dr Ivanovic and

The project was born

out of a separate study
by Dr Ivanovic into the

effects of trawling gears

used in commercial
fishing on the sea bed.
There are many different
tools and gear elements
used in commercial
fishing such as roller
clamps that weigh half a
tonne. They scratch the
surface or penetrate the
sea bed, in a very similar
process to icebergs.
We were invited by
industry to give a master
class into our findings.
Technip realised the
similarities to the issues
posed by iceberg scour,
so they asked us if we
could work together to
look at the problem.
An experimental rig,
originally developed for Dr
Ivanovics trawling gears
research has been adapted
to mimic the movement
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Left: The model iceberg is

dragged across the seabed
and its effect on displaced
sand is analysed
Below: Dr Ana Ivanovic and
PhD student Sergi Arnau with
their experimental rig

of icebergs across sand.

The device drags a variety
of scaled down, icebergshaped blocks horizontally
across a seabed and the
resulting displacement
of the soil is analysed.
Meanwhile, experts
at Technip have been
numerically modelling the
laboratory experiments
using ABAQUS
software to carry out
numerical analysis.
A paper by Dr Ivanovic,
Oliphant and Banimahd
submitted at the 2012
ASME International
Conference on Ocean,
Offshore and Arctic
Engineering in Rio de
Janeiro reported that
the type of soil icebergs
come into contact
with has massive
implications for how
much soil is displaced.
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

Dr Ivanovic explains:
Unsurprisingly, it was
found that the deeper
the burial depth, the
less pipe was displaced.
Also, the horizontal
pipeline movements were
reported to be larger at a
lower angle of attack.
Technip have also
provided partial funding
for a researcher and
contributed towards
some equipment.
John Oliphant,
Geotechnics Manager
at Technips Offshore
Engineering Division,
said: The objective of
the collaborative work
between Technip and
the University is to
develop a numerical
model to optimise the
design burial depth of
the pipeline which has
been validated through
the laboratory tests.

The work could prove

to be a key differentiator
for Technip in the
Arctic offshore pipeline
and trenching market
to ensure it remains
ahead of the game."
Dr Ivanovic added:
Techniques such as
PIV (Particle Image
Velocimetry) and sand
pluviation have been
implemented to obtain
better and more accurate
results. With PIV it is
possible to study the soil
failure mechanism i.e. the
movement of soil in front
and beneath the iceberg
whereas sand pluviation is
used to control the density
of the seabed samples.
The laboratory tests
confirmed that the steady
state (when the depth
of the scour no longer
changes along the scour

track) can be reached

after a certain period of
time. This happens due
to the combination of
several factors such
as soil resistance, or the
physical destruction of the
keel when its maximum
resistance is exceeded.
The study is a mixture
of mechanics and soil
behaviour. There is still
much to be looked at. We
are looking at the different
types of soils dense
and loose packed with
a view to understanding
the mechanics of the
movement in relation to
different iceberg shapes
and sizes. It is not just
the study of the moving
soil that comes in direct
contact with the iceberg
but also the effects that
movement has throughout
the soil deeper down. How

much of that movement

is related to the pipeline?
Everything is connected.
Obviously we cant
do these tests to scale,
so everything is scaled
down, but when you start
introducing scaling loads,
that is another layer of
science and difficulty
that we must use our
expertise to address.
At the moment we are
using steel icebergs
but ideally the prototype
would be made of ice
of course that presents
a whole different set
of problems!

For more information

contact Dr Ana Ivanovic
on a.ivanovic@abdn.
ac.uk or call +44(0)1224
273265

15

ENERGEIA

A picture tells a
thousand words

Subsea biodiversity surveys have come a long way over the last 15
years, with the University of Aberdeens Oceanlab at the forefront of
developing technology to accurately record underwater environments.

n 2000, a proposal for a

partnership was drafted
between the University
marine biologists and
engineers at Oceanlab
and BP a relationship
that continues to benefit
all parties today.
There are two ways to assess
deep ocean marine species,
explains David Sproule, Business
Unit Manager at Oceanlab. You
can trawl the seafloor for physical
specimens to examine diversity
and population structure, or,
as developed at Oceanlab, do
non-invasive, non-destructive
deployment of deep sea camera
landers such as ROBIO to gain
16

quality digital images and

build up an accurate visual
representation of what is living
down there and at what depth.
Built to BPs specifications
the ROBIO lander was
designed and built at
Oceanlab to autonomously
photograph the biodiversity
of benthic communities
around possible subsea oil
and gas exploration sites.
The ROBIO can be deployed in
two different ways. It can be
tethered two meters above the
seafloor with the camera pointed
directly downward looking at
some bait, which attracts a huge

range of scavengers. Alternatively,

ROBIO can be landed on the sea
floor with the camera directed
outward and gaining side-on,
time-lapse images of the fauna.
Today, ROBIO is fully equipped
with a digital stills camera,
capable of taking up to 1,400
digital images over a time
period of up to one year a
far cry from its inception.
Twelve or 13 years ago we
used black and white wet film
and we had to allow 1,4001,500 in each exploration for
wet film development, added
David. From mechanical
cameras and wet film, its now

Pictured: Main image: ROBIO captures an image of this 1.2m long Bluntnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) and the deep-sea
decapod (Acanthephyra eximia) attending the bait, 2209m down off the coast of Libya, in the Gulf of Sirte.
Small image: ROBIO being deployed

The ROBIO adds

great value to our
baseline surveys
through capturing
photographs of
large benthic
fauna which
other survey
techniques would
have missed
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

gone to high quality digital

and BP have supported that.
The lander has been tested in
the Faroe-Shetland channel
and has been deployed off West
Africa. Having proven itself in
various different environments
across the world, BP is now
incorporating ROBIO into its
baseline surveys operations.
The success of the partnership
was demonstrated at the end of
2013 when Oceanlab responded
promptly to meet BPs programme
of extensive survey requirements.
BP awarded Gardline
Environmental Ltd. the
contract for biological and
geophysical data collection in
the Mediterranean Sea north
of Libya and subcontracted
ROBIO technical support,
training and data analysis to
the University via the Oceanlab
Business Unit. It has become
one of the largest pieces of
commissioned work BP has given
to ROBIO since it was built.
We carried out pre-survey
maintenance, repair, testing
of all the components, as
well as carrying out pressure,
electrical and bench tests,
explained David.
The lander is being deployed
onto the sea bed, so as well
as ensuring it carries out
all its survey requirements,
we need to make sure we
can retrieve it afterwards. It
is absolutely essential that
preparatory tests are carried
out to minimise risk of loss.
Last year was the first time the
ROBIO was to be operated by
someone other than the Oceanlab
researchers, and three offshore
survey technicians from Gardline
Environmental were trained
to operate the equipment.
Communications were
maintained between Oceanlabs
Dr Alan Jamieson and the survey
vessel throughout the festive
period and the first deployments
yielded their hard-gained data.
The work was carried out in
an area which, biologically,
is largely un-documented
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

and lies north of Libya.

Dr Jessica Craig at Oceanlab has
now received the full data sets
for analysis. She will produce
depth-related species lists
adopting a strict predetermined
selection from the data sets.
David said: It was originally
planned everything would
come back to Oceanlab for
maintenance, repair and
refurbishment but the equipment
was needed in West Africa, so
any known breakages were taken
off the lander and sent back to
Oceanlab. We had to check it
out, manufacture new parts and
send it back, as well as building
a new battery, within 48 hours.
ROBIO is now being prepared
for the West African surveys
which will target five times
the data volume of that
returned from Libya.
The enthusiasm for gathering
marine data non-invasively at BP
continues through Group Marine
Biology Expert Anne Walls, a
graduate from the University.
Anne said: The ROBIO adds
great value to our baseline
surveys through capturing
photographs of large benthic
fauna which other survey
techniques would have missed.
In addition, the pictures of the
wonderful animals that live
in the deep sea are of great
interest. Even non-biologists are
fascinated to see what creatures
live in the areas where BP works.
David added: Anne has
been in continual support of
the biodiversity work at the
University for more than a decade
and particularly in support of
Oceanlab. Thanks are due to
those with whom we have joined
to deliver into BPs aspirations
and we look forward to a long and
continued future as a supplier.

Lightpath wins
safety award
Oceanlab provided test facilities for a new subsea safety
product that recently scooped a top industry award.
The highly innovative light umbilical Lightpath was
developed by Photosynergy Ltd and won the Innovation
for Safety Award at Subsea UK 2014.
Lightpath has a reliable low power source that can
provide guide path illumination for a number of
subsea applications including diver safety, with battery
back-up to provide a fail-safe system in the event of
mains outage.
Utilising the through lid portals in the Oceanlab pressure
vessel, the Lightpath prototypes were monitored with
the use of a photocell assembly supplied into the project
by Oceanlab.
Typically Lightpath operates at 150m depth with a 70m
excursion umbilical but Photosynergy, in response to
industry target depths, have extended the working
depth rating to 350m and tested at Oceanlab to 500m
depth equivalent pressures.
David Sproule, Business Unit Manager at Oceanlab,
said: This award is fantastic recognition for Don Walker
and Graham Miller at Photosynergy, and Oceanlab are
delighted to have been able to provide facilities for
them to test the products capability. We wish Don and
Graham well in their next development and look forward
to assisting in their future test requirements.

For further information contact

Oceanlab Business Unit Manager,
Mr David Sproule at
d.sproule@abdn.ac.uk or
+44 (0)1224 274403 or visit
www.oceanlab.abdn.ac.uk

Further information contact Photosynergy on

info@photosynergy.co.uk or +44 (0)1334 463327
or visit www.photosynergy.co.uk

17

ENERGEIA

Capturing
the Energy
In a fast-paced sector such as the energy industry, the
rapid speed of change often goes unnoticed by those
involved day-to-day.

ut a University of Aberdeen
archive aims to keep a record of
the industrys engineering and
technological achievements, as
well as documenting the social
and cultural impact the industry
has had in the North East of
Scotland.

The fact that much of the industrys work

is carried out at sea, hundreds of miles from
the mainland, means that the general public
have little understanding of the North Seas
platforms as a workplace, so Capturing
the Energy provides a forum for material
and personal testimony from individuals
who have experienced life offshore.

Capturing the Energy was established

in 2005 to bring together a collection of
industry-related archive material spanning
40 years and to provide a repository for
documenting new developments.

Many of these voices were captured through

the fascinating Lives in the Oil Industry
oral history archive, which comprises
recordings of over 170 interviews with those
involved in or affected by the North Sea
oil and gas industry and interviews with
a survivor of the Piper Alpha disaster.

Now housed in the state-of-the-art Sir

Duncan Rice Library, the archive has recently
entered a new phase, with support from Oil
& Gas UK enabling the appointment of a
Project Development Officer, Katy Johnson.
She will now be liaising with operators, trade
associations, professional bodies, companies
in the supply chain and other organisations
from across the industry to develop the
collections and take the project forward.

For more information visit

www.capturing-the-energy.org.uk or
contact Katy Johnson on +44(0)1224
272545 or email katy.johnson@abdn.ac.uk
For more information about the Frigg
project or Lives in the Oil industry visit
the project websites at www.abdn.ac.uk/
historic/friggexhibition/ and
www.abdn.ac.uk/oillives/

18

The aim is to develop an interactive website

on the history of the industry which will
include images, film and testimony about
key North Sea installations in UK waters, and
act as a portal of information and resources
for those interested in exploring the history
of the offshore oil and gas industry.
Katy says: Capturing the Energy was
initially motivated by a concern that
this evidence could be lost as North
Sea assets are decommissioned and
exploration and production licences
are passed to new operators.

It is vital that this

material is collated and
documented accurately
to preserve it for
generations to come.
It is vital that this material is collated
and documented accurately to preserve
it for generations to come.
As well as the records of trade associations,
trade unions and supply chain companies,
a large amount of personal material has
been donated to the archive and Katy adds
that it is only by bringing this together that
its true significance becomes apparent.
Many of the records may seem
inconsequential when viewed in isolation.
A picture of something as simple as

Pictured: Frigg Field, circa late 1970s, showing drilling platforms CDP1 and DP2 with two treatment platforms, TP1 and TCP2,
and the Quarters Platform QP grouped in the centre. The British-Norwegian border runs through the middle, with CDP1
in British waters and DP2 in Norwegian waters.

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

offshore workers eating their Christmas

dinner may not seem important but when
we look at these over the years it is clear
to see how much has changed from the
food and drink to attitudes to safety.
In its early stages the Capturing the Energy
project focused on the UK sector of the Frigg
field, which at the time was the deepest
offshore gas field and required significant
engineering innovations to exploit.
More than 1500 paper and digital records
relating to the gas compression platform
MCP-01, the Frigg gas transportation system
(FTS) pipelines and the St Fergus gas terminal
were catalogued including engineering
drawings, technical manuals, operational
records, company journals, photographs
and film, as well as oral history interviews
with people who worked on Frigg.
As a result the collection represents a
record of the technical and engineering feats
achieved on Frigg, as well as capturing the
experience of those who worked there.
The initiative prompted the Department of
Environment and Climate Change (DECC)
to issue guidance which encourages
operators to make adequate provision
for their historically important records
as assets are decommissioned.
This has led major operators to approach
Capturing the Energy and it is hoped
that these approaches will lead to further
important documentation projects.

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

Pictured: Top - bottom: The crew on MCP-01 enjoying their Christmas dinner in 1984. Twelve of the maintenance crew on the
helideck of MCP-01, with a helicopter behind, circa 1983. A photograph of the Wives' Visit to MCP-01 in 1987.

19

ENERGEIA

our business
F

Energeia asked Professor

Stephen Logan, Senior VicePrincipal, to tell us more.

20

or a university at the heart

of the North Sea industry, with
over 500 years experience
in producing outstanding
graduates and research which has
changed society in many ways,
Energy and the Environment
are predictable priorities in
its ambitions for the decades
ahead. But with leadership comes
responsibility and example. How
is the University tackling its own
carbon footprint and becoming
an exemplar organisation in
pioneering new technologies to
run its business?

The University is very conscious of the

need to do all we can to run our business
and our large and complex campuses as
sustainably as possible, and equally to be a
good neighbour and responsible member of
our community. We know too that people look
to us to set an example in everything we do.
After all, we bear a major responsibility in
nurturing the personal as well as academic
development of our students. Our aim is
to help them leave us as global citizens
engaged in the world they are inheriting,
as well as top-class professionals in their
chosen career. This is a central tenet of
our recently reformed curriculum.
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

From panels to passive

We are committed to ensuring that all our
new buildings and refurbishments conform to
high energy efficiency standards. For example,
the quality of student accommodation is a
powerful recruitment tool and vital for the
university in an increasingly competitive
global higher education market. The
ongoing refurbishment of the Hillhead
student village involves installation of
2,500 square metres of solar panels, and
we are investigating biomass and other
renewable and passive technologies
to help improve energy performance.
Hi-tech, hi-energy
Our huge investment in new research
facilities on the Kings College and
Foresterhill campuses has attracted not
only students but leading researchers
from across the world. In winning hefty
research grants our scientists require ever
more high-tech equipment to stay at the
forefront of their fields, whether in life
sciences and medicine, physics, chemistry,
engineering and other disciplines. The
challenge is that state-of-the-art facilities
and technology can be very energy-hungry.
Notwithstanding the size of the
task, the University drew up its first
Carbon Management Plan in 2010 in
consultation with the Carbon Trust
and identifying a series of energy
reduction projects and initiatives to cut
emissions as much as was achievable
over the following years. Knowing that
the goalposts would inevitably shift
in line with campus expansion and
research successes, the commitment
was made to change team tactics and
to invest in some new signings.
The replacement some years earlier of
the old Central Heating Station at Kings
with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
plant was already proving its worth in
generating electricity while also diverting
the waste heat by-product to heat
the campus. Meanwhile on the health
campus we share with NHS Grampian
at nearby Foresterhill, we contributed to
the capital costs of a new 13.5m CHP
plant and continue to gain the benefits
of reduced energy costs for our health
research and teaching buildings on the
site. Energy-management software was
installed on 6,000 computers across
our two campuses, and technologically
advanced building management systems
now control and monitor energy use,
including programmable settings
for lights to conserve electricity.
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

For our big showpiece developments this

is proving an added advantage in winning
awards, attracting additional investment,
and supporting the Universitys core
values, business and research priorities.
The Sir Duncan Rice Library, Suttie Centre
at Foresterhill, and the Rowett building
(currently under construction adjacent to
Suttie) have all achieved the excellent
accreditation in the industry-standard
environmental performance BREEAM
ratings (Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Methodology)
showcasing photovoltaic panels, rainwater
harvesting and other engineering designed
to maximise energy efficiency.
The stunning faade of the library, for example,
while providing a new landmark for the
City, is high-performance glass, maximising
daylight while minimising solar gain and
heat loss. Inside, the spectacular free form
twisting atrium is designed to maximise
natural lighting and minimise electricity use.
The library, opened by Her Majesty the Queen
in September 2012, was the first campus
building to be fitted with solar panels.
The University is also investigating cutting
edge design solutions. The new facility
being planned to replace the ageing Rocking
Horse Nursery for the children of staff and
students could be among the first passive
house constructions in the region. This
architectural standard for ultra-low energy
buildings that require little energy for space
heating or cooling has been imported from
Germany, and is estimated to achieve a 75%
reduction in space heating requirements
compared to a standard UK new build.

from national computing, educational and

environmental organisations and media.
For Higher Education institutions, storing
and handling data is another huge and
energy-intensive challenge. However, a major
collaborative project between the University
of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University,
and what is now the North East Scotland
College, has resulted in all three institutions
replacing their ageing data centres with a
1.2 million shared facility on the University's
Old Aberdeen campus. A secondary centre
is now being planned on the RGU campus at
Garthdee, which will enable further servers to
be removed and consequent carbon reduction.
Operational in 2013, the North East Scotland
Shared Data Centre (NESSDC) has scooped
several national awards, including a
prestigious Green Gown Award, a British
Computing Society UK IT Industry Award,
and a Scottish Green Energy Award. In a
double celebration, the project was also
named Data Centre Project of the Year
in the BCS & Computing UK IT Industry
Awards covering the UKs entire IT
industry and beating off competition
from Tesco, Capital One and the NHS.
This ten month, complex and high risk
project involved upgrading the live
primary data centre at the University of
Aberdeen, re-locating all 400 servers at
this University alone and hundreds from
the other partner institutions while at the
same time operating business as usual.
Colleagues at all three organisations did a
fantastic job in keeping business operations
and IT services running including over
exam periods while such a major upheaval
and improvement was completed. Their
efforts will reduce the carbon footprint of the
three partners by almost a thousand tonnes
annually, as well as slashing energy bills by
almost a quarter of a million pounds each year.
Were immensely proud of this success,
and the attention it has focused on our
organisations and our region. Its another great
example of our serious commitment to fulfil
our responsibility as educators, researchers,
citizens and businesses and to be
recognised across the UK and beyond for big,
bold thinking, innovation and partnership.

Good to share
Not many organisations win awards
for how they store their data. A major
success story and a brilliant example of
benefit through partnership has brought
several trophies to North East Scotland
over recent months, attracting accolades

Further information contact

Fraser Lovie on f.lovie@abdn.ac.uk
or +44 (0)1224 273165

Pictured: Main image: The North East Scotland Shared Data Centre (NESSDC) based at the University of Aberdeen.
This page: The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant at Kings College.

21

ENERGEIA

Aberdeen will take its place alongside the international

metropolises of Cape Town, New York, Shanghai and
Mexico City on June 19-20, 2014, as host of one of five
Regional Student Energy Summits.

Aberdeen prepares to host

European Student
Energy Summit

22

www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

ISSUE 5 | SPRING/SUMMER 2014

Awareness for the main event is being built up

through a focussed social media presence and
a number of sub-events, such as a discussion
on what ramifications a Yes vote on Scottish
independence could have on the energy
sector, organised in partnership with the
University of Aberdeen Debaters, the School
of Law and the Aberdeen Institute of Energy.

the global transition towards a sustainable

energy future, it is no surprise Student Energy
thought of Aberdeen as the perfect place
to host the European leg of the event.
Malgorzata Olesiewicz, the Chair of the
summit, also thought it was particularly
important that an energy event organised by
students for a student audience be held in a
city where the oil and gas industry is always
keen on complaining about the skill gap.

he European Student Energy

Summit (ESES) was secured
for the North East of Scotland
following a successful bid by
a 35-strong team of students
from the University of Aberdeen,
whilst sister events take place
simultaneously in North America,
Latin America, Africa and Asia.

An offshoot of the Calgary-based not-forprofit Student Energy organisation, the ESES

2014 is part of a global student initiative to
organise energy forums across the globe.
Initially introduced in Canada in 2009, the
movement has steadily increased its audience
which now represents 75 nationalities. This
year will see the organisations first attempt
to hold a different summit on five continents,
with 1,500 students due to attend the events.
The event in Aberdeen will be an opportunity
for attendees to debate important energy
issues with experts, industry leaders and
policy makers. The summit will also be an
opportunity to showcase Aberdeen as a
long-standing European energy capital.
Home to a unique concentration of oil and
gas related businesses, the city has also
started to harness its post-oil future by
becoming a hub of innovation in renewables.
With the ambitious objective of supporting
www.abdn.ac.uk/aie

When the industry talks about the skill

gap, they keep calling for more petroleum
engineers, she explained. One of the
aims of the conference is to show them
that the delicate issue of sustainability
should be approached from a broader
perspective. Engineers have to understand
the concerns of the policy makers and viceversa. If the industry wants to succeed in
its transition to a sustainable future, it will
have to adopt this same perspective.
It is hoped the industry will recognise
that many of the students who will
attend the event will make up the next
generation of energy sector workers
and welcome the opportunity to discuss
the future of the business with those
that may succeed them tomorrow.
Malgorzata added: Not only do I believe that
it is important to show the industry that we
are here and ready to take over, but also to
underline that from our own perspective, the
status quo is unacceptable. The Millennium
generation will be responsible for meeting the
2030 and 2050 emission targets that we are
setting up today for the whole of society.
Powering the Future has been chosen
as the theme for the summits, reflecting
the need to address the worlds growing
demand for energy without compounding
climate change. The program, which is being
finalised, will gather a number of recognised
experts in their fields and give attendees
the chance to exchange on a broad range
of topics like marine energy, the future of
North Sea oil and gas, emissions trading,
carbon capture and storage or shale gas.

The ESES team are now careful to shadow

every energy-related initiative across the
University, making sure they draw more
supporters in with every project. A Climate
Week Art Competition in conjunction with
the Universitys Carbon School held in March
called for artistic contributions on the theme
Carbon Cool Showcase how YOU think
about the Environment. An ongoing writing
competition is also being organised on the
Student Energy blog, with a chance for the
best author to be re-published in the press.
The ESES camera crew have also been
stopping students around campus and
asking them what energy represents for
them. The organisation boasts its own
YouTube channel where fresh interviews
of team members are posted every couple
of weeks. The marketing team has taken a
comprehensive and proactive approach to
their promotional strategy. Beyond established
social networks, they are even developing
their own energy-related computer game.
With more than 3,500 supporters on its
Facebook page by the start of March,
awareness of the event is growing rapidly.
As marketing lead Demetris Hadjiosif,
puts it, with the conference drawing
closer, the greatest challenge that lies
ahead is now to surpass ourselves.
If anything, the quality of the build-up and
the energy deployed by the ESES team
are reasons enough to believe that the
conferences in June will be a genuine success.
The European Student Energy Summit
takes place in Aberdeen on June 19-20,
2014 and in addition to Host Partner the
University of Aberdeen, is supported by the
Aberdeen and Exhibition Conference Centre,
Young Petro magazine, Visit Aberdeen,
Aberdeen City Council and the Petroleum
Exploration Society of Great Britain.

For more information visit www.

studentenergysummits.com/europe-event-info
or www.facebook.com/StudentEnergyEurope
or email eses2014@abdn.ac.uk

Pictured: Main image, Members of the European Student Energy Summit team gather for a meeting ahead of the successful bid.
This page, Co-organisers of the European Student Energy Summit 2014 (left - right) Malgorzata OIesiewicz and Lora Dimitrova.

23

COME HERE.

GO ANYWHERE.
THATS THE DIFFERENCE

OUR ENERGY COURSES

The University of Aberdeen offers a wide range of Undergraduate, Postgraduate
and CPD programmes designed to meet the industrial needs of the energy sector.

Courses on offer include:

Undergraduate

Postgraduate Taught Programmes

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> Climate Change Law & Sustainable

Development
> Energy Law
> Energy Management
> Energy, Politics and Law
> Environmental Analytical Chemistry
> Environmental Science
> Geographical Information Systems
> Geophysics
> Hydrocarbon Exploration
> Integrated Petroleum Geoscience
> Oil & Gas Chemistry
> Oil & Gas Computing
> Oil & Gas Law

Biological Sciences
Business & Law
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Geography
Geology
Petroleum Engineering
Petroleum Geology
Physics

FOR MORE INFORMATION

visit: www.abdn.ac.uk/prospectus
email: sras@abdn.ac.uk
call: +44 (0)1224 272090/91

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Oil & Gas Structural Engineering

Oil and Gas Engineering
Oil and Gas Enterprise Management
Petroleum, Energy Economics and
Finance
Petroleum Engineering
Petrophysics & Formation Evaluation
Project Management
Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Engineering
Reservoir Engineering
Safety & Reliability Engineering for
Oil & Gas
Subsea Engineering

Undergraduate Open Day

The University will host its Undergraduate
Open Day; Tuesday, August 26, 2014.
For details visit
www.abdn.ac.uk/openday