Energeia ISSUE 4

www.abdn.ac.uk/energy

RED RevolutionEnergy Institute in the Energy Capital

Pioneering collaboration plugs skills gap

Politics of Oil & Gas

AT WORK FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR ISSUE 4 | AUTUMN 2013

ENERGEIA

Platform for Success

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CONTENTS3-5 red revolution

6/7 new Institute of energy

8 Politics of oil & gas

9 my view: giving something back

10/11 new course to tackle skills shortage

12/13 Postgraduate Profiles

14 Focus on energy Law

15 risky Business: how leaders can manage organisations safely?

16/17 Platform for Success

18 explohUB evolution

19 Student energy Summit

As the oil and gas industry gathers in Aberdeen for this years offshore europe, there has never been a more critical time for academia to stand up and demonstrate its key role in helping address the energy challenges ahead.

These challenges include, of course, developing the skilled workforce to take forward an industry continuing to innovate and to probe and tackle new remote and deep frontiers. no

other UK region can offer the experience and responsiveness of its higher and further education sector in preparing for the big crew change, now being supported by the Scottish government as the oil and gas Academy of Scotland.

What we offer at the University of Aberdeen goes much further however, much wider and much bigger. By autumn we hope to have announced the Director of the new Aberdeen Institute of energy, and to have plans in place for an exciting new building on the Kings College campus which will symbolise the extent of our commitment and ambition in working with industry, policy-makers and all with an interest in securing a sustainable energy future for generations for come.

This is a hugely exciting development for the University, building on our strengths in research, teaching, location, innovation, and collaboration to create a unique centre targeted at tackling the major challenges we face as a global society in meeting the growing demand for energy against a background of increasing environmental and sustainability issues.

The Institute will be a multidisciplinary focus for the future management of energy resources, including fossil fuels and low carbon energy. research will consider technology innovations, and the economic and regulatory frameworks of energy supply. It will also address the political, environmental, social and cultural context related to the demand for energy resources, the impact of this demand on the world around us, and the choices and behaviours of consumers.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond FBA FrSe AcSS

Principal and vice-Chancellor

ENERGEIA

The oil industry is always looking for products to help improve the speed and efficiency of its drilling projects but nothing has yet been able to deliver a step change in productivity. So when a new technology arrives on the scene boasting considerably faster drilling speeds and potential savings of billions of dollars to operators even the most seasoned industry insider will be tempted to sit up and take notice.

REDRevolution

ISSUE 4 | AUTUMN 2013

3www.abdn.ac.uk/energy

4 www.abdn.ac.uk/energy

ENERGEIA

Resonance Enhanced Drilling (RED) has been developed by a University of Aberdeen researcher and his team. Although RED has been hailed as the biggest industry breakthrough since directional drilling, the basic concept is, he says, remarkably simple.

This technology should be of huge interest to the industry at this time, explains Professor Marian Wiercigroch, Sixth Century Chair in Applied Dynamics at the University of Aberdeen and creator of RED technology.

There is plenty of oil and gas in marginal or difficult fields and as such there is a need for technology that can reach, in an economically viable way, previously inaccessible assets.

The concept originates from the fundamental understanding of dynamic fracture of rocks caused by high frequency impact loading. It explores nonlinear resonances in the borehole to transfer the energy in a most efficient and elegant way resulting in a large improvement in penetration rates and a much lower rate of wear on the drill-bit.

RED alters the main drilling mechanism of creating a borehole from shearing to 'dynamic micro-fracture' by introducing controllable high frequency axial vibration to the drill-bit. Essentially, the drill-bit moves up and down as it spins, and the frequency and amplitude of these oscillations are adjusted for different rock formations to create resonance conditions and therefore easily drill through hard rocks.

The key is to determine and maintain the resonance in the borehole for varying conditions by careful monitoring of complex feedback responses. For example Figure 1 illustrates how the optimal period drilling solution marked by a green dot in the left panel can change to a chaotic attractor (green shape in the

middle panel) and co-existing multiple solutions (the right panel), both of which are undesirable.

It is very exciting and rewarding to see one of the abstract ideas I had many years ago of employing nonlinear resonances to solve engineering problems, being so close to being validated and deployed in commercial service, continues Professor Wiercigroch. The research and development programme for the RED technology started in 1998 with a small project funded by the Centre for Petroleum and Marine Technology led by Dick Winchester. My team has completed many theoretical and experimental studies funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), industry and Scottish Enterprise, to prove the RED technology on a large scale. We have built unique testing facilities which allow us to gain further insight and optimise the design of the RED module.

The RED project has been a truly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research programme involving applied mathematics, rock and fluid mechanics, mechanical, civil and electronic engineering. The first RED experimental rig was made possible by a multi-million pound investment in the technology through an R&D programme run by ITI (now part of Scottish Enterprise) and from this we have been able to prove the RED concept on the large scale.

The full scale RED experimental rig, designed by the Aberdeen RED team has been in operation since 2009, providing extensive drilling data for various rocks including granite, limestone and sandstone. Through the experimental studies where commercial drill-bits have been used, penetration rates are shown to improve up to 10 times, which was exactly as first predicted theoretically.

From the beginning we wanted to ensure our test rig would work with the commercial drill-bit as that is the best way to ensure industry could adopt the technology. We realised that the more changes the industry needed to make to accommodate RED, the more expensive it would be and therefore less attractive to bring into practice. With that in mind we have developed the unit so that it can be easily incorporated into existing systems.

Whilst the main application will be in the offshore drilling industry, RED could also be utilised in a number of other industries and also domestic markets.

The principle of RED technology can be applied to anything that currently uses a traditional drilling method mining, construction, even hand tools and dentistry!

The application of RED could have a significant influence on drilling technology as a whole, as it will be possible to drill boreholes cheaply with a small environmental footprint. This could increase activity levels which could benefit the offshore service industry in Scotland in general.

It is hoped RED will be field tested and validated within two years and could be used commercially before 2018. The drilling industry could be at the beginning of a RED revolution!

For more information contact: Professor Marian Wiercigroch: +44 (0)1224 272509 [email protected] or visit [email protected]

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Figure 1


ENERGEIA

The new Aberdeen Institute of Energy will symbolise the commitment of the university of Aberdeen to being at the forefront not only in producing the outstanding professionals vital to the energy sector but also in building on its pedigree in oil and gas to lead an integrated, big picture approach to the worlds energy futures.

Energeia asked professor Jim Anderson, who leads the universitys Energy research team, to outline the main benefits the new Institute will bring for the industry and all energy stakeholders:

The two things that make this University distinctive are our location in the heart of Europes oil and gas capital, and the way in which we have integrated research in many different academic disciplines to address energy issues in this all-encompassing way. We have a long track record in working

An Energy Institute in the Energy CapitalBy offshore europe 2015, a new landmark will be rising in the sky over Kings College campus, adjacent to the prize-winning Sir Duncan rice Library and the science faculties which have nurtured nobel prizewinners.

For more information contact: Professor Jim Anderson, +44 (0)1224 272905 [email protected] or visit www.abdn.ac.uk/energy

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in this way with the oil and gas industry and that will continue. Today, as we move towards a low carbon society this strong foundation enables us to address the challenges we are meeting across the whole range of energy systems including exploration, exploitation, economic modelling, licensing and regulation, environmental impact and energy transmission.

We see this investment in creating an Aberdeen Institute of Energy in a new landmark building as a symbol of the Universitys commitment to building on our track record and team approach to forge a leading role in securing a safe, sustainable energy future for generations to come and to do that here in north-east Scotland.

Relevant research

Our plan is that the Institute will bring together, and enhance, the expertise we already have in energy-related research carried out across our teams of experts, all at the forefront in their individual fields. In addition to a powerful resource for industry, this will also be the principal source of information and guidance for those charged with making energy policy, and for many other interested organisations across the world.

And we are strengthening still further our research capacity. This year the University has made 20 appointments to enhance

Training for tomorrow

Building on this, the Institute will lead to the enhancement of our growing portfolio of professional development programmes which look ahead to industry needs in engineering, geosciences, chemistry, computing sciences, environmental sciences, law, economics and business. Programmes such as exploHUB are at the forefront of exploration training and attract industry-sponsored students from around the world. And a recent addition to our growing suite of Masters courses is the partnership with Senergy to launch a new MSc in Petrophysics - a world first in offering a flexible approach for industry professionals wishing to combine their studies with their employment.

Productive partnerships

The new Institute will develop a growing portfolio of national and international partnerships and collaborations with the academic, industry, governmental and other interested sectors. Internationally, a growing number of partnerships in south-east Asia, China, South America, the Gulf, Africa and other energy regions are delivering research collaborations, student and academic exchanges. Nationally, the University is involved in new partnerships in the Offshore Renewables Institute, the Oil and Gas Academy of Scotland, and the

many collaborations with other universities, research centres and industry including the National Subsea Research Institute and the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering.

A further benefit will be the close integration with other Aberdeen research centres including the Centre for Energy Law, Oceanlab, the Centre for Transport Research, and the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance.

Initiating innovation

Innovation is a much-used word these days, but how often do we see it in practice? Many of the greatest commercial breakthroughs have come from new, clever ideas, and pure blue-sky, curiosity-driven research. This is an area that the University has excelled in over recent years in all areas of energy research. Indeed, rankings released this summer put the University of Aberdeen in sixth place in the UK for its success in spinning-out research into commercial products and companies putting us ahead of Cambridge and among institutions that are significantly larger than us*.

In summary, we at the University are truly excited by the potential of the new Aberdeen Institute of Energy and by the synergies it will release. We are aiming for fast progress in getting the Director, management and advisory team in place, and to pushing forward with plans for the new building.

Please keep track of developments on our website below, and of course we are delighted if you want to get in touch.

*PraxisUnico Annual Report 2013

our energy-related research capability, including new Chairs in energy law, geophysics, chemical engineering, and senior appointments in engineering, geology, geophysics, energy law, and energy politics.

Global graduates

We have a long track record in producing the talented graduates which are vital to the industry as it faces its big crew change. Close links with industry partners and a growing programme of scholarships, placement opportunities and other partnerships ensure that our graduates have mastered real-life industry scenarios and challenges. They have also had the benefit of the modernised flexible Aberdeen curriculum which blends in-depth study in a chosen discipline with opportunities to study relevant languages and other complementary subjects and take interdisciplinary courses addressing global challenges society will need to face. We have a wide suite of specialist Masters developed in recent years in response to industry need. Oil and Gas Chemistry, Subsea Engineering, Renewable Energy, Safety and Reliability Engineering, Oil and Gas Enterprise Management, Integrated Petroleum Geosciences are just a few recent additions which are proving very popular. There is a full list and more information on the back cover of this Energeia.

Rankings released this summer put the University of Aberdeen in sixth place in the UK for its success in spinning-out research into commercial products and companies


ENERGEIA

The need for joined-up conversation about the big issues in oil and gas politics was the main outcome of two days of lively debate bringing together many different perspectives on the hot topics facing industry, academics, policymakers and the public in securing our energy future.

Big questions took centre stage as experts debated what should be done with the profits of oil and gas, the future of the oil and gas workforce, and how oil and gas production could best be reconciled with care for the environment.

Politics of Oil & Gas in a Changing UK: International Dimensions brought together, over two days in May, academics, politicians, environmental and human rights activists and trade unionists. The event on the Kings College campus was hosted by the University of Aberdeens Centre for Citizenship, Civil Society and the Rule of Law (CISRUL), whose director Dr Trevor Stack explained the objective: Plenty of people are debating the future of oil and

gas, across industry, government, social and political organisations, and universities. But the debates are often isolated from each other, which makes for a dialogue of the deaf. Our goal was to connect up all these debates, and we were delighted to manage together an extraordinarily wide range of speakers and a very engaged and challenging audience.

In 2014 Scottish voters face a referendum on whether they remain citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or become an independent nation state. Their understanding of the political economy of oil and gas is likely,

for the first time since the 1970s, to play a significant part in how they decide their future. But Scottish independence is only one of many decisions to be made about the future of hydrocarbons, and whether Scotland is independent or not, they are decisions that need to be taken.

Former UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry was among the speakers at the public conference,

with Shadow Energy Minister Tom Greatrex, Oil & Gas UK CEO Malcolm Webb, and RMT Regional Organiser Jake Molloy.

Issues debated included the role of oil and gas in the Scottish independence debate, fiscal policy and the use of oil and gas revenue, environmental risks and renewables, health and safety

(especially relevant in this Piper Alpha anniversary year), and the UKs global responsibilities in oil and gas.

Although focused on the UK, the conference heard international perspectives from Helge Ryggvik of the University of Oslo on the relevance of the Norwegian model; Fernanda Wanderley of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in Bolivia, who spoke about Bolivia and Brazil; Anna Zalik of York University, Canada, who discussed Mexico, Nigeria and Canada; and Simon Pirani of the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies on Kazakhstan. Barnaby Briggs of Shell International engaged in a vigorous debate about the role of corporate social responsibility in Nigeria with George Frynas of Middlesex University.

According to Trevor Stack, the conference was just the beginning of what he and colleagues hope will continue to be a lively and challenging debate. We need to include still more people in our discussion, he insists. We want to engage civil servants, media owners, foreign politicians and university management. For example, Charles Hendry raised the success of UK universities in training postgraduate students from across the world but how do we ensure that in addition to technical competence they are prepared for addressing some of the serious issues on return to their home countries?

Were now discussing how best to keep up the debate, and to encourage all these different interests to listen and talk to each other. In the meantime, I encourage all who are interested in these big issues to join our Energy Politics Forum group on Facebook and follow the discussion on Twitter at #ukenergypolitics. Full summaries and audio recordings of the conference are available via the website: www.abdn.ac.uk/cisrul/events/2268/.

In 2014 Scottish voters face a referendum on whether they remain citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or become an independent nation state"

politics of Oil & Gas Getting beyond a dialogue of the deaf

Pictured: Charles hendry mP, former UK energy minister



In the latter part of my time working full time for Shell, a constant refrain heard at industry conferences and put forward in industry publications was, more must be done to bring academia and industry closer together. The challenge of course: how do we do this?

The ideal opportunity presented itself during my time as external examiner of the Oil and Gas Enterprise Management MSc when I was asked if I would be interested in assisting the University of Aberdeen to set up a Petroleum Engineering undergraduate degree programme. The request was made in 2005 as I approached my last year of full time employment with Shell in the position of Global Chief Petroleum Engineer (PE) perfect timing!

In the position of Chief PE and as Vice President of Global Studies, the position I held immediately before, I was involved with assessing and recruiting new staff hires and monitoring how they developed on the job in their first few years. From these assessments I had developed a clear idea of the ideal academic preparation for a career as a petroleum engineer and now I had been invited to put these ideas into practice. I could scarcely believe my good fortune.

Giving something backFormer Shell global Chief Petroleum engineer Iain Percival on setting up the Petroleum engineering undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen

The degree programme kicked off in academic year 2008 2009 with the petroleum engineering specialist courses (essentially 3rd and 4th years) and recruitment of staff very much a work in progress. However, this had always been the plan, and to ensure the complete programme was delivered on time we established an eight member Petroleum Engineering Programme Advisory Board in 2008 consisting of three industry members and five academic staff. Unfortunately, two of the original industry members soon found they were not able to give the board the attention it required and stood down. However the replacements, namely Dr. Iain Morrison (Senergy), Tony McGartha (Chevron) and John Donachie (formerly Simmons, now Omega Completion Technology) have brought to the Advisory Board an extensive network of contacts and their unique perspectives from both the operator and service sector. All in all I could not have wished for better qualified colleagues, and working with the academic staff on the board I believe we deliver as aspired against the objectives established in our 2008 charter.

There will always be a tension between what the industry members believe would be ideal programme content and what the School of Engineering can and must deliver within the constraints of content dictated by

the requirements set by the University and external accreditation, staff capacity and budgetary ceilings. The Advisory Board is an ideal forum to discuss options and agree on solutions to deliver a product to the benefit of the University, the students and the eventual industry customers.

It is 40 years since I graduated from the University with an honours degree in geology. The University of Aberdeen experience has served me well as I built a rewarding and satisfying career in the energy industry and it is a privilege to have such an opportunity to give something back to the University.

I am often asked why I spend so much time and energy on University matters in general and on this degree programme, plus the students who have chosen to study petroleum engineering in particular. My reply is simple: It is so much more rewarding to be engaged actively with the future than to spend time reminiscing and living in the past.

My hope is that many more industry professionals living or working in Aberdeen, and in particular University alumni, will develop a similar motivation and volunteer themselves to become more involved with the extensive range of energy related programmes offered by the University of Aberdeen.

my View:

If you want something done properly so the saying goes youve got to do it yourself. That was the approach of global energy services company Senergy and the university of Aberdeen in a bid to tackle part of the worldwide skills shortage in the oil and gas industry.

The two have joined forces in a pioneering collaboration to develop the next generation of much-needed petrophysicists for the energy sector.

One of the key objectives in the design of the programme is to produce practitioners for the industry; those who can do the job as well as understand the science and the techniques.

Senergys Training division recognised the opportunity to train petrophysicists utilising the much sought after skills of Senergy petrophysicists. The company then approached the University of Aberdeen, world renowned for its academic credentials including its diverse energy portfolio, to support the initiative. As a result, both parties

The MSc Petrophysics and

Formation Evaluation programme

has been developed in direct

response to the growing demand

for the discipline and has been

hailed by industry leaders as an

invaluable catalyst towards

meeting the needs of the sector.

The programme is believed to

be a world first because it is not

only dedicated entirely to the

discipline of petrophysics but it is

designed as a part-time modular

programme to allow a flexible

approach for people wishing to

combine studies with their work.

entered into a partnership to develop the programme which has since been accredited by the University.

Alasdair Buchanan, Chief Operating Officer at Senergy, said: Senergy prides itself in being a visionary company which focuses on delivering innovative and integrated solutions. This exciting collaboration with the University on the Masters programme is another example of our forward-thinking approach when it comes to investing in the talent of the future whilst forging further links with clients around the globe.

Tackling theskills shortage


ENERGEIA

Pictured (L-R): Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Alasdair Buchanan and malcolm Webb.

graham Webber, is part of the technical training team that developed the mSc Petrophysics and Formation evaluation programme and is one of the course tutors.

graham initially wanted to be a physics lecturer before landing a job in the oil and gas industry. Since then, he hasnt looked back.

having graduated with a BSc in physics, he went on to do experimental work on magnetic materials for a PhD in physics and then a research fellowship after becoming interested in the research side.

In 1981, graham answered a job advert for numerate graduates interested in training as petrophysicists with the then newly-formed British national oil Company (BnoC).

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by their head of petrophysics, roberto Peveraro" explains graham. "he is a great exponent of and enthusiast for petrophysics, and quickly engaged my curiosity by talking about some key petrophysical challenges and that, combined with the possibilities for travel and operational work, hooked me.

graham has gone onto work on a wide range of exciting and challenging projects around the world.

I have been lucky to travel to various oil industry locations including research labs in the USA, France, the netherlands, Italy and Saudi Arabia and field locations in the UK, norway, mexico, Siberia, the middle east and the Far east, he says.

graham played a pivotal role in helping Senergy to develop the mSc Petrophysics and Formation evaluation programme.

The oil and gas industry changes rapidly and, as a result, it creates significant new career opportunities which can be very different to what someone first envisaged on entering the industry. Petrophysics is a prime example because there is a very strong demand for people in this specialist field and there are many people who, whilst not necessarily trained as petrophysicists, possess the relevant skills and expertise which can be developed further into petrophysics.

Diversifying into niche areas of expertise opens up another number of exciting career prospects on a global scale and I have certainly enjoyed teaching petrophysics to a large number of people with very diverse technical backgrounds, cultures and levels of experience.

For more information about Senergy, visit: www.senergyworld.com

For more information about the University of Aberdeen, visit: www.abdn.ac.uk

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Collaboration with academia comes with mutual benefits to both institutions and allows considerable added value to our respective offerings. The skills of the petrophysicist make a vital contribution to the industry and we are proud to be playing this major part in the development of those skills going forward.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Principal and vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, said: This is a great example of partnership in action which directly addresses the needs of industry by taking advantage of the Universitys outstanding international reputation in geosciences. The mSc programme will significantly open up opportunities for people interested in becoming petrophysicists and developing their own careers, and will also appeal to companies wishing to develop further their talent pool.

The masters programme, which is due to begin in September 2013, is open to graduates in geosciences, physical sciences, mathematics or engineering or equivalent, with an existing position in the oil and gas industry in a related subject area.

The modular programme, aimed at building knowledge and understanding as topics are introduced sequentially, is delivered by industry experts over two taught years followed by a major dissertation on a company issue. The programme requires attendance approximately five times per year, with each block lasting for one or two weeks. This approach is designed to provide maximum flexibility, allowing working individuals to continue their jobs whilst working towards a masters degree from a leading University.

malcolm Webb, chief executive of oil and gas UK, officially launched the course at the University of Aberdeen. he praised the initiative by saying: Petrophysicists perform a crucial role in the oil and gas industry therefore it is essential that we continue to provide an entry route and indeed a development route for this vital aspect of our business.

Senergy and the University of Aberdeen have demonstrated a highly-commendable commitment to collaborate on this enterprising initiative which should prove an invaluable catalyst towards ensuring the industry has a sufficient supply of expertise in this vital area.

Senergy, which is a world-leading provider of fully-integrated project and asset development services across the energy industry, already delivers specialist training to companies around the world and will be marketing this new programme on a global basis.

The companys services encompass geosciences, reservoir engineering, geohazard assessment, marine site surveys, rig positioning, wells engineering and operations, production optimisation, reserve and asset evaluation, facilities engineering, project management, power engineering and alternative energy solutions. Senergy also develops and supports innovative software technologies including Interactive Petrophysics and oilfield Data manager.

Graham Webber:Senergy principal petrophysicist



This year the one of the worlds biggest energy services companies joined forces with the university of Aberdeen to enable students from sub-Saharan Africa to gain all the benefits of postgraduate education.

The new programme, launched by Halliburton, builds on the Memorandum of Understanding the two organisations signed in summer 2010 and covers full costs for around 12 students undertaking one-year Masters courses in engineering or geosciences at Aberdeen. Once qualified, the graduates will return to positions in the energy industry in their home countries.

Mary Najjuma (Uganda), Michael Afari and Prince Afful, (both Ghana) and Kheri Abdul Mahimbali (Tanzania) arrived in Aberdeen in January and have now begun their Masters courses at Aberdeen. They will have a close relationship with Halliburton throughout their course, including projects and work placements and an internship on completing the programme.

Prince Afful says the Halliburton scheme has provided him with a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I was first accepted in 2011 but although I had the grades I could not afford to take up

It always makes me feel great to know that I am being prepared for real industry work. The lecturers have time and patience to attend to us at all time and to help.

Mary added: Studying in Aberdeen has me realise my potential, taught me to think broadly and appreciate different cultures as well being hard working and less dependent on others. It has also showed me that theres a lot I can do for my country.

Kheri echoed the sentiments: I am so confident that upon completion of my course there will be a lot of job offers because I studied in Aberdeen. Currently I am doing an internship with my countrys national oil company (Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation). Most of the staff here wish they could have had the opportunity of

Sub-Saharan Africa & Brazil

From the World to Aberdeen

the offer, he said. Both my parents are deceased so I had no financial support. I hoped I would maybe qualify for a scholarship or something since I had good results. It took two years but eventually thanks to the Halliburton scheme I got to enrol.

Most of the postgraduates admit they had a few preconceptions about Scotland but have been surprised by the reality of life in Aberdeen.

Aberdeens weather is cold I mean really, really cold! In one day there can be more than three weather condition changes, said Michael. I thought Aberdeen would be a quiet place but its actually very busy and vibrant and the city centre is a fantastic

scene of people and beautiful structures. I went and bought a camera to capture all these amazing sights.

The international community is far bigger than I thought all nationalities are represented theres a greater networking platform here than on Facebook!

Prince says he has been overwhelmed by the teaching facilities and staff and feels the course is preparing him well for industry life.

The modules are tailored directly to what you will be doing in the industry, he said. I go to seminars where big industry players and engineers give a talk and I feel like this is exactly what I am being taught in my modules.

studying in Aberdeen because the University is very reputable and most of the consultants at TPDC have a connection either to the University of Aberdeen or have worked in Aberdeen. So studying in Aberdeen has added an extra advantage in my career progress already.

Asked what she would say to anyone considering studying in Aberdeen, Mary said: To the people thinking of coming to Aberdeen to study - dont think twice. Just pack your bags and get going because Aberdeen has got the best education the UK could ever offer. I have been here and I know what I am talking about. One last piece of advice - keep your jackets as close as possible!


ENERGEIA

I am so confident that upon completion of my course there will be a lot of job offers because I studied in Aberdeen."

postgraduate profiles:

Pictured (L-R): michael Afari, mary najjumba, Prince Afful, Kheri mahimbali.

brazils swift rise from developing country to global energy power has sent reverberations around the international oil industry. but whilst the country rejoiced at its rapidly growing energy market, the government recognised a huge domestic skills shortage that needed to be addressed in order to meet requirements.

Its response was to launch Science Without Borders a program designed to kickstart Brazils skills base in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects a scheme which has already seen Brazilian students undertake their studies in Aberdeen.

As part of the program, up to 100,000 Brazilian students (many PhD level) will be sent to study overseas.

Following an appeal by the Brazilian government for industry financial support, BG Group, a UK company active in Brazil, announced its intentions to support 450 Brazilian PhDs abroad.

The University of Aberdeen took up the challenge and as part of a partnership with the Brazilian Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) to train Brazilian PhDs in geoscience.

Twenty PhD students will enrol at the Universitys Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology over the next six years.

The first PhD students arrived in Aberdeen in October last year. Two of them, sedimentologist Guilherme Bozetti and geochemist Julia Neri Gezatt from Porto Alegre in South Brazil described their early experiences of the Granite City.

My first impressions of Aberdeen were through Wikipedia, admits Julia. The city is really grey because of all the granite buildings but I really like it. The people are very warm compared to other places Ive been in the UK. Theyre very inviting, energetic and positive.

Were here because although everything is starting to work in Brazil, in terms of the industry, there arent enough geologists to take on all the work in Brazil. But everythings growing and with the help of programmes like this I think in no time it will be up to speed.

Of course I knew Aberdeen was the energy capital of Europe but it wasnt until I arrived here that I quickly realised just how big the industry is here. Everywhere you go there is a sign for an oil, energy or gas firm. Many of the researchers here, regardless of

Coming here has set me up for the rest of my career

their discipline, are working in some capacity that is related to, or could be beneficial to the energy industry.

Guilherme's work is based on the importance of deep water channels and turbidites offshore Brazil.

The reason I wanted to come to Aberdeen was because of the names of the supervisors Ben Kneller and Ian Alsopp. In Brazil, most of the oil were getting out of the ground is related to turbidites and Ben is one of the biggest names in the world in that field. Hes actually known as the Turbidite Guy. That was attractive to me because I knew Id be learning a lot about a subject that is very important in Brazil. Now, if you are in the oil industry and you know quite a lot about seismic interpretation it puts you a big step ahead.

Aberdeen is the main city when it comes to oil and gas so its the best place to be for getting in touch with industry. Last week I was at Schlumberger for a full week doing software training. You lead a life living in the industry and you get to know the companies.

Its more multicultural than I thought it would be. Some companies have a large percentage of staff from the countries that they are operating in.

At the University too, people have come from all over the world. In my class there are people from Vietnam, Mexico, Iraq, and someone from Aberdeen.

Julia says shes also been impressed by the Universitys facilities.

The University is fantastic. Everything you need, anything you can imagine, theres always someone who can help you put it into practice, always someone you can ask for help the infrastructure is in place to allow that to happen.

Guilherme added: I didnt realise thered be as much opportunity for travelling. Ive been on fieldwork expeditions to Chile and Turkey and soon to Mexico.

Whilst both have been impressed by the Universitys facilities and staff, being from Brazil, understandably adjusting to the weather has taken some time.

You need to understand there are two different Aberdeens, Guilherme explained. Theres winter time Aberdeen and summertime Aberdeen. Wintertime Aberdeen is a good time to work! You can just lock yourself away and get so much done. You arrive at 9am and its still dark, you get a bit of light during the day and then about 3.30pm, it starts to get dark again.

But on the other hand, you get summertime Aberdeen and that is amazing really nice weather! Its hot but not too hot, you still get a breeze which is nice. And you get daylight almost all day. Whats most surprising is you live by the beach but you never get into the water. Ive not been in yet but I might try!

Most importantly though, coming here has set me up for the rest of my career. Id definitely recommend it.

For more information contact: Student Recruitment & Admissions +44 (0)1224 272090 [email protected] or visit www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate

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13www.abdn.ac.uk/energy Pictured: guilherme Bozetti and Julia neri gezatt

With the upcoming independence referendum, attention is now focussing on details of how an independent Scotland would operate from a legal standpoint.

Nowhere is the debate more contentious than on the matter of how existing UK hydrocarbon assets, liabilities and revenues would be divided up in the event of an independent Scotland.

The media spotlight fell on the University of Aberdeens Centre for Law Energy in May when its co-directors John Paterson and Greg Gordon said that it could be many years before the two sides agreed where the new international maritime boundary should be drawn.

The academics analysis was part of their discussion paper for the David Hume Institute/Scottish Council for Development and Industry ESRC-funded Conversation on Energy Issues.

Prof Paterson said he agreed with the Scottish Governments assessment that the lions share of North Sea oil would be assigned to a separate Scotland under any scenario, but warned that the detail could take time to agree and was one of a number of areas of uncertainty concerning the industry identified in the paper.

Their report concluded: Experience shows that such outcomes are not infrequently reached only after lengthy delays of several or even many years.

Prof Paterson said: Were pleased to be able to contribute our research to this debate and to other energy issues around the world which often involve complex legal arguments. Greg Gordon agreed, adding: Energy is already

hugely important to the global economy and is only set to become more so. What is not always well understood is the extent to which law and regulation can either facilitate or obstruct development of the energy chain. These are the issues we address in the Centre.

The debate highlights just one aspect of the work being carried out at the Universitys Centre for Energy Law. The arrival of new staff in recent years has allowed development from the Centres existing expertise in legal and regulatory aspects of upstream hydrocarbons to include areas such as the regulation of the downstream sector, EU-Russian energy relations and the laws role in securing a transition to low-carbon energy sources.

Whilst research continues, therefore, into a range of issues affecting the upstream oil and gas industry, especially in the offshore area (such as health, safety and environmental regulation and liabilities post-Macondo), work is now also going on in relation to such issues as decarbonisation of supply in emerging and transition economies and the establishment of grids for offshore renewable sources.

In terms of teaching, the highly successful LLM Oil and Gas Law programme, attracting almost 100 students annually from all over the world, is now complemented by an LLM in Energy Law which provides students with legal knowledge and skills in relation to both hydrocarbon and renewable energy sources.

There is also a vibrant international community of research students working on a wide range of energy-related projects, with recently-completed examples including a comparative study of the position of non-operators in Joint Operating Agreements and an examination of the impact of constitutional and property law provisions on hydrocarbon developments in Kuwait.

The Centre is also well integrated into the Universitys Energy Research Theme, with staff participating in multi-disciplinarygroups considering such issues as carbon capture and storage and shale gas, as well as co-supervision of cross-disciplinary PhD projects.

Staff are also involved in consultancy and expert advice as well as the provision of continuing professional development training to the industry, both nationally and internationally.

Focus onEnergy law

For more information contact: Professor John Paterson +44 (0)1224 273888 [email protected] or visit www.abdn.ac.uk/law

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ENERGEIA

Offshore safety has improved significantly since the early days of North Sea drilling but 25 years on from piper Alpha, the macondo explosion in the Gulf of mexico in 2010 remains a recent and stark reminder that the energy industry like many others still faces the challenge of managing its complex operations safely.

For over 20 years, Professor Rhona Flin and her team of organisational psychologists at the University of Aberdeen have investigated how humans can contribute to the overall safety of an organisation.

Today fewer people are injured or killed in the workplace thanks to the many improvements in safety, she explained. However incidents like Macondo and the Fukushima nuclear disaster can still happen and when they do, organisations need to know how to deal with these challenges quickly and effectively. Technological advances play a key role in controlling and

managing risks. However, humans contribute to safe operations and are equally crucial to ensure that emergencies are properly managed.

Our earlier work at the University of Aberdeen focused on the individuals at the sharp end of organisations, those who are immediately involved in worksite tasks and are close to the hazards.

A key finding was that the decisions that workers and supervisors take are affected by their perceptions of their managers. The priority that management gives to safety is often labelled safety commitment.

While its well known that the workforce observe and evaluate senior managers safety commitment, its not fully understood how these leaders influence organisational safety through their actions and other behaviours.

Dr Laura Fruhen, a Research Fellow in psychology at the University of Aberdeen has studied senior managers

influence on safety for the last four years. Findings from her PhD project with European air traffic management indicated that in order to stay sharp on safety issues, managers benefit from their ability to solve safety related problems by investigating them from several angles using multiple sources of information and addressing cultural, rather than technological changes.

This approach enables managers to show safety commitment. Senior managers will also require a clear understanding of how safety works in their organisations, Dr Fruhen explained.

This means knowing the organisations safety risks, having the relevant information available and being aware of safety strengths and weaknesses. These technical skills are complemented by social competence, especially the ability to listen carefully to employees, which makes senior managers effective agents for safety.

One of the main challenges senior managers face when solving safety related problems is that they usually wont be based at

the places where these decisions will have an effect giving the problems an abstract quality.

The current work of the industrial psychology research team at the University, involves managers from the energy sector. The team is investigating how managers can overcome the challenge of complacency through a sense of discomfort about the ways in which they manage risks. This is known as chronic unease for safety.

Dr Fruhens research has now been translated to inform best practice by the air traffic management industry. EUROCONTROL, the research sponsor, has just published a White Paper for senior managers, enabling them to consider her research in their everyday management of air traffic safety.

For more details of publications from these and the groups other industrial safety studies see www.eurocontrol.int/news/safety-intelligence and www.abdn.ac.uk/iprc

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Risky businessHow leaders can manage organisations safely

Pictured: Professor rhona Flin and Dr Laura Fruhen

Given that we are right on the River Ythan, we decided to put a platform about 25m off the river bank into the water fitted with these sensors, and the information is fed back to our base via a combined fibre optic and copper cable.

The advantage of this system is that it provides information that can be monitored in real time, and if something needs to be changed or repaired we can do so at low tide, which is a lot easier than pulling something up from the sea bed.

The platform is a far simpler and smaller version of DELOS (Deep-ocean Environmental Long-term Observatory System) which Oceanlab developed in collaboration with BP and which now sits on the seabed in Angola. Because of its proximity (1400m below the water surface) DELOS is battery powered and data can only be retrieved and maintenance carried out once a year when the sensors are retrieved by ROV. Conversely Oceanlabs platform in the Ythan boasts the advantage of being able to feed back data constantly via the fibre optic cable.

An exciting collaboration taking place in shallow waters just off the banks of the River Ythan in Aberdeenshire could soon yield results in some of the worlds deepest oceans.

The University of Aberdeens Oceanlab marine research facility was able to offer a test bed for a new environmental and biological monitoring product being developed by international oilfield services company Aker Solutions.

As the oil industry moves into new deeper areas in the search for hydrocarbons, there is a need for tools to measure the industrys environmental impact on new and relatively unexplored locations.

Dr Stewart Chalmers, Oceanlab Technical Director explains how the link-up with Aker Solutions came about.

Around three years ago we wanted to build up some expertise in operating in-sea observatories a device fitted with sensors that can monitor all kinds of variables in a body of water, such as current, depth temperature etc.

A platform for Success


ENERGEIA


Meanwhile, Aker Solutions, who had been developing their own eCon platform, contacted the University to explore the possibility of testing their device alongside Oceanlabs platform in the Ythan. The two platforms are connected by a short cable and both share the combined copper and fibre optic cable back to the Oceanlab base.

Aker Solutions eCon platform will be in situ in the Ythan for a twelve month period, gathering data and investigating the feasibility of its use in deep seafloor environments.

Featuring cameras and oxygen and turbidity sensors which measure the haziness of the water the eCon platform also has a set of oceanographic sensors that over the long term are capable of monitoring the sea floor environment, helping the oil and gas industry to assess their impact in the location.

Live data and camera images are transmitted from the eCon platform and are available online to be viewed on a public facing website.

Phil Bagley, programme leader at Aker Solutions in Aberdeen, said: The oil and gas industry is entering deep new areas which biologically speaking, we dont know much about. Only a limited number of deep ocean sites have been monitored for periods of more than five years and at these sites important annual cycles have been observed with considerable variability from year to year.

The eCon platform will allow us to better understand nature and these natural life cycles that occur. For the industry to measure its impact in any given area, naturally occurring and spontaneous changes in sea floor fauna need to be distinguished from any industry influences.

Aker Solutions have written their own software to interpret the data and are sharing some of this knowledge with Oceanlab so they can analyse the data being sent back from their own platform.

Professor Monty Priede of the University of Aberdeens Oceanlab, said: Our team is really looking forward to seeing the data and using it to demonstrate how it can be used on a greater scale, something which will present significant advantages to oil and gas companies investigating new areas.

The eCon platform will allow us to better understand nature and these natural life cycles that occur.

Oceanlabs Dr Stewart Chalmers added: In terms of our own platform, the idea is to provide live data. If weve got the appropriate sensors to measure nitrate levels for example we can attach them to our system and we (and the public) would be able to monitor that data live rather than us having to wait for a year to retrieve the kit and pull it back up and analyse the data that way. This way well be able to see changes in real time. We want to be able to present this data on a webpage, so people can log in and see live data. We will also archive the data and allow the user online access the information.



17www.abdn.ac.uk/energy Pictured: Charlie Ingram, vice president of hSe at Aker Solutions; David Sproule, business manager, oceanlab University of Aberdeen and richard Carter, business development director at Aker Solutions.

For more information contact: Oceanlab Technical Director, Dr Stewart Chalmers +44 (0)1224 274427 [email protected] or visit www.oceanlab.abdn.ac.uk/

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One of the universitys newest and most innovative training programmes continues to go from strength to strength having recently celebrated its second graduating class and its third intake of trainees.

The exploHUB training centre at the University of Aberdeen focuses solely on hydrocarbon exploration. In partnership with the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, it provides a more practically-focused, industry-facing MSc for oil company employees wishing to continue their professional development.

Being a relatively new venture, the programme is still evolving to best meet the needs of students and industry. A new flexible teaching method has seen the introduction of modularised block release training allowing employees to attend for three months a year over four successive years.

The latest cohorts hail from as far afield as Saudi Arabia and Algeria and all are employees of,

or sponsored by, oil companies and service companies. The corporations participating this year include Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, Dana Petroleum, Premier Oil and Senergy.

Director of exploHUB Dr Stuart Archer said: All the firms we work with value their employees personal development but the feedback we were receiving was that some would like to have the option of releasing their workers for smaller periods of time but do the course over a longer spell. So weve responded to the needs of industry by developing a modularised version of the MSc.

The advantages of this are that the employees get to return to their workplace more regularly and get to put into practice some of the things they learn at exploHUB. Also, this new flexible approach means the employers arent having to effectively lose an employee from their team for a full year at a time. Senergy have been the first firm to utilise this training model and currently have two trainees enrolled in this way.

Indeed the partnership between the University and energy services firm Senergy has been underpinned by the signing of a memorandum of understanding that will see Senergy support the future development of exploHUB.

The main areas of cooperation between the two bodies will be marketing and promotion of exploHUB, cooperation at industry events, sourcing of trainees for exploHUB, and the training of Senergy staff as part of an integrated staff development programme.

Our organisations are strongly aligned as we both recognise the importance of training the next generation of hydrocarbon explorationists to continue to meet the worlds future energy demands, explained Dr Archer.

We are looking forward to working with such a well-respected service company as Senergy. This industry and academia collaboration builds on the strong industrial relationships that exploHUB has fostered since our start-up and provides further endorsement of the MSc

in Hydrocarbon Exploration as the professional geoscience qualification.

Iain Morrison, VP Technical Excellence and Knowledge Management at Senergy, said: The continuous training of outstanding exploration geoscientists is essential to the future of our industry. Senergy and exploHUB are both committed to Technical Excellence and we are delighted to sign this agreement which will allow us to cooperate in a number of projects initially. We expect to cooperate in additional areas in future.

In the current environment, where there is fierce competition to attract and retain key people, this serves to remind us that the only way to sustain our industry is to invest in the training of new people and skills to ensure its long-term future prosperity.

exploHUB

Evolution:Adapting to meet student and industry needs

For more information contact: Dr Stuart Archer exploHUB Director +44 (0)1224 273449 [email protected] or visit www.abdn.ac.uk/explohub

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ENERGEIA

Students from the university of Aberdeen are bidding to host the first Regional Student Energy Summit for Europe.

Born from the International Student Energy Summit the event aims to empower the next generation of energy leaders who will support the global transition towards a sustainable energy future.

regional summits will take place in north America, South America, Africa, europe, Asia and Australasia simultaneously on June 12-13, 2014.

The events are designed for students and by students with the vision of attracting experts from all over the world to come together with the ultimate goal of educating the leaders of tomorrow.

The energy industry is hardwired into the DnA of people in Aberdeen, said malgorzata oIesiewicz, chair of the bid team. There are a huge amount of industry events held in the city but the majority are directed at professionals

already working in the industry as opposed to those who will be working in it in the near future.

As the oil capital of europe and home to one of the biggest research centres in energy - Aberdeen seems like a natural choice. We believe the Summit could act as a bridging event between the existing industry and the next generation.

hosting this regional summit is a unique opportunity to highlight our country, city and university to some of the brightest young minds in energy.

These unique events will address regional issues while simultaneously giving delegates a deep understanding of the role their region plays in global energy systems and dynamics.

Aberdeen bids for

European Student Energy Summit

If your company or organisation would like to support the bid, or for more information contact malgorzata oIesiewicz [email protected] or Lora Dimitrova [email protected]

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Energeia ISSUE 4