With the tensions and uncertainty surrounding North Sea oil exploration, the British oil industry is looking for startups and SMEs to help foster innovation and tackle new challenges. This is why the Oil and Gas Technology Centre recently opened, specifically to benefit the UK’s oil and gas sector and provide capital and opportunities to budding startups in the energy sector. Let’s take a closer look at the OGTC and what their new incubator could mean for energy startups.
About the Oil and Gas Technology Centre
The Oil & Gas Technology Centre opened a new incubator for small to medium-sized enterprises and startups called TechX. Unlike some other incubators, TechX will not demand equity in the startup firms, and it won’t demand a stake in the intellectual property developed by the businesses it supports. And they aren’t demanding that startups pay back what they receive either.
TechX has nearly a hundred experienced mentors and partner companies to provide advice and support to those firms that join the incubator. The Oil and Gas Technology Centre’s collaborative environment not only nurtures ideas but connects the companies using the incubator with investors and other companies.
The Oil and Gas Technology Centre was established in the fall of 2016 with around a hundred and eighty million pounds of funding from the Aberdeen City Region Deal. The Centre had invested more than eighteen million pounds in projects in the nine months since it formally launched in February 2017. The government is investing up to ninety million pounds into the Oil and Gas Technology Centre.
They will provide up to a hundred thousand pounds for technology startups and up to a half million pounds of funding for small to medium enterprises. However, the OGTC provides far more than just money for ventures selected for the incubator.
Since its creation, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre has invested more than nineteen million pounds across thirty projects. Membership has expanded to more than seventy companies and startups. Their goal is to help up a hundred start-ups and two hundred small to medium enterprises. Competition for the programs is expected to be high and the response from industry is encouraging.
The Programs at the OGTC
There are three programs in TechX: Pioneers, Market Entry, and Ventures.
The Pioneers program is intended for startups. Pioneers get a hundred thousand pounds for a full-time, four-month program. The goal of Pioneers is to foster “game-changing” and revolutionary technologies. That program is intended to provide access to experienced mentors, global partners in the energy industry, and field trial opportunities for those startups selected. They’ll gain access to BP’s facilities, too, since BP is a partner in this endeavour. The places for accepted applications were confirmed in March of 2018.
Market Entry doesn’t have application deadlines. Instead, it is an ongoing program, accepting applications continually from small to midsized enterprises or SMEs. That program seeks to accelerate entry into the oil and gas industry for small and medium-sized companies from other industry sectors. It provides access to end-use customers and funding, as well as funding up to half a million pounds.
Furthermore, it provides co-working space, rapid prototyping, test facilities, and showcase events. It can take ten to fifteen years for new technology to break into the risk-averse oil and gas industry. TechX is trying to speed up that process. The incubator’s support will allow Market Entry program members to fast track market validation and get their products to oil and gas industry companies.
The Ventures program is trying to harness ideas that draw on both creativity and deep science thinking. The Ventures program is a partnership with the OGTC and Deep Science Ventures in London. The director of TechX said the industry needs fresh ideas and innovative technology to thrive after several years of adapting to lower oil and natural gas prices. The Ventures program aims to encourage exactly that type of innovation across the entire energy spectrum.
Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Prime Minister, said that innovation is crucial to maximizing economic recovery, driving growth in export, and reducing costs. He sees projects like TechX as essential to securing the long-term sustainability of the North Sea’s oil and gas industry. Chief Executive Deirdre Michie said that the basin’s complexity and stage of development presented a number of technological challenges, and TechX was described as the type of support the industry needed to meet those challenges.
The Intent of the Oil and Gas Technology Centre
The OGTC is intended to help small and up-and-coming technology companies take their products to the oil and gas market sooner. The goal is to address the unique challenges of the oil and gas industry and the mature oil industry of the North Sea.
TechX is intended to identify and nurture innovative technologies and ensure that Aberdeen continues to lead the way in innovation. The new technologies will help improve North Sea exploration and energy production, as well.
The goal of the endeavour is to unlock the full energy potential of the UK continental shelf. The Oil & Gas Technology Centre or OGTC is expected to create new oil and gas jobs across the UK, especially in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and northeast Scotland. The long-term plan is to produce 200,000 barrels a day by 2020 in the North Sea, and as many jobs as possible.
TechX Director David Millar said that the incubator is intended to convince these companies to make northeast Scotland their home. If they base themselves in and around Aberdeen and grow, the resulting jobs would be a plus for the region.
What Else the Oil and Gas Technology Centre Does
While the OGTC gets attention for the incubator and funding, that isn’t all that they do. The Oil and Gas Technology Centre runs solution centres and “centres of excellence”, as well.
The solution centres focus on innovation in well construction, small pools (marginal fields), plugging and abandonment of wells, decommissions, digital transformation and asset integrity. Digital transformation includes things like smart sensors, machine learning and data analytics. The “centres of excellence” try to stimulate innovation by working with local universities.
The Innovation Hub the OGTC opened brings together industry and technology providers so they can experiment and explore new ideas. It hosts innovation events and workshops. It is also used to inspire innovators from schools and colleges around the country. There is increased demand for skilled professionals both onshore and offshore, and the OGTC is only going to increase that demand long term.
Note that it isn’t just the Oil and Gas Technology Centre that is seeking to train people to work in the oil and gas industry. There are a number of other groups offering oil & gas training courses for petroleum professionals. You can read about Oil & Gas courses options here. Learn about training programs you can join as individuals seeking to improve your skills. Furthermore, there are a number of in-house training sessions employers can arrange to expand and build the skill sets of their employees.
Conclusion
The long-term future of the oil and gas industry in the UK requires technological innovation. The Oil and Gas Technology Centre and its collaborative network aim to foster that innovation, cultivate ideas that can be ported over to the energy sector, and bring all manner of products to market faster.