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OGIC – supporting innovation in oil & gas

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Fergus Ewing, minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, at the launch of the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre in Aberdeen
The newly established Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) is already having an impact on accelerating new technologies to support the North Sea oil and gas industry.
OGIC’s official launch in Aberdeen revealed that it now has its first projects coming on stream and is in discussion with more than 50 companies regarding technology development opportunities.
OGIC provides a single access point to the knowledge and capabilities of 12 Scottish universities for the oil and gas industry. It can also part-fund and provide management support for projects with the potential to deliver technology solutions to the exploration, production and decommissioning challenges facing the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). It links around 2,300 oil and gas operators and service companies to more than 450 academic staff and researchers in Scotland working in oil and gas related areas.
Speaking at the launch, Fergus Ewing, minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, said: “The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre represents a very positive step in the right direction in ensuring support for operators and supply chain companies – allowing them to maximise the recovery of our significant hydrocarbon resources.”
Ian Phillips, chief executive of OGIC, said: “Innovation is now one of the major priorities for the oil and gas sector locally and globally in order to maximise return from existing assets and to bring new, more challenging reserves into production.”
The Scottish Funding Council, which provided the initial capital for OGIC, has also welcomed OGIC’s transformation from concept through to delivery body in a matter of months.  www.ogic.co.uk