UK Oil Regulator Dubs North Sea a Vibrant Hotbed of Tech Innovation

UK Oil Regulator Dubs North Sea a Vibrant Hotbed of Tech Innovation The triple targets of supporting production, reducing emissions, and accelerating the transition to net zero are driving technological innovation in the North Sea. That’s what UK oil regulator the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said in a release sent to Rigzone recently, which highlighted that 1,200 new technologies had been reported in the organization’s 2023 Technology Insights survey. These included aerial drone and self-driving subsea vehicles, the release pointed out. Other notable examples, as highlighted in the survey, which was completed by 55 UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) operators, include lightweight compact trees, digital well planning using artificial intelligence, wireless downhole surveillance technologies, disposable fiber-lines, and vapor recovery systems. The number of technologies reported by UKCS operators stood at 1,080 in 2022 and 880 in 2021, the NSTA’s latest survey outlined. The NSTA survey showed that innovations in the fields of net zero and digital have risen significantly, the release noted, adding that net zero technologies have risen from 61 recorded in 2021 to 140 in 2023 and that data and digital technologies have grown from 190 to 381 in the same period. “Facilities management technologies, including deployment of monitoring equipment by aerial drones and autonomous underwater vehicles remain the single largest place for innovation, while there has been significant growth in the areas of installations and topsides, and reservoir and well management,” the release stated. “But innovative thinking remains vibrant across the industry with exciting new ideas being implemented in the areas of seismic and exploration, well drilling and construction, subsea systems, well P&A and facilities decommissioning,” it added. The release noted that overall spend was distributed across disciplines but pointed out that the largest sums were spent on well drilling and construction and installations. “Overall, operators committed GBP 200 million ($253.5 million) to transfer spending – where they bought technology from suppliers – and GBP 65 million ($82.4 million) in their own research and development,” the NSTA said in the release. “Both figures were up on the previous year where GBP 156 million ($197.8 million) and GBP 49 million ($62.1 million) were invested respectively,” it added. NSTA Technology Manager Ernie Lamza said in the release, “the North Sea is full of opportunities related to hydrocarbons and net zero, but at the same time can be a difficult place to work”. “Operators must focus on finding solutions to many challenging problems. Their innovative approach is clear in the continuing development and use of the new technologies highlighted in this report,” he added. “World-leading technologies, skills and experience boost production and support the energy transition, placing UKCS workers and companies in a great position to secure work and deliver products and services in the UK and in other producing regions around the world,” he continued. In the release, the NSTA said it is committed to supporting industry in using technology to enhance energy security, reduce emissions, and accelerate the transition to net zero. Responding to the NSTA 2023 Technology Insights report, Neil Pickering, the Business Transformation & Growth Manager for industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), told Rigzone, “it’s encouraging to see more than 50 operators contribute to this year’s NSTA Technology Insights report and note the rise in net zero technologies from 61 in 2021 to 140 in 2023”. “This year over half of the technologies are being sourced directly from vendors. This trend reflects the quality of our world-class and innovative supply chain and its role in helping the sector accelerate the transition to net zero by developing new technologies,” he added. “These include advanced methods like using infra-red cameras to measure methane emissions and new techniques to reduce gas flaring, and it’s good to see that around 30 percent of operators are partnering with suppliers to develop solutions in partnership,” he continued. In its 2022 Technology Insights summary findings, the NSTA noted that, since it began the annual Technology Plan survey in 2018, “there has been steady growth in the total number of operator reported technologies either in use/planned to be used or identified as a ‘need’”. “In 2022, 1,080 discreet technologies were referenced, this increase includes removal of some successful technologies now considered mainstream and unsuccessful technologies that have been dropped following un-commercial pilot studies,” it added. “Production operations related activities accounted for the greatest proportion of technologies reported (38 percent of total),” the NSTA continued. Technology is recognized by the NSTA as a key enabler to achieve the oil and gas industry’s objectives on the UKCS, the NSTA notes on its website, which adds that the revised NSTA Strategy, which came into force in 2021, reaffirms the role of technology for maturation of hydrocarbon resources and expands that to delivery of net zero targets. “Full value from innovation can be realized by deploying technologies to scale in the UKCS,” the NSTA states on its site. “A greater technology uptake can then promote more investment in R&D by the UK supply chain, to deliver the next wave of technologies that are needed,” it adds. The NSTA co-chairs, along with industry, the Technology Leadership Board (TLB), which represents a cross-section of industry and works with government and other stakeholders to adopt, adapt and/or develop oil and gas technologies that support the energy transition and strengthen UK oil and gas industry competitiveness, according to the TLB’s site. Its mission is to drive the development and deployment of new and existing technology to enable the twin UKCS goals of Maximizing Economic Recovery (MER UK) and achieving a net zero basin by 2050, the TLB site highlights. To contact the author, email  [email protected]
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