The Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) has signed its 100th project, taking the total it has invested into innovative oil and gas technology to £6 million over the last five years.
The 100th project will see OGIC supporting Targe Environmental Consulting Ltd with its development of a decommissioning materials management platform. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) the technology will greatly increase the identification of materials on oil and gas assets, pre-dismantlement, that can be re-used, this will include a multi-faced marketplace to allow the resale of usable assets and recyclable materials.
The aim of the platform is to reduce the overall cost of decommissioning and increase the principles of the circular economy by greatly increasing the amount of material which is reused and recycled across multiple industry sectors and geographic locations.
Targe will work with Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) School of Computing Science and Digital Media to develop the software. At the end of the 12-month project a fully functioning prototype of the system will have been developed.
The announcement of the 100th project follows OGIC signing agreements to support five new pieces of innovative technology which have the potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs in the oil and gas industry.
The diverse projects range from a system to detect marine mammal activity to innovative drill bit technology, a new additive manufacturing process and a research project into polymers for pipeline coatings.
Ian Phillips, chief executive officer of OGIC, said: “The signing of our 100th project is a significant milestone and is testament to the current appetite across the industry to develop both new and disruptive technology. We are increasingly seeing a recognition that the only way to make operations more efficient and cost-effective is to develop innovative ways of working.
