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The winners of the Oil & Gas UK Awards 2015, sponsored by Shell U.K. Limited, were announced on Thursday night (Nov 5) in Aberdeen. Winners were presented with their awards at the evening ceremony, where over 600 people from across the oil and gas industry gathered to celebrate their company and individual achievements.

Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, Deirdre Michie, commented:

“This is a notable year - marking both fifty years of progress in exploration and production in the UK - and also an important turning point in how we do business.

“Over the last five decades, ground breaking, highly skilled people have pushed the boundaries of technology to overcome the engineering challenges of operating in one of the most hostile basins in the world. Our 2015 Awards highlight and share the examples of success in the last year, which are so important in inspiring our drive for improvement in the future.

“We all know that we’re gathering this year in markedly different circumstances to the last time we met. We also know it’s really important to take time to celebrate the great people and achievements that have made this industry a national treasure that we are all very proud of.

“Whilst we look back with pride on our achievements over the past year, we also look forward with courage and – together – tackle the challenges we face head on.”

The event was hosted by the BBC’s James Naughtie: presenter of Radio 4’s the Today Programme, author and Chancellor of Stirling University. The evening also included a speech from Paul Goodfellow, Upstream Director, UK and Ireland, Shell UK, who reflected on the industry’s 50 year heritage, highlighting the need to continue to challenge and push the boundaries of global oil and gas development and bring skilled people and new technologies together.

Deirdre Michie added:

“We are pleased that this year we have an additional, very relevant, entry in the Awards line-up - The MER UK Award. I am delighted that we are working with Andy Samuel, CEO of the OGA and his team to showcase this new award, as co-operation is also the cornerstone of the tripartite approach to maximising economic recovery being taken by industry, Treasury and the OGA.”

Andy Samuel, chief executive of the OGA presented the MER UK Awards on the evening. He commented:

“We were delighted to have a very strong field for the inaugural MER UK Awards - with many great examples of companies pioneering new, more collaborative ways of working. I hope that recognising and sharing the positive behaviours of the award winners will encourage other companies to adopt these good practices and drive cultural change across the UKCS.”

The winners across the seven categories were:

  • Apprentice of the Year - Greig McKendry, Wood Group PSN
  • Graduate of the Year - Graeme Allan, BP
  • Mentor of the Year - Russell Morrice, BP
  • Investment in People (SME) - ActivityMix
  • Investment in People (Large Enterprise) - Amec Foster Wheeler
  • Business Innovation (SME) - SeaEnergy PLC
  • Business Innovation (Large Enterprise) - Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd
  • MER UK Awards - Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd; Northern North Sea Operational Gas Group (TAQA, CNR International (U.K.) Ltd, EnQuest, Dana Petroleum, Fairfield Energy, BP, Shell UK and Esso); Centrica; and Total E&P UK and DONG Energy.

The Oil & Gas UK Award for Apprentice of the Year and the Oil & Gas UK Award for Graduate of the Year recognise the next generation of talent in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Apprentice of the Year, Greig McKendry, Trainee Electrical & Instrumentation Designer at Wood Group PSN spent eight months on secondment at the BP Sullom Voe Oil Terminal in the Shetland Islands where he took on responsibility for tasks outside his daily role, introducing a new procedure aimed at improving the efficiency of site surveys making time on site more productive.

Graeme Allan, a BP Well Interventions Engineer, won Graduate of the Year 2015. BP told judges he regularly exceeds expectations of an engineer aged just 26, quickly demonstrating an ability to run his own operations including projects valued at £100,000 a day. He also impressed the judges with his initiative and desire to solve problems.

The title of Oil & Gas UK Award for Mentor of the Year went to Russell Morrice, Drilling Engineering Manager, BP. Russell stood out for the time and effort he invests in the long-term development of engineers, with his company noting he goes way beyond conventional project management, providing professional and personal support to over 50 individuals worldwide.

The Oil & Gas UK Award for Investment in People recognises the outstanding efforts companies make in developing their people – enabling them to perform at the highest levels.

SME winner ActivityMix impressed judges with its recognition of the importance of putting people first, with its ‘Great Place to Work’ programme helping employees to grow while also contributing to the company’s own objectives.

Large enterprise winner, Amec Foster Wheeler, which offers and encourages training and development, career progression and the chance to work in different locations around the world, was noted as being the only company to have been awarded corporate accreditation for its graduate and trainee programme in quality management by the Chartered Quality Institute.

The Oil & Gas UK Award for Business Innovation champions those enterprises delivering improved operational performance through innovation.

As SME winner, SeaEnergy PLC impressed judges with its ‘high definition 360 spherical photography’. This innovation has developed the tool to allow operators to work with virtual representations of operating facilities from their desktop, helping users carry out detailed inspections of their offshore operations remotely.

The Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd: Completions and Well Interventions Team took the large enterprise award, through combining the technology to measure the condition of internal components within oil wells with predictive technology, enabling the modelling of highly accurate ‘virtual’ well interventions, ultimately reducing the time required to return a well to production.

This year marked the introduction of the MER UK Awards – sponsored by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), with all finalists demonstrating strong leadership in pioneering successful new ways of working that can be shared and adopted across the industry.

The winners on the evening were: Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd for taking inspiration from the British Olympic Cycling Team in breaking routine tasks down to find small efficiencies which accumulated into significant benefits and savings; The Northern North Sea Operational Gas Group (TAQA, CNR International (U.K.) Ltd, EnQuest, Dana Petroleum, Fairfield Energy, BP, Shell UK and Esso) for looking beyond their own operations to see the bigger picture, sharing fuel gas and overcoming a shortage in some areas of the Northern North Sea; Centrica, for its Hackathon - inspired by an innovative technique developed in Silicon Valley which helped to unlock value and increase efficiency; and Total E&P UK and DONG Energy who approached the Edradour and Glenlivet Field Development co-operatively allowing barriers to be removed in pursuit of maximising both value for the companies and economic recovery from the resource.

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