First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed new figures that show oil and gas ‘innovation spend’ in Scotland almost trebled last year.
Funding of £15.9 million from Scottish Enterprise supported 82 companies in delivering 111 innovation projects with a combined value of £43 million “to develop and maintain companies’ global competitiveness”. This compares to a total value of £14.5 million of projects during 2015/16.
The figures exceed a commitment by the Scottish Government to provide £10 millionto support higher levels of innovation activity within the oil and gas industry to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Companies have used the support for a range of innovation projects, including the development of new technology to improve efficiency and to contribute to a new sub-sea Centre of Excellence.
The First Minister highlighted the figures during a speech at the Oil & Gas UK Conference in Aberdeen.
She thanked the audience of industry experts and stakeholders for their resilience and determination in the face of challenging circumstances, but stressed that innovation was the key to future success in the North Sea.
She said: “This investment by Scottish Enterprise highlights that Scotland is continuing to lead the way in making oil and gas one of this country’s great success stories.
“Innovation is absolutely crucial to the sector for maximising economic recovery, reducing costs without compromising safety, and enabling our supply chain to continue to win new business overseas. Ultimately, it is key to ensuring the sustainability of the North Sea oil and gas industry for the future.
“The leaders of innovation will always be oil and gas companies themselves, but there is an important role for government, working in partnership with business.”
Maggie McGinlay, Scottish Enterprise director of energy, said: “Through the Energy Jobs Taskforce, we committed last February to support the supply chain to invest in higher levels of innovation, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. These are innovation projects happening in Scotland that simply would not have taken place if we didn’t support them.
“For decades, Scotland has excelled in oil and gas innovation that has been recognised right across the globe. Working closely with our partners, such as the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, we will continue to encourage and support Scotland’s supply chain to deliver forward-thinking and ambitious innovation projects.”