A leading figure in the North Sea oil and gas industry has 'returned home' to his alma mater, having been appointed honorary professor at the University of Aberdeen Business School.
Peter Jones started his career as a research assistant in petroleum economics at the University in 1994, where he worked alongside renowned energy economist Professor Alex Kemp.
The pair co-authored a series of noteworthy publications before Peter left to join Marathon Oil, where he rose through the ranks to become Manging Director. He moved to TAQA in 2013, where he was Managing Director of TAQA Europe.
In recent years he has played an important role in wider oil industry activities, firstly as Chair of the Rejuvenation Work Group of the PILOT joint industry/government initiative, and then as a Board Member of Oil and Gas UK.
In 2015-16 Peter was a member of the Energy Jobs Task Force set up by the Scottish Government to deal with the recent challenges facing the industry.
Commenting on his appointment, Peter said: “Aberdeen University has a track record of world leading work being carried out at the Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF), as well as at the Aberdeen Institute of Energy.
“The teams are very strong and working hard to unlock challenges facing the industry, and I am privileged to have been given this position to support this work.
“Given I started my oil and gas career as a research assistant for Professor Kemp, this appointment is particularly humbling.”
Professor Kemp said: “In his role as Honorary Professor, Peter will give guest lectures to our students, particularly those in the MSc in Petroleum, Energy Economics and Finance, and support and participate in research at ACREEF.
“As a leading figure in the energy industry with a track record spanning more than 20 years, our students will benefit greatly from his experience, and I am looking forward to working with him once more in a research capacity.”