Professor John Underhill has been honoured with a top award in recognition of his work to assess the potential of the North Sea to support the energy transition.
The University’s Interdisciplinary Director for Energy Transition was awarded the 2022 Nigel Anstey best paper Award by the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), during the organisation’s annual conference that took place in Madrid on Monday, 6 June.
The award was conferred in recognition of his contribution to the paper ‘The North Sea through the energy transition’, published in the journal First Break in April 2021.
Commenting on the accolade, Professor Underhill said: "I am delighted that EAGE has bestowed the prestigious Nigel Anstey best paper award for our work on the North Sea that sets out the vision, opportunity, practical challenges, and offers solutions that will help to extend the life of the mature basin.
“It identifies crucial elements and dependencies between sites variously earmarked for wind farms, carbon storage, hydrogen production, geothermal heat and conventional oil and gas operations that need to be resolved to avoid an unhelpful competition for offshore real estate.
“The paper highlights the crucial need for industry, academics, policymakers and regulators to work together to optimise plans that deliver the energy transition and avoid unintended consequences of competing low-carbon technologies in the same area."