Top individuals and companies in the offshore industry were celebrated last night at the 2012 Offshore Achievement Awards, where Professor Alex Kemp was awarded the Lifetime Achievement accolade.
An audience of more than 370 guests attended the 26th OAA awards ceremony at Ardoe House Hotel, Aberdeen. They saw the best talent in the industry recognised in categories including Great Large and Great Small Company Performance, Export Achievement and Safety Innovation.
In addition to Professor Kemp’s lifetime achievement award AMEC won the Best Large Company Award and Emma Stephenson winning the Young Professional Award.
Professor Kemp is one of the foremost experts on the economics of the North Sea oil and gas industry. He is currently Professor of Petroleum Economics and Director of Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF) at the University of Aberdeen. He previously worked for Shell, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Nairobi. For many years he has specialised in research in the field of petroleum economics with special reference to licensing and petroleum taxation issues. He has published over 200 books and papers in this field and was awarded the OBE for services to the oil and gas industry in 2006.
The OAA awards were re-launched in October by the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen Section along with the support of main sponsor TAQA Bratani.
Professor Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen said: “I know I can speak for colleagues here at the University in saying how delighted we are that Alex has been honoured in this way, and how warmly we congratulate him. He is a tremendous asset both to the University and also – as this testifies – to the energy industry.”
Ian Phillips, director of CO2DeepStore Ltd, who chaired the OAA organising committee as part of his role as a director of SPE Aberdeen Section, told the audience: "For 25 successful years the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards thrived under the care and stewardship of Scottish Enterprise. In this, the 26th year, the Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen Section is proud to become the new custodian of these prestigious awards.”
Masud Javaid, chairman of SPE Aberdeen and senior economist at Total E&P UK, said:
"It has been a great pleasure for SPE Aberdeen to re-launch the awards and extremely encouraging to receive a record number of entries this year. Not only has the return of these prestigious awards highlighted the talent in the UK’s oil and gas industry, but they have also made a vast impact on the industry calendar. We received an exceptionally high standard of entries this year which gave the judges a real challenge. SPE Aberdeen and the sponsors would like to congratulate each of the winners who really impressed us with the clear ambition, innovation and expertise shown."
Leo Koot, managing director of main sponsor TAQA Bratani, said:
"The awards ceremony was a fantastic occasion and greatly enjoyed by those who attended. It presented the opportunity to celebrate excellence and achievement in the offshore industry, not only for established companies and individuals, but also those starting out and showing promise. I hope to see as much success at future ceremonies."