25th Scottish ‘Oil Oscars’ launched

Organisations and individuals within Scotland’s oil and gas industry are being encouraged to step forward and share their stories of success with the launch of the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards 2010. Now in their 25th year, these landmark awards showcase and recognise excellence, innovation and achievement across the sector.  

The ‘Oil Oscars’, organised by Scottish Enterprise and supported by industry sponsors, are widely regarded as one of the most prestigious oil and gas industry competitions in the UK. The awards ceremony and dinner will be held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 25th March 2010 to celebrate the success of the finalists.

Adrian Gillespie, Director of Energy and Low Carbon Technologies at Scottish Enterprise, commented: “We are delighted to be celebrating 25 years of The Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards. Over the years the ‘Oil Oscars’ have honoured some of Scotland’s most innovative and ambitious companies, all of which have helped to shape the landscape of the energy industry in Scotland, the UK and across the world.  

“The energy industry continues to be one of Scotland’s most dynamic sectors and the wealth of companies and organisations, many world leaders in their fields, continue to deliver the excellence and expertise needed to help maximise our oil and gas resources.  From this solid  base, Scotland also has the opportunity to capture the vast opportunities emerging in other energy sectors. 

“This year's investment in the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney and the Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen further cemented Scotland as a key player in the global energy sphere. There have also been several multi-million pound investments to upgrade various energy sites across Scotland including the Energy Technology Centre in East Kilbride and Energy Park Fife. 

“As one of the highlights of the oil and gas calendar, the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards give individuals and companies of all sizes an opportunity to promote themselves and highlight their successes with the wider industry and we are looking forward to celebrating another round of winners in March.” 

The award categories and sponsors of the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards 2010 are: 

• Export Achievement sponsored by The Press & Journal

• Internationalisation of Scottish Skills sponsored by Scottish Qualifications Authority

• Safety sponsored by BP

• The Idea sponsored by Department of Energy and Climate Change and ITF

• Rising Star sponsored by AMEC Natural Resources

• Small Company Great Performance sponsored by The Offshore Europe Partnership

• Succeeding Through People sponsored by Chevron

• The Innovator sponsored by Department of Energy and Climate Change

• Outstanding Contribution sponsored by Shell U.K. Limited 

Full details of the categories and how to enter can be found at www.scottish-enterprise.com/soaa and the closing date for entries is 29th January 2010. Category winners, with the exception of The Idea award and the Outstanding Contribution award, will win an assisted business development package for two people to attend the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which will be held in Houston, Texas from 3 to 6 May 2010. 

The Idea award winner will receive £5,000 for further development of ‘The Idea’. In addition, there may be opportunity to work with award sponsors ITF to help develop a proposal for submission for further possible funding as a ‘pioneer’ project.