Thursday 30 September 2010

Finalists announced for Oil & Gas UK Awards 2010

Oil & Gas UK has announced the finalists for this year's prestigious Oil & Gas UK Awards, sponsored by Shell U.K. Limited, which will be held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Prizes are being awarded in five categories, of which three are presented to individuals: Overall Excellence, which recognises outstanding achievement by young people working in the UK offshore oil and gas industry; Young Technician of the Year, which recognises the vital contribution of the industry's young technicians; and Mentoring, which recognises the important role mentors play in passing on their knowledge and expertise to the next generation of oil and gas workers. Two awards are for excellent corporate performance: People Development, which recognises the outstanding commitment made by an organisation in developing every company's most important asset, its people; and Business Efficiency, which recognises innovation in the delivery of improved operational performance.

Finalists for the three individual awards are:

• The Oil & Gas UK Award for Overall Excellence (sponsored by Marathon Oil U.K. Ltd): Mark Arnold, captain, Grampian Explorer, Craig Group; Suzanne Coogan, geophysicist, Shell UK Limited; and Samantha Large, production geologist, Shell U.K. Exploration and Production.
• The Oil & Gas UK Award for Young Technician of the Year (sponsored by OPITO -The Oil & Gas Academy): Sean Cain, operations technician - mechanical, Shell U.K. Limited; Kevin Dunn, process engineer, BP; and Michael Smith, mechanical technician, ThinJack.
• The Oil & Gas UK Award for Mentoring (sponsored by Chevron Upstream Europe): Gill Cowlam, acting engineering authority, BP; Michael Hutcheon, principal piping designer, Wood Group Engineering (North Sea) Ltd; and a joint-nomination for both Sarita McVicar Wright, petrophysicist and Claire Jones, geophysicist, Schlumberger Oilfield UK plc.

Finalists for the corporate awards are:

• The Oil & Gas UK Award for People Development (sponsored by the University of Aberdeen):  Champion Technologies, Halliburton UK and Wood Group Engineering (North Sea) Ltd.
• The Oil & Gas UK Award for Business Efficiency (sponsored by Apache North Sea Ltd): Aker Solutions, Hydratight Ltd and RBG Ltd.

Malcolm Webb, Oil & Gas UK's chief executive, said: "In a vibrant and dynamic industry like ours there is a huge amount of work to be done not only in maximising recovery from the UK's indigenous resources but also in building on our superb record for being at the forefront of exporting good practices and innovative technology to a global market.

"To realise these goals we rely on continuing our commitment to encouraging, supporting and growing expertise within the supply chain to generate the new ideas which keep us at the cutting edge of the industry both in the UK and within the international arena.

"The Oil & Gas UK Awards give us the opportunity to recognise the outstanding contributions of a new generation of industry employees and excellent corporate performance. It is also a time to celebrate the talent, technical skills and energy of our wider oil and gas community whose efforts enable us to drive the industry forward.

"I congratulate the finalists and wish them the very best of luck on 4 November when the  winners will be announced and presented with their awards by our Guest of Honour, Charles Hendry MP, Energy Minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)."

All winners will be presented with a specially commissioned glass trophy on 4 November before an audience of leading industry figures, while winners in the individual categories will also receive a cheque for £500.

For further information on the awards or to book a table at the AECC for the event, please visit www.oilandgasuk.co.uk, or telephone 01224 577250.

ENDS