Monday 9 October 2006

UKOOA Oil and Gas Awards 2006 Finalists Announced

The UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) has announced the finalists for this years prestigious UKOOA Oil and Gas Awards. 

For the first time prizes are being awarded in three categories: the Pearl Award for Overall Excellence, which recognises outstanding work by young people in the UK oil and gas industry today; the Pearl Award for the Young Technician of the Year, which recognises the vital contribution of the industrys young technicians; and the Oyster Award for Mentoring, which recognises the important role mentors play in passing on their knowledge and expertise to the next generation of oil and gas workers. 

The finalists are:

• The UKOOA Pearl Award for Overall Excellence Karyn Hossack, a drilling engineering trainee with Maersk Oil North Sea (UK), Werner Schinagl, a petroleum engineer with BP, and Alasdair Smith, a process engineer at Wood Group Engineering (North Sea);
• The UKOOA Pearl Award for the Young Technician of the Year Alan Cowan, an operations electrical technician with Marathon Oil Corporation, Matthew Cox, a mechanical technician at BP, Dan Kuznetsov, a research reservoir engineer at Total E&P UK;
• The UKOOA Oyster Award for Mentoring - Eliana Arenas, a reservoir engineer at Shell UK, Donovan McKie, a trainee development supervisor at Shell UK and Martin Wylie, team leader at Marathon Oils Brae facilities.

All bar two candidates are Aberdeen-based.  Matthew Cox works at BPs Wytch Farm facilities in Dorset while Donovan McKie is based in Norfolk.  Malcolm Webb, UKOOA's chief executive, said:  "This years competition was keenly contested and our finalists must be congratulated on making the shortlist.   Access to a workforce with the highest calibre of skills is vital for our industry today and will become even more so in the years ahead as we seek to maximise the recovery of the UK's oil and gas reserves.   We are delighted to celebrate individual accomplishment within our industry and in so doing, highlight the career opportunities open to people with ambition and drive."

The shortlisted candidates face one final test, when they meet the judges face-to-face over lunch this week, before the winners are announced at a gala dinner in Aberdeen on November 7, on the evening following the UKOOA Oil and Gas Conference 2006. 

The winner in each category will receive a cash prize of £500 and a specially commissioned trophy designed by students at Aberdeens Grays School of Art.   

Notes to editors

1. The UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) is the representative organisation for oil and gas companies licensed by the UK government to explore for and produce hydrocarbons offshore around the British Isles.  It has 46 members.
2. The UKOOA Pearl Awards for Overall Excellence and the Young Technician of the Year 2006 was open to any person working in the UK oil and gas industry between the ages of 19 and 30 and with at least two years experience.  Entrants for the Mentoring Award could be any age, but had to have at least five years experience in the industry.   
3. Candidates had to provide either a short essay outlining a personal vision for maintaining competitiveness in the UKCS, the theme of this years UKOOA Oil and Gas Conference, or for the Mentoring Award - a case study illustrating how the candidates mentoring work has benefited their company and the UK oil and gas industry in general.

For more information, please call 020 7802 2400.