Oil and gas hub can help save the North Sea

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that the “full potential” of Scotland’s ailing oil and gas industry can still be salvaged by technological advances.

The First Minister was in Aberdeen yesterday to officially open the city’s new Oil & Gas Technology Centre’s Innovation Hub, which allows tech firms in the sector to develop their ideas.

The North Sea has been hit by tens of thousands of job losses, with the North-east suffering most, as a result of the global oil price decline of recent years.

Ms Sturgeon insisted during yesterday’s visit that accelerating deployment of new technologies, such as robotics and virtual reality, could help recover oil and gas deposits which are increasingly located in hard to reach areas under the sea bed.

The First Minister said: “The Oil & Gas Technology Centre has made fantastic progress since opening its doors in February of this year. The new Hub aims to be the engine for innovation in the North Sea oil and gas industry.

“The state-of-the-art facility will speed up deployment of new technologies to help unlock the full potential of the sector, and cement Aberdeen’s reputation as a global centre for innovation and technology development.”

Luca Corradi, innovation network director at the centre, added that the hub will be a “catalyst for new thinking and new ideas”.