Key objectives and approaches

Key objectives include:

• The identification of key environmental research issues facing the industry and regulators in Scotland, the UK and internationally;

• Improving understanding of oil and gas operations and relevant environmental concerns within the academic community;

• Fostering a cohesive, multidisciplinary and collaborative network of scientists, regulators and industry to deliver scientifically excellent, innovative, solutions to the offshore oil and gas industry;

• Facilitating the use and sharing of marine environmental data and knowledge derived through statutory and non-statutory monitoring and research.

In order to deliver the key objectives, the Forum is:

1. Representing and promoting MASTS at government, industry and academic meetings, and providing feedback to Forum members on relevant issues as they emerge.

2. Engaging proactively with other MASTS forums – principally the Marine Renewable Energy, Marine Planning and Governance, Deep Sea, and the Technology, Platforms and Sensors forums, to ensure cohesion and collaboration on issues where industry and research interests overlap.

3. Identifying strategically important knowledge gaps which can be used as the subject of Forum led workshops or “case studies” to improve understanding, raise awareness and identify research requirements.

4. Producing position papers, using the expertise within the Forum and across related MASTS Forums. The target audience for these papers will include regulators, academics, and senior decision makers, including those involved in funding research such as the research councils and the EU.

5. Allocating funds to: 1) support dissemination; 2) fund workshops/case studies; 3) support the development of strategic position papers; 4) secure leverage on other funds – including studentships and research projects; 5) support writing retreats to encourage the production of relevant papers and research proposals.

Specific areas of interest to the forum include: 1) Decommissioning, 2) Improving data access, archiving, analysis and further acquisition, 3) Understanding and mitigating the impacts of oil and gas developments in challenging and extreme environments e.g. Arctic and deepwater provinces, and 4) the use of biological alternative to synthetic dispersants.

If you missed our “Oil and Gas Industry Briefing” webinar, then you can view it below or download presentations from Peter Hayes & Gareth Jones.