Winners of ‘biggest ever’ Oil & Gas UK Awards announced

Oil & Gas UK has informed that the winners of the Oil & Gas UK Awards 2014, sponsored by Shell U.K. Limited, have been announced following a sold-out evening event in Aberdeen, Scotland. 

All seven winners were presented with their awards at a ceremony in Aberdeen on Thursday November 6, where some 650 people from across the oil and gas industry and throughout the UK gathered to celebrate their achievements.

Despite the industry facing a number of challenges at present, record-breaking turnout for the event demonstrated the sector’s commitment to sharing best practice and celebrating success, Oil & Gas UK says.

An annual showcase for the UK offshore oil and gas industry, the Oil & Gas UK Awards honour the top-performing companies and their people. This year’s company awards categories were split into Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) and Large Enterprise categories to encourage a broader range of companies to submit entries.

“This evening has unearthed some real gems in our industry – and I believe we can all learn a great deal from their stories.”

The winners across the seven categories were:

– Investment in People (SME) – Axis Well Technology;

– Investment in People (Large Enterprise) – Bibby Offshore;

– Business Innovation (SME) – Meta;

– Business Innovation (Large Enterprise) – EnQuest;

– Mentor of the Year – Alan Muirhead, lead field development engineer, Ingen Ideas;

– Apprentice of the Year – Marnie Toal, apprentice technician, Proserv;

– Graduate of the Year – Barry Mitchell, graduate electrical engineer, Wood Group PSN.

Oil & Gas UK’s chief executive, Malcolm Webb, commented:

“I’m delighted to see our industry come together for an evening to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of these businesses and individuals. Winners tonight exemplify all that is remarkable about the industry – and I’m sure we will continue to follow their progress with great interest.”

Oil & Gas UK says the Oil & Gas UK Award for Investment in People recognises the outstanding efforts companies make in developing their people – enabling them to perform at the highest levels. According to the Oil & Gas UK, the SME winner for this year’s award, Axis Well Technology, was recognised for its commitment to the continuous development, growth and retention of its 160 employees and consultants, noting that the company’s commitment to training has contributed towards strong year-on-year sales growth of 14 per cent.

Large enterprise winner Bibby Offshore was recognised by judges for the launch of its Academy, which has trained over 30 graduates and its successful engineer conversion programme which works to bridge the skills gaps in the subsea engineer sector through training and mentoring, says Oil & Gas UK.

The Oil & Gas UK Award for Business Innovation champions those enterprises delivering improved operational performance through innovation, Oil & Gas UK explains further noting that Meta is the first SME winner for this year’s award and the company impressed judges with its unique ‘Metalmorphology’ downhole isolation technology which shapes metal using hydraulic fluid pressure, creating products its clients call ‘crucial’ to their well integrity plans.

Oil & Gas UK says that Large Enterprise winner Enquest was recognised for its focus on drawing value from undeveloped oilfields and ageing assets. The judges singled out the Thistle Late Life Extension project, which is designed to recover a further 35 million barrels of oil from the Thistle and Deveron fields, as a significant achievement.

The title of Oil & Gas UK Award for Mentor of the Year was awarded to Alan Muirhead, lead field development engineer at Ingen Ideas. A mentor of new graduates as well as school and summer placement students, the judging panel were also impressed by Alan’s efforts in developing the company’s chartership scheme, resulting in all graduates who have received chartership remaining with the company and now mentoring others, Oil & Gas UK explains.

“Greater collaboration across industry and with and across governments will continue to be critical for future success if we are to maximise economic recovery of the significant oil and gas resources which still lie offshore.”

The Oil & Gas UK Award for Apprentice of the Year and the Oil & Gas UK Award for Graduate of the Year recognise the next generation of talent in the offshore oil and gas industry. Oil & Gas UK explained that Apprentice of the Year, Marnie Toal of Proserv was recognised for her enthusiasm in taking on extra responsibility, as well as her skills in identifying opportunities to improve work processes, meeting all safety requirements and achieving significant cost efficiencies for her company.

Furthermore, Graduate of the Year, Barry Mitchell of Wood Group PSN, impressed the judging panel not only with his significant academic achievements, winning the BP Prize for Best Overall Achievement following his graduation from Robert Gordon University, but also for showing unrivalled professionalism, dedication and commitment to deliver fit-for-purpose engineering solutions for Wood Group PSN’s clients.

Malcolm Webb added:

“This evening has unearthed some real gems in our industry – and I believe we can all learn a great deal from their stories.

“Every year, the Oil & Gas UK Annual Awards celebrate extraordinary talent and the dedication of individuals and businesses to the success of our industry as a whole. Greater collaboration across industry and with and across governments will continue to be critical for future success if we are to maximise economic recovery of the significant oil and gas resources which still lie offshore.”

“This is my twelfth year of these awards and last as chief executive of Oil & Gas UK.  So I would also like to send additional congratulations to all our previous winners, who have continued to achieve and inspire people throughout our industry.”

Alongside Malcolm Webb, speakers on the evening included Glen Cayley, upstream director for Shell UK Limited and Judith Hackitt, CBE FREng, chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who gave the keynote address. Pauline Cook, journalist and managing director of Frasermedia hosted the evening.

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