Space exploration and energy technology needs were shared at an event in near Oxford this week to see where cross over technologies in both industries could be identified.
The event was run by Merchant Marketing Group and The Satellite Applications Catapult, an indendent innovation and technology company.
Called Oil & Gas Applications: A meditation on crossover technologies and multi-market applications, it involved organizations including Rolls-Royce, IHC Concept, Centrica, the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre, Nottingham University spin-out company, GVL Geomatic Ventures, and The TNW Group.
Data harvesting, curation and intelligent fusion, and also, interoperabilty between AUVs, sonar systems, seabed arrays and satellites were all discussed. The challenges of decommissioning, and the further exploration of what are known as "small pools" remain salient to the future of the North Sea - all require high technology to make a difference.
"Technology will play a huge future in the future of the North Sea. It's essential in terms of managing the future of increasingly complex operational issues," says Paul Jones, CEO of Merchant Marketing Group. "It is also a remedy to the spiraling costs faced by the oil and gas industry. If we can commit to innovation, a new way of working we are not ultimately persevering an industry, but bolstering the brand of the UK Continental Shelf. It has a long and proud history of innovation. It's the industry's hallmark, its brand, and it is part of what we have successfully exported to the world, enabling deepwater exploration, enabling oil and gas ventures in such far-flung places as offshore Brazil and Southeast Asia."
The next steps following this event will be to hold a more detailed workshop to uncover new ways of working, partnerships and technology applications.