Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, is setting up a new center for energy economics research and policy with funding of US$1.9 million over three years from BP.
The center will be involved primarily in providing the detailed statistical and analytical support for BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy and its annual energy outlook. Heriot-Watt academics will support BP’s economics team to provide an objective snapshot of the global energy market, together with historical data to provide context and longer-term research on energy economics and markets.
BP has published its annual statistical review of world energy since 1952. The review is used for reference by the media, academia, world governments, and energy companies. Heriot-Watt University has worked on its production since 2007. BP’s Energy Outlook is a highly anticipated industry event that reflects the company’s best effort to describe a “most likely” trajectory of the global energy system over the next 20 years, based on its views of likely economic and population growth, as well as developments in policy and technology. This year’s Energy Outlook 2035 is launched in London on 17 February.
“Heriot-Watt University is well known for its strong industry links which result in innovative research and enhanced opportunities for students,” says Prof Dorrik Stow, head of Heriot-Watt University’s institute of petroleum engineering. “This center will be incorporated into the university’s new $30.7 million Lyell Centre which will be the Scottish headquarters for the british geological survey (BGS) as well as a major joint BGS/Heriot-Watt University research center for geological, petroleum and marine sciences.”
