Innovation & collaboration in Brazil - experiences from Heriot Watt

Gordon Winton

Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Heriot-Watt University

Today’s talk

• Heriot-Watt and the Institute of Petroleum Engineering

• Our research model – traditional and industrially focused

• The oil and gas innovation centre (OGIC)

• Activity in Brazil and with Brazil

HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY AND THE INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

A short overview

Heriot-Watt

• Heriot-Watt is a multi campus university

– Riccarton in Edinburgh

– Stromness in Orkney

– Galashiels in the Scottish Borders

• Campus in Dubai

• Campus in Malaysia

Significant oil and gasresearch and teaching

activity in each of theseschools and institutes

Our schools and institutes

Institute of Petroleum Engineering

Built Environment

Engineering & Physical Sciences

Life Sciences

Mathematical & Computer Sciences

Edinburgh Business School

Management & Languages

Textiles & Design

Educational innovation

Undergraduate courses in UK and overseas

Post graduate taught courses in UK and Overseas

Industrially integrated educational programmes in UK and Overseas

Innovative programmes offered across multiple schools and campuses

On Campus PE students

Distance learner locations

IPE current research themes• Petroleum geoscience (reservoir description, analogues, seismic

interpretation, geomechanics and rock physics)

• Unconventional hydrocarbons (shale gas, CBM)

• International Centre for Carbonate Reservoirs

• 4D time-lapse seismic imaging

• Uncertainty Quantification

• Multi-scale modelling and flow simulation

• Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO2 solutions

• Hydrates, Flow Assurance & Phase Equilibria (PVT)

• Production technology

• Production chemistry: Scale & Flow Assurance (“FAST”)

• Carbon capture and storage

• Marine renewables

RESEARCH MODELS

Innovation through collaboration

Research models

• Our research models – traditional with industrial focus

– Leading the NERC Centre for Doctoral Training

– Co-locating with British Geological Survey in Edinburgh

– EPSRC funded research in oil and gas related subjects e.g. uncertainty quantification, Gas Hydrates

Joint industry programs

• Majority of research at IPE is done in JIPs

– Common industrial objectives – “Why?” and “How?”

– Develop understanding and share with sponsors

– Innovate

– Move on to next challenge

• Range of project sizes

– 5 to 23 sponsors

• Source of IP and technology

Summary IPE Strategy

• Sustain world class research

• Development and diversification

• Increase output and quality

• Develop international outreach

• Grow postgraduate research

• Develop research environment

• Promote knowledge exchange/impact

• Increase awareness of IPE activities

OIL AND GAS INNOVATION CENTRE

Industry need

• The key industry challenge is reducing costs, improving productivity, and adapting technologies in the UKCS and overseas

• The oil and gas industry has long technology adoption times and wants to accelerate the rate of innovation and ease its introduction into service

• The oil and gas industry needs to foster innovation in the supply chain to meet its current challenges.

Heriot-Watt’s role in OGIC• HWU is the lead administrative HEI for the

Energy Technology Partnership

• OGIC has a team based in Aberdeen to match the predominant Scottish supply chain footfall

• OGIC team are autonomous with operational governance that is designed to ensure that OGIC partners are treated similarly

• OGIC fits into the landscape of innovation in Scotland

Team and deliverables

• Aberdeen based

• 8-10 staff

• Industry and University involvement on Board and with project selection

• Close alignment with ITF, Interface, TSB, RCUK and other organisations

Team

• Enable c. £26 million additional innovation spend (leveraged)

• Progress c. 100 projects between 2014-2018

• Support and create c. 500 jobs between 2014-2018

Deliverables

OGIC PurposeCreate transformational change in the way the oil and gas industry work with HEIs

Create innovative solutions to solve industry problems and create economic benefits

OGIC links 30+ operators and 2300+ service companies to universities with academic staff and researchers

Act as a key delivery mechanism for the UKCS Technology Strategy

Accelerated innovation

Fair brokerageFunding for

collaborative and inclusive projects

Better combination of experience and

expertise

Complementarity with ITF, Interface

and other ICs

OGIC Priority areas

OGICSubsea

Seismic and Reservoir

Char.

Asset integrity/ life

extension

Decomm

Enhanced Oil Recovery. Production

Optimisation

Production technology

Shale gas exploitation.

Health, Safety,

Environment

Progress to date

• £12.3m funding received in Q1 2014

• Agreements in place with 12 Scottish universities

• Organisation staffed and offices open for business (www.ogic.co.uk)

• First projects underway

BRAZIL

Heriot-Watt’s role in research and innovation

• Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and fifth largest in the world.

• Its population of 202 million makes Brazil the world’s sixth-most populous nation.

• With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013 of US$2.3 trillion, Brazil is the world’s seventh-largest economy, spurred by a 2.5% annual growth during 2013

• Doing business in Brazil requires intimate knowledge of the local environment, including both the direct as well as the indirect costs of doing business in Brazil (referred to as “CustoBrasil”)

• Such costs are often related to distribution, government procedures, employee benefits, environmental laws, and a complex tax structure. Logistics pose a particular challenge, given the lack of sufficient infrastructure to keep up with nearly a decade of economic expansion

IPE links with BrazilResearch Theme Links with Brazil

Petroleum geoscience (reservoir description, analogues, seismic interpretation, geomechanics and rock physics)

Unconventional hydrocarbons (shale gas, CBM)

International Centre for Carbonate Reservoirs

4D time-lapse seismic imaging

Uncertainty Quantification

Multi-scale modelling and flow simulation

Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO2 solutions

Hydrates, Flow Assurance & Phase Equilibria (PVT)

Production technology

Production chemistry: Scale & Flow Assurance (“FAST”)

Carbon capture and storage

Marine renewables

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Innovation

Innovators need to develop each innovation type

Develop creative confidence

Encourage innovation package development

Develop entrepreneurship

Give ambitious people and companies the tools required to succeed

Objectives

• Develop long term partnership

• Identify key partners for our activities

• Help to develop people who have technical skills coupled with creative confidence

• Help Brazil to develop new skill and expertise by engaging with industrial research organisations

Focus

• Our focus has been on the development links in areas of strength

– Research, Teaching, Knowledge exchange

• We have seen a real appetite to engage in areas where we can show real benefit to Brazil

• Our innovation has been the formation of new research configurations, offerings and customer engagement

HWU actions – so far

• BG Group Professor of Carbonate Geoengineering – long term secondment to Brazil

• Multi work package programmes with Petrobras

• Engineers without borders progamme

• Development of ties with Brazilian Universities

Future work

• Enhancing links

• Joint development of Brazil-centric intellectual property

• Linking industrially focused research with innovation organisations such as the Industry Technology Facilitator and OGIC

• Ensure that innovation from other sectors is embedded in the oil and gas sector

Future work

• Is there a requirement for an oil and gas specific innovation centre in Brazil?

• What shape would this take?

– Technological

– Development of Brazilian exports

– Systems innovation

– Focus areas

Closing thoughts

• Success in Brazil’s business culture relies heavily upon the development of strong personal relationships, the keystone of productive business partnerships

• Saab Wins $4.5 Billion Brazil Order as Spat Hurts Boeing

– The work to win this contract started around 2000 and came to fruition in December 2013

– Persistence and trust matter in Brazil