Transport Archives - Page 3 of 16

Countdown To GTM’s 7th SpeedFest: Sun July 3

Aberdeenshire, Information No Responses »

May 272016

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

With a little over a month to go, the countdown to this year’s SpeedFest is now well and truly underway! The flagship fundraising event for the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, SpeedFest takes place on Sunday 3rd July and the event, which is now in its 7th year, will showcase some of the finest record breakers of the motoring world.

Record breaking stunt driver Russ Swift has already been confirmed as the star act and returns to the North East to wow the Alford crowds.

The legendary Issotta Fraschini Fiat Special, built to plans produced by Fiat in 1905, will also be attending the event. Powered by a mammoth 16 ½ litre V6 Zeppelin engine and producing around 250hp, the engine was acquired from the collection of Gar Wood – the American equivalent of Malcolm Campbell.

Gar was well known for purchasing surplus engines at the end of the first World War, most of which went on to be used in speed boats.

A custom built steam motorcycle, a current land speed record contender, one of several record breakers from the Isle of Man transport museum, will also be participating plus a world record holding electric car, produced by the University of Stuttgart. E0711-5, which is currently the fastest electric vehicle in the world, will be presented by its enthusiastic student builders.

There has been an amazing response from vehicle owners, from near and far, and this year’s event will see a very rare collection of Italian vehicles pulled together, certainly for the first time in Alford. A Ferrari F40, F50 and Enzo will showcase some of Italy’s finest offerings to the supercar world.

The impressive displays will be topped off with the addition of a stunning Type 59R Bugatti Grand Prix racer, owned locally by the Oag family.

The action will not be confined solely to the arena, with an amazing trade presence including a mix of high profile car manufacturers. Tesla are the latest name to put pen to paper for the event and will be joined by the Peter Vardy group, who will display the very latest offerings from Porsche. Parks of Hamilton will showcase a range of supercars from McLaren, among many other prominent marques.

A number of local suppliers, including JoJo’s jam and CC Coachwork will further enhance the trade displays and ensure the event retains its family focus.

Museum curator Mike Ward commented:

“I’m particularly pleased to see electric and steam record breakers at SpeedFest this year. It may come as a surprise to many to know that Stanley Steam cars were doing 120mph in the early 20th Century!

“Tesla are a very welcome returning manufacturer to SpeedFest. They bring electric car technology right up to date with their fantastic all-electric cars, giving SpeedFest a topical and even futuristic aspect!”

Royal Deeside Speed Festival, Sun 21 Aug 2016

Aberdeenshire, Information No Responses »

May 192016

Enthusiasts will be heading to Aberdeenshire this August for the inaugural Royal Deeside Speed Festival, to be thrilled by the largest gathering of rare supercars, exciting performance cars, motorbikes, and historic racing cars in the north east of Scotland.

Kincardine Castle. Venue of the inaugural Royal Deeside Speed Festival

The Royal Deeside Speed Festival will take place at Kincardine Castle, 20 miles to the west of Aberdeen.
The event will be based around a demonstration speed hillclimb, and complemented by a range of high quality trade stands and motoring attractions. The Royal Deeside Speed Festival will follow the ethos of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.

The venue, an iconic Scottish castle in the heart of Royal Deeside, is home to Andrew and Nicky Bradford.

Situated in the pretty conservation village of Kincardine O’Neil and overlooking the banks of the River Dee, it is only 10mins from Banchory on the A93. The picturesque castle grounds will also play host to car clubs along with a local food, drink and craft festival.

As well as the motorsports action we will have family attractions, a climbing tower and kids’ funfair. We will be supporting the charities Mission Motorsport, Help for Heroes and Children 1st.

However, the main focus of the day will be the fabulous and fast ‘West Drive’ – which will be converted into Deeside’s first speed hillclimb course, designed by Scottish hillclimb champion Roy Napier, and featuring a series of demonstration class runs throughout the day. And in another new twist, the West Drive will also play host to a Soap Box Derby – an event open to teams who wish to build their own Soap Box and race down the hill for glory!

Key attractions this year include Aberdeenshire’s charismatic race driver Chris Chilcott who will be bringing his 1962 Brabham BT2. It raced in 1962 at Goodwood and Monaco, driven by Jack Brabham and Frank Gardner, and took the class Silverstone lap record at 103mph. Also Charlie Williams, multiple TT-winning motorbike racing legend. With 21 TT podium finishes to his name, Charlie is bringing bikes.

Onsite, there will also be an adventurous off-road 4×4 course including the fearsom ‘Willie’s Drop’, courtesy of Land Rover Experience Scotland, offering passenger rides throughout the day, and The Clan BMX stunt team will entertain with their crazy extreme cycling show.

We have a large club stand field, along with a separate concours d’elegance area, both will surely delight the public and the owners alike. A broad cross-section of fantastic cars, ranging from the Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari F50, and Lamborghini Diablo through to the Shelby Cobra 286, 1969 wide-dash body Opal GT and Jaguar E-type Series 1 Roadster will be on show. In total there will be over 50 static exhibits to marvel over.

Additionally, the Ferrari Owners’ Club, Ford Modern & Classic Scotland, Aberdeen MG Owners’ Club, Aston Martin OC, and the Scottish Subaru OC are just some of the clubs that have confirmed their attendance – with over 170 club cars now confirmed to be on display.

This could quite possibly be the most unique and exciting collection of vehicles ever brought together in Aberdeenshire, highlighting the diversity of classic, contemporary and interesting cars, street-legal or competition, which we have here in the north east of Scotland.

Amongst the many dealerships and trade-stands that we are excited to have attending the event, we are delighted to welcome back Park’s Motor Group of Hamilton who will be showcasing a collection of luxury and sports cars from McLaren, Maserati and Bentley.

Murray Motor Group will be displaying the Lotus range. We also welcome Pentland Land Rover Elgin who are excited to show off some fantastic Land Rovers, and Shirlaws of Aberdeen will provide two-wheel excitement from Kawasaki and Triumph.

Finally, in addition to the car related exhibitors, we are delighted to be able to use the event as a showcase for local producers of food, drink and crafts. Deeside Brewery will be hosting a mini beer festival on the castle terrace alongside the castle’s own pop-up café, and the picturesque wall garden is the setting for a market of local produce.

Castle owner, Andrew Bradford writes:

“I first did ‘a ton’ on the drive when I was 15 in a friend’s MGC. A couple of years later I was the passenger in a V8 AC Cobra and clocked 115mph on the drive. For over 40 years that has been the unofficial speed record for our drive and I look forward to it being well-and-truly broken in August.

“We’re excited to be part of this major event which, quite possibly, will be the biggest crowd in Kincardine O’Neil since King Edward I of England arrived here on 2 August 1296 with 30,000 men-at-arms and 5,000 mail-clad knights”.

Royal Deeside Speed Festival,
Sun 21 August 2016:
09:45am- 5:15pm

Venue:
Kincardine Castle,
Kincardine O’Neil,
Aboyne,
Aberdeenshire AB34 5AE

Tickets:
Adult £15, Child £12.50, Family £50 (up to 3 children).
Advance sales via website or cash only tickets on the gate.
Free parking.

For further information please visit our website rdsf.co.uk or follow us on Facebook.

View Of Aberdeen Harbour Beamed To The World

Aberdeen City, Environment, Featured No Responses »

May 192016

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus:Mix.

It has been at the heart of bustling harbour life in Aberdeen for centuries and now live images from the iconic Roundhouse are being beamed across the world.
Views from webcams recently installed at the charming historic building, which houses Seacroft Marine Consultants, give a fascinating insight into the hive of activity in and around Aberdeen Harbour and beach.

From bottlenose dolphins which are often spotted at the harbour entrance to impressive vessel movements, the variety of sights which the Seacroft team enjoy are far from the views you might expect from an office.

Michael Cowlam, technical director at Seacroft, was one of the first to share photos of a more unusual phenomenon witnessed in previous years from the Roundhouse, with his images going global and being shared on social networking sites.

Stormy conditions and high winds in September 2012 forced foam from the North Sea inland, transforming Footdee into what looked like a winter wonderland, with the spume making it look as if a snow storm had hit the area.

Michael said:

“While we can’t promise another incredible event like that, we are sure that images of the hustle and bustle of the port’s activities and the areas surrounding our office will be popular. The Seacroft team feel privileged to work in such a historic and unique building, particularly as we are the first business to call it home since it closed its doors as Aberdeen Harbour’s facility for controlling all vessel movements around the port”.

“We have been in the Roundhouse for seven years now and the view from our windows never fails to impress. This is one of the main reasons we decided to install webcams and share that with people around the world.”

“A particular favourite of ours is the large pod of the dolphins that are often visible around the harbour mouth. The RSPB’s Dolphinwatch is based close by so it really is a great position to observe them from. While based in Aberdeen we carry out work globally, which makes it even more special for us to open up Scottish harbour life to more people.”

The Roundhouse was reinvented as an unconventional office space by its owners, the Aberdeen Harbour Board, as they looked for other uses for a facility which had been superceded by the construction of the £4.5million Marine Operations Centre in 2006.

The four webcams set up from the C-listed building focus on Aberdeen Beach and Bay to the north, the harbour entrance and out to sea eastwards, across the harbour navigation channel to Girdleness in a southerly direction and across the main harbour turning basin to the west of the building.

Established in 1995 by Captain Roderick MacSween, the firm has been owned and operated by the founder’s daughter Jennifer Fraser and Michael Cowlam since 2004.

Synonymous with its location, Seacroft has built its reputation in the marine assurance and consultancy sphere – and has expanded its expertise to offer a range of services to clients with maritime interests worldwide.

Specialisms include marine assurance packages, OVID and CMID inspections, International Safety Management audits and dynamic positioning assurance as well as simulator training in ship handling and bridge resource management. Seacroft have also recently appointed Paul Young as Marine Manager and continue to expand their capabilities into the Marine Warranty and Rig Move sectors.

Jennifer added:

“We could not have found a better fit for Seacroft than the Roundhouse and are so lucky to work in such an incredible and beautiful setting. We are delighted to be showcasing this and the hive of activity around our office to the public and hope people enjoy our scenery as much we do.

“Aberdeen’s rich maritime history surrounds the Roundhouse and it is very special for us to be adding our own chapter to it. We celebrated 20 years of business last year and are proud of the knowledge and expertise in our busy team. Everyone here is passionate about our surroundings and life in the marine sector and love sharing that.”

Seacroft has also been at the forefront of innovations in emergency response and rescue vessel (ERRV) services, including in formulating vessel sharing arrangements which have been adopted by a number of oil and gas operators to streamline provision allowing oil companies to operate safely but more efficiently – a process that is now recognised in industry guidelines.

For further information visit www.seacroftmarine.com and click on ‘Webcams’ to see the views.

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“How Many Left?” At Grampian Transport Museum

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May 162016

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

There is less than a week to go to the second How Many Left? – a celebration of the endangered cars which were once a common sight on the roads.

The event, now in its second year, will once again be held at the Grampian Transport Museum and highlights cars that were at one-time mass produced but of which there are now less than 500 still remaining.

Building on feedback from participants and visitors to last year’s successful inaugural event there has already been more than 140 vehicles registered to participate this year, and entries are now closed.

Amongst this year’s entries is an Opel Commodore A Coupe.In production from 1969 to 1971, it was a six cylinder version of the Opel Rekord. 156,330 were produced including the 2.5 automatic version owned by Alan Norrie of Longside which is the only registered example left in the UK.

This car was originally sold in 1972 from University Motors, King Street, Aberdeen and Alan has owned it since 1984. He used it as his day-to-day car prior to putting it in storage, but fully restored it last year.

Also appearing will be a ‘model’ Lotus. Gordon Masson of Aberdeen is the owner of Lotus Esprit S1 with a chassis number 0100G, making it the first ever production model of the famous Esprit line. The car is undoubtedly a star and Gordon’s Esprit has been used as part of the Lotus Esprit ‘time-line’ at Brands Hatch in 2013 and has featured in many photo shoots including last year at historic Brooklands, which featured in Octane magazine.

Last year Corgi models, in collaboration with Lotus, approached Gordon with a view to creating a 1/43 limited edition scale model. The scale model was released this year and is extremely accurate right down to the registration number.

An unusual visitor this year comes from behind the Iron Curtain. Dominik Walicki is the owner of an ex-Polish Army UAZ 496b off-road light weight military vehicle.

From 1987 until 2007 it was a mobile radio vehicle before being sold to a private owner. Dominik purchased it in 2013 and has spent many hours checking and repairing the electrics and mechanical parts. The car, which is believed to be the only one in Scotland, was described by Jeremy Clarkson as “the worst in the world”, but Dominik strongly disagrees saying that his work has resulted in a very reliable car that can be used every day.

How Many Left? – A celebration of the forgotten classics
Sunday 22nd May 12noon to 4pm.

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New Section Of Cycle Path Nearly Complete

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May 132016

With thanks to Martin Ford.

East Garioch councillor Martin Ford has welcomed progress on the new cycle path planned to connect Kintore with Port Elphinstone and Inverurie.

The intention is to have a cycle path adjacent to the A96 on the east side of the trunk road all the way between Kintore and Port Elphinstone.

The construction of the section between Kintore (starting by the entrance to the Overdon Care Home) and Kintore Business Park was agreed by the Garioch Area Committee in January. Work on this section is now almost complete.

Cllr Martin Ford said:

“A good cycle path between Kintore and Port Elphinstone will be a great help to anyone who cycles – or who would like to cycle – between Kintore and the Inverurie area, whether for recreation, to go shopping or to commute to work.

“The new section of path between Kintore and Kintore Business Park looks great. I shall continue to press for the planned linking cycle path between Kintore Business Park and the Thainstone roundabout to be built as soon as possible.”

Following representations from Cllr Ford, a feasibility study was undertaken in 2012 into the possibility of a cycle path between Kintore and Port Elphinstone entirely on the east side of the A96 over the full length of the route. There is currently a cycle path on the east side of the A96 between Port Elphinstone and the Thainstone roundabout.

Between Thainstone and Kintore until now though, there has been nothing for cyclists on the east side of the A96 – just a very poor path adjacent to the A96 on the west side of the road. Therefore, anyone wanting to cycle between Kintore and Port Elphinstone/Inverurie has had to cross the A96 dual carriageway near Thainstone or cycle part of the way on the trunk road itself.

Council officers are working on resolving remaining issues to enable a cycle path to be built between Kintore Business Park and the Thainstone roundabout.

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Martin Ford To Ewan Wallace

Aberdeenshire, Environment No Responses »

May 032016

Miniature Jam Sandwich Appears In Alford

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Apr 222016

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum.

The Grampian Transport Museum is delighted to announce a new addition to the museum’s popular Junior Driving School.

A fully operational scale model Land Rover – known as a Toylander – has been built by the museum’s Young Engineers and will be put to use supervising youngsters on the popular Junior Driving School.

Based on a Police Land Rover, with livery derived from a 1985 Rover SD1 which is currently on display in the museum, the team received a donation of £1,000 from Peter Vardy, to assist with the purchase of the electric powered Toylander kit.

The Young Engineer team meet at the museum every Saturday morning and work on a number of projects, including the design and construction of their own electric vehicles for the annual Greenpower F24 racing series. Over the past few weekends the team, lead by a number of experts from the world of engineering, have constructed the Toylander, giving them vital hands-on experience.

A number of the team’s former vehicles are now on display in the museum’s new Visitor Reception, allowing visitors to see their work, which has remained largely unseen until now.

Commenting on the new addition, Museum Trustee Paul Lawson, who oversees the team, said:

“After a very successful season of racing with two cars in the top 15 in the world we decided to build the Landrover model over the Winter; the team have learned lots of new skills and we’re looking out to see the car in action at the driving school”

Peter Vardy, CEO of Peter Vardy Ltd commented:

“Getting involved with the local community is one of our key values and when the Museum contacted us with their idea we were delighted to be able to assist. The Toylander looks great and I’m sure the children will get lots of enjoyment out of it. We might even have to look into getting our own version for our new Jaguar Land Rover dealership when it opens in August!”

Grampian Transport Museum is now open daily from 10am – 5pm. Further information, along with the museum’s full events programme, can be found at www.gtm.org.uk.

Next Of Kin Exhibition Shares Memories Of WW1- 02.04.16

Aberdeen City, History, Information No Responses »

Mar 242016

With thanks to Martyn Smith, Marketing & Events Organiser, Grampian Transport Museum

Next of Kin, an exhibition created by National Museums Scotland, opens on 2nd April at the Grampian Transport Museum.

It presents a picture of Scotland during the First World War through treasured objects from official and private sources, passed to close relatives and down through generations.

The exhibition was previously shown at the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle, and Grampian Transport Museum will be the fifth of nine touring venues around Scotland.

It is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government. Each of the host venues will be adding material from their own collections to tell local stories which reflect the themes of the exhibition.

Next of Kin will tell the stories of those directly involved in the Great War, including Colonel Frank Fleming. Colonel Fleming was taken prisoner, and his experiences will now be brought to life with a number of personal effects, including his officer’s pass to leave the prisoner of war camp for recreational purposes. Colonel Fleming’s cell wall calendar will also be displayed – prisoners were denied all information including what the date was, so he kept his own record.

Canadian Lieutenant James Humphrey’s story will also be told for the first time; Lieutenant Humphrey was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry and was wounded in action. While recovering in hospital he met his future wife when invited by her parents to their home for Christmas. The Next of Kin exhibition will include items belonging to Humphreys, including his wounded man’s kit label. Invalided out and very nearly losing his right arm, he was sent back to a London hospital – just one of tens of thousands of injured soldiers.

The exhibition will be supported with further displays including a Foster Wellington traction engine, affectionately known as Olive, which was originally commissioned by the War Department. The museum’s 1914 Sentinel Steam Waggon, used by local carrier Alexander Runcie, was new at the outbreak of war and helped to provide a much needed morale boost.

Runcie utilised the Sentinel to provide excursions for local groups of children.

A horse-drawn Aberdeen tram will also be decorated in the period style, harking back to the days when such vehicles were used as recruitment vehicles.

Goliath, a 10hp McLaren Traction engine, will also be on display for the season, having been used to pull heavy guns on the Western Front. Goliath would go on to become a Showman’s Road Locomotive, before being preserved by an enthusiast from Aberdeenshire.

Grampian Transport Museum Curator Mike Ward said:

“The First World War had a profound influence on Aberdeenshire. The depopulation of the Cabrach was partly due to the rush of young men to volunteer in 1914, thinking it would be a great adventure together and that they would be home by Christmas. The war memorials testify to the losses suffered by local families, in some cases three sons from one family.

“This is a sensitive subject and the museum is keen to take a look at what happened in our locality on the home front. There are many very sad stories but also some of great relief as ‘missing in action’ became ‘taken prisoner’.”

Stuart Allan of National Museums Scotland said:

“The First World War separated millions of people worldwide from their families and homes. The impact of the conflict was felt by families and communities in every part of Scotland as individuals served in the war in different ways. For those who experienced the conflict, keeping objects was a way of remembering this extraordinary period in their lives, or coping with the absence and loss of their loved ones.

“We look forward to touring the exhibition and bringing these stories from the National collection to people across the country and we particularly look forward to the stories which our partners will tell alongside ours.”

The material on loan from National Museums Scotland looks in detail at eight individual stories which both typify and illustrate the wider themes and impact of the War on servicemen and women and their families back home in Scotland. Objects include postcards and letters, photographs, medals and memorial plaques.

Examples include;

Two autograph books in which Nurse Florence Mellor collected drawings, watercolours, verses, jokes and messages from the wounded soldiers in her care at Craiglockhart War Hospital.
The pocket New Testament which Private James Scouller was carrying the day he died at Cambrai in 1917, returned to his family by a German soldier on the eve of the Second World War.
Drawings and postcards by Henry (Harry) Hubbard, an architectural draughtsman in Glasgow who contracted illnesses so severe that he ended up spending 16 months in hospital.
The last letter home from George Buchanan, Seaforth Highlanders, a railway plate-layer from Bathgate who was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Loos, along with his memorial plaque and service medals.
The shell fragment which wounded Private William Dick. He kept the fragment after it was removed from his leg, but later died from the wound.

As the exhibition tours, the host venues will develop additional content using their own objects and stories related to their respective local areas. The results of these additional contributions will be captured and preserved in the exhibition displays and a digital app interactive.

Learning activities exploring the exhibition themes will take place at each venue. School and community groups will be able to interact with a bespoke handling collection made up of original and replica objects. There will also be an associated training programme to develop new skills among the participating organisations.

The tour starts in Dumfries and then the exhibition travels to Rozelle House Galleries (Ayr), Hawick Museum, Low Parks Museum (Hamilton), Grampian Transport Museum (Alford), Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Perth Museum and Art Gallery and the Black Watch Castle and Museum and Orkney Museum.

The full list of partner organisations and touring venues can be found here: http://www.nms.ac.uk/nextofkin

Explaining the importance of the HLF support, the Head of HLF in Scotland, Lucy Casot said:

“The impact of the First World War was far reaching, touching and shaping every corner of the UK and beyond. The Heritage Lottery Fund has invested more than £60million in projects – large and small – that are marking this global Centenary.

“With our grants, we are enabling communities like those involved in the Next of Kin exhibition to explore the continuing legacy of this conflict and help local young people in particular to broaden their understanding of how it has shaped our modern world.”

Next Of Kin Exhibition
2nd April 2016
Grampian Transport Museum, Alford.

The Future Of Aberdeen As An Energy City: Part 4

Aberdeen City, Articles, Featured 5 Responses »

Mar 112016

Part Four: In The Long Term. By Mike Shepherd

Consider this scenario for Aberdeen and the Northeast of Scotland:

There are no jobs to be had in the area, the existing industries are in decline and those employed in them are poorly paid. Unemployment is above the Scottish average. The population is falling at an astonishing rate of 4,500 per year as the locals seek jobs elsewhere.
Unfavourable comparisons are being made between Dundee and Aberdeen; Dundee is attracting inward investment on the back of preferential treatment from the government, whereas Aberdeen all on its own in the forgotten northeast corner is all but ignored.

No, not a prediction for the future, it is an actual economic snapshot of the Aberdeen area in the 1960s just before North Sea oil was discovered.

Once the oil companies leave, Aberdeen could return to economic circumstances that would be even worse than in the 1960s. At least back then there was some semblance to a diversified economy in the city. Aberdeen was dominated by the fishing industry with over a hundred trawlers in the harbour. It was also a popular tourist destination in the days before foreign travel became common.

Visitors were attracted to the city described then as the ‘Silver City by the Golden Sands’. There were two ship-building yards at the harbour and paper, textiles and combs were made in the city. Not much of this is now left. Aberdeen’s future could be an even bleaker shadow of its past if no action is taken soon to remedy this.

One thing hasn’t changed much since the 1960s however, Aberdeen’s shockingly poor transport links with the rest of the country. Given the city’s relatively remote location this does not bode well for an economic future. The road network in Aberdeenshire is a joke and the railway connection to the south has been shockingly neglected.

The rail link is still single track at Montrose, a well-known bottleneck, although a long overdue action to remedy this may now be about to happen.

Aberdeen can consider itself very hard done by. As pointed out in a previous Aberdeen Voice article ‘How Aberdeen was short-changed over North Sea oil’ – the onshore infrastructure to support North Sea oil was paid by local government and assisted by our rates / council taxes but not by the UK government. Between 1975 and the early 1990s the expenditure by the Grampian Regional Council was in excess of £100 million per year.

The other areas affected by North Sea oil are faring much better than we are. Revenue from the Sullom Voe and Flotta oil terminals means that Shetland now sits on an oil fund of £400 million and the equivalent in Orkney is just under £200 million.

A plan by Grampian Regional Council to levy rates on offshore platforms as a means of funding onshore infrastructure was blocked by the Treasury. Given that the UK tax take from North Sea oil and gas is now over £300 billion in today’s money, there is a strong moral case for the government to now help Aberdeen to establish an economic base for the future.

Our local politicians and media will need to shout very loudly that it was our local government that bankrolled the needs of the oil industry only for all the revenues to go elsewhere.

Yet, the perception is that the city has somehow squandered what should have been its golden goose; that some enormous pot of money was available to Aberdeen to do with whatever we wanted to. Here’s a recent example of this nonsense.

An opinion piece in the Dundee Courier headlined ‘Aberdeen boost: right deal but the wrong city’, referred to the recent Aberdeen City Deal, the proposed investment of £250 million in the city announced in January this year:

“I’d argue that Dundee and Perth – jointly progressing a City Deal bid at the moment – are more worthy of that investment at this moment.

“That may sound like sour grapes, but my rationale is this. As the black gold tap ran, Aberdeen had its chance to build a broad-based economy fit to withstand the rigours of the modern world. It had the opportunity to future-proof itself and create prosperity for generations to come. But, if not lost, that chance has certainly not been grasped.”

So what should Aberdeen do to diversify its economy?

I’m a petroleum geologist not an economist, so I will not profess to any special insights on the issue. Others have noted that the city could play to certain strengths; more could be done to attract tourists, particularly given the region’s scenic attractions and heritage. The area is strong in biomedicine through its academic institutions and who knows, a rump of the oil industry may linger in the city servicing the petroleum industry globally.

I will make one comment though. The most obvious successor to the oil industry in Aberdeen is the renewable energy sector. Aberdeen’s future as an energy city should be as and energy city. The city already hosts engineering companies and technical knowhow. There is an obvious crossover to be made.

This isn’t the first time that renewables has been promoted for the city and region. We have the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) and more recently the Energetica initiative to establish the Aberdeenshire coastal strip as a corridor for the renewables industry. Neither of these has taken off big time, part of the problem being the high cost bases of the area driven up by the presence of the oil industry.

Nevertheless, the recent oil price crash has focussed attention on the need to diversify the Aberdeen economy. The politicians need to push and push until this happens with absolute determination and drive. It will take government money, but for Aberdeen, the turbo-charged motor of the UK economy for the last 40 years, it’s payback time.

Mike Shepherd is author of Oil Strike North Sea, a history of North Sea oil. Join him in an upcoming session to discuss the impact of the oil industry on our shores:
March 17^th 5-6pm – Blackwell’s Book Shop, High Street, Old Aberdeen. 5-6pm. Free, but please reserve a place by phoning 01224 486102 or emailing erin.matheson@blackwell.co.uk.

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The Future Of Aberdeen As An Energy City: Part 3

Aberdeen City, Articles, Featured 2 Responses »

Mar 032016

Part Three: The Scrapheap Challenge. By Mike Shepherd

Aberdeen Harbour. Picture: Mike Shepherd

A huge industrial undertaking is about to take place off the Scottish coast involving billions of pounds of expenditure; this is decommissioning.
As a result of an international convention for the NE Atlantic area, oil companies are obliged to remove most of the offshore infrastructure, including oil platforms and pipelines, once oil and gas production operations have ceased.

The scrap material will be brought onshore and disposed off accordingly. It will not be allowed to remain in place offshore unless there are good reasons to do so.

The scale of this operation is massive. Once the last drop of oil has been produced, it will have involved the dismantling of about 475 offshore installations, 10,000 kilometres of pipeline and 15 onshore oil and gas terminals. According to the industry body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) decommissioning will entail £55 billion of expenditure by 2050.

Let’s repeat that figure again – an industry that will spend £55 billion (and that’s probably an underestimate) is about to hit our shores big time. The coastal cities and towns of the UK and Norway will provide the bases for this undertaking. Some of it has already happened, three of the Brent field platforms are being decommissioned, although the activity has been relatively small-scale to date.

Given the currently low oil price, it’s possible that the volume of work involved could increase substantially from now on. OGUK have predicted that 79 oil and gas platforms could be abandoned by 2024; another estimate puts this figure as high as 146 out of the 300 platforms standing in the North Sea in a similar time scale.

The world of business is acutely aware of the opportunities involved and we may be on the cusp of a feeding frenzy as companies pile in to grab what is a large and guaranteed pot of cash. The big attraction for business in getting involved with decommissioning is that it is a major growth area. Not only is there an enormous amount of guaranteed work coming up; new technologies will need to be developed given the challenges involved.

Other offshore areas in the world will eventually become the focus of decommissioning and this provides the potential for any single company to become a major internationally-established corporation worth billions on the back of gaining experience in the North Sea. The prize is enormous.

Even at this early stage it’s possible to identify trends likely to transform into future newspaper headlines. You heard them here first.

The Aberdeen versus Dundee rivalry over the spoils from North Sea oil has revived. Dundee has never particularly prospered from oil and gas and this is a source of discontent for the Tayside city.

Dundee is now repositioning itself to become a major centre for decommissioning. Forth Ports, owned by a private equity company, are spending £10 million on upgrading the eastern end of Dundee harbour for decommissioning and offshore wind projects.

Aberdeen Harbour Board, not wishing to lose out on a vitally important industry at a time when the oil companies will be finally leaving the city, intends to turn Nigg Bay into a deep-water harbour.

According to the details given with the Aberdeen City Deal this will enable Aberdeen to compete for decommissioning work.

The development of Nigg Bay is controversial; local residents have been less than impressed with pictorial representations of the future development, complete with cruise ships and the surrounding open green space shown rather improbably as being left intact. The business behemoth of decommissioning will be very difficult to stop however.

One other area that could fill future headlines is the scale of the government involvement. The government are committed to a part-funding of decommissioning through tax breaks although the legislation is complex and it is not clear as to how much money is involved. The Guardian reckons the percentage tax relief is between 50 and 75 per cent of the total expenditure.

OGUK have recently quoted an estimate that the taxpayer will be providing £16 billion for decommissioning work by 2050 although this figure looks on the low side. The tax breaks will prove a major future liability for the UK government (or a Scottish government should independence come).

One question begs to be asked. What happens if an oil company goes bust and it doesn’t have any money to pay for decommissioning? I would anticipate there are contingency plans for this situation, although I suspect it’s a hyper-sensitive issue in government circles. The issue dogs open-cast mining operations in the Central Belt of Scotland and in Wales where several mine operators have folded before the reinstatement of the land could happen.

The legal and practical issues involved have proved to be a nightmare.

There are also the environmental implications. The Aberdeen Voice has already been at the forefront of highlighting pollution problems caused by the dumping of material from North Sea oil operations. https://aberdeenvoice.com/2014/04/bleak-day-blackdog-beach/

It will be important to ensure that future decommissioning work is carried out in an environmentally circumspect manner and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will have much work on its hands to monitor all of this.

Big money will come to the Scottish coastal cities and towns over the next few decades from decommissioning. Aberdeen will get a share of some of this work, although it remains to be seen whether the city can chase off the challenge from Dundee to become a potential national centre for the decommissioning industry. It’s the scrapheap challenge.

Next week – the final part of the series: The long-term future for Aberdeen.

Mike Shepherd is author of Oil Strike North Sea, a history of North Sea oil. Join him in two upcoming sessions to discuss the impact of the oil industry on our shores:

March 9^th 6.30 – 8pm – Aberdeen Central Library. Free, but booking essential. Contact the library on 01224 – 652500 or email Libraryevents@aberdeencity.gov.uk
March 17^th 5-6pm – Blackwell’s Book Shop, High Street, Old Aberdeen. 5-6pm. Free, but please reserve a place by phoning 01224 486102 or emailing erin.matheson@blackwell.co.uk.

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