The SOTEAG (Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group) is seeking to employ a Seabird Monitor who will be responsible for the delivery of an annual, year round and Shetland-wide seabird monitoring programme. We seek individuals who would relish the opportunity to work in Shetland and continue one of the longest running seabird monitoring programmes.
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Heriot-Watt University: Oil-hungry bacteria could clean up the next big oil spill
Scientists at Heriot-Watt University have cracked the genetic code of the marine bacteria that helped ‘eat’ the oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, information that could aid clean-up efforts for the next major spill.
Dr Tony Gutierrez was in the US at the time of the disaster and was able to perform experiments with samples from oil-contaminated waters of the Gulf of Mexico shortly after the Deepwater Horizon spill occurred – samples that contained key species of bacteria that fed on the oil.
Experiments with the samples revealed that certain bacteria had thrived on the oil that gushed into the Gulf, by devouring the oil as a preferred food source.
Sea Mammal Research Unit: Research Fellow Position
SMRU are seeking to appoint a post-doctoral research fellow for a period of one year. The successful candidate with be based in the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) within the School of Biology.
The project is funded by INSITE – the Influence of man-made Structures In the Ecosystem – an oil and gas industry-sponsored initiative committed to developing the independent scientific evidence-base needed to improve understanding of the influence of man-made structures on the ecosystem of the North Sea.
The Seabird Group: Population and breeding dynamics of European Shags
Congratulations to Martin Huebeck, SOTEAG’s resident seabird monitoring officer, who has recently published an article in the journal Seabird.
Huebeck, M., Mellor, R.M., Gear, S., and Miles, W.T.S. 2015. Population and breeding dynamics of European Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis at three major colonies in Shetland, 2001-2015. Seabird, 28: 55-77.
The paper can be accessed from Seabird the annual journal from the Seabird Group. The journal contains papers and short communications on seabird biology, conservation, identification, and status.
The Scotsman: New Shetland gas field ‘could supply 100 per cent of demand’
Production at newly opened gas fields in Shetland could meet 100 per cent of Scotland’s average gas demand, analysts have claimed.
Natural gas began flowing from the Laggan-Tormore fields earlier this month after more than £3.5 billion spent developing the deepwater site by French energy group Total.
Output is expected to climb to the equivalent of 90,000 barrels of oil a day from Laggan-Tormore and processed at the nearby Shetland Gas Plant before being pumped to the mainland. It will supply around two million households – or 8 per cent of the UK’s gas needs over a lifespan of 20 years.
The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry: Oil Pollution in the North Sea
Springer have recently published an ebook titled Oil Pollution in the North Sea (Editor: Angela Carpenter) as part of The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry series. The book offers a review of measures taken at different levels to prevent oil inputs to the North Sea from sources such as shipping and oil installations. A range of data … Read more
Energy Voice: Shell and BP join other blue chips to support to new global climate agreement
Blue-chip companies, including Shell and BP, have given their strong support for the adoption of a new global climate agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference this December in Paris. In a statement organised by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), the companies called for “a more balanced and durable multilateral framework guiding … Read more
MASTS: MASTS Oil & Gas Forum internships
Two, 3 month internships are being offered by the MASTS Oil and Gas Forum in conjunction with CEFAS in Lowestoft. Each internship is being offered with a stipend of £3k. One internship will look at the “Comparison of Substitution Status of Chemical Substances under REACH and OSPAR Legislation” whilst the other will look at “Degrading the … Read more
Oil and Gas UK: New oil spill response guides launched
Offshore oil and gas operators now have access to four new response implementation guides (RIGs) to assist any required responses to oil spills in the North Sea. A UK industry group launched in the wake of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, proposed the development of a toolkit containing information on the … Read more
SOTEAG: Oil and Gas Environmental Seminar
SOTEAG will be at the Oil and Gas UK Environmental Seminar on the 25th November 2015. Oil and Gas UK Environmental Seminar During the 2015 ASM speakers from regulating bodies, science, and industry will discuss the precautionary principle, and the importance of using solid evidence and science in marine management and planning across aspects of offshore … Read more