Dear SPE Aberdeen members, colleagues and friends,

Last month we were delighted to launch the 33rd Offshore Achievement Awards; nominations are now open and close on 16th November. This is the eighth year that SPE Aberdeen has managed the OAA’s and we are very proud of how this event goes from strength to strength each year and remains the gold standard of industry awards in the North Sea.

The awards recognise and celebrate success in the offshore oil & gas and renewables industry.  In total there are 11 award categories, with the winners announced at the black tie event on 14 March 2019. The award categories are made up of 4 technology awards (including the Emerging Technology and the Innovator Awards), 4 corporate awards (including the Outstanding Skills Development Award), and 3 individual awards including the hugely popular Young Professional Award and the prestigious Significant Contribution Award.

All nominations go through a robust peer review process, with every category reviewed by 6-8 separate judges.  Every year the judging panel remarks on the extremely high standard of applications which provides them with quite a task in shortlisting the finalists.

The panel is also involved in judging the Gray’s School of Art competition to design the trophy; a process which is now embedded in the 3D Graphic Design degree curriculum.

Previous finalists and winners consistently comment on the value of entering the OAAs. As far as the 2018 winner of the Export Achievement Award, Coretrax, are concerned the OAAs are the perfect platform to showcase the skills, expertise and dedication of the team. This was echoed by Blaze Manufacturing Ltd, shortlisted for the Great (SME) Company award in 2018; this accolade increased awareness of the company and gave staff richly deserved recognition for all their hard work.

Any surplus from this event is invested in a wide range of initiatives designed to inspire the industry to continue evolving. This summer we were delighted to be in a position to sponsor the Summer of Engineering at Aberdeen Science Centre, an event that ran July – August and attracted over 5000 visitors.

The OAAs have a dedicated website which will keep you up to date with all the news and how you can get involved.

If you know a company or a person who you think deserves recognition, please suggest that they make an entry.  In my experience a suggestion from a colleague or a client is the best way to encourage people to enter.