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Professor Alexander Kemp

Professor Alexander Kemp
Professor Alexander Kemp
Professor Alexander Kemp

Professor of Petroleum Economics and Director of Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance

Professor of Petroleum Economics and Director of Aberdeen Centre for R

About
Email Address
a.g.kemp@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 272168
Office Address

S74, Edward Wright Building, Block B, King's College, University of Aberdeen

School/Department
Business School

Biography

Alexander G. Kemp is currently Professor of Petroleum Economics and Director of Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF) at the University of Aberdeen.  He was formerly Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader.  He previously worked for Shell, University of Strathclyde and the University of Nairobi.  For many years he has specialised in his research in petroleum economics with special reference to licensing and taxation issues and has published over 200 papers and books on this field.  He has been a consultant on petroleum contracts and legislation to a large number of Governments, the World Bank, the United Nations, various oil companies, the European Commission, the UK Know-How Fund and the Commonwealth Secretariat.  He was a specialist adviser to the UK House of  Commons Select Committee on Energy from 1980 to 1992 and also in 2004 and 2009.  He is an editorial adviser to a number of energy and other academic/professional journals.  From 1993 to 2003 he was a member of the UK Government Energy Advisory Panel.  In May 1999, Professor Kemp was awarded the Alick Buchanan-Smith Memorial Award for personal achievement and contribution to the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry.  Professor Kemp is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.  He was awarded the OBE in 2006 for services to the oil and gas industries.  He was a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers to the First Minister of the Scottish Government.  He has written "The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas" which was published in 2012 in 2 volumes.  In March 2012 Professor Kemp received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Society of Petroleum Engineers Offshore Achievements Award ceremony.  In October 2022 Professor Kemp was given a Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Education for Future Energy Leaders by Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development in Doha, Qatar. 

 

 

Qualifications

  • MA with First Class Honours in Economic Science Economic Science 
    1958 - University of Aberdeen 

    MA with First Class Honours in Economic Science, awarded several prizes, University of Aberdeen, 1958-1962

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships
  • Director of Aberdeen Centre for Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF)
  • Trustee of University of Aberdeen Superannuation Life Assurance committee
External Memberships
  • Founding Director (non-executive) of NorthSound Radio 1979-1996.  Responsible for preparing Business Plan and helping with capital raising at its franchise bidding stage.
  • Economic Consultant to Scottish Office, 1986 to 2000.
  • Founder and Director of Aberdeen University Petroleum and Economic Consultants, 1986-2009.
  • Elected Fellow of Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSC), 2001 to date.
  • Member of Committee of Institute for Fiscal Studies (Scotland), 1978 until dissolution.
  • Editorial adviser to "Scottish Journal of Political Economy", 1975 to 1996.
  • Specialist Adviser to House of Commons Select Committee on Energy 1980-1992.
  • Member of Editorial Board of "Energy Journal", 1987 to 1995.
  • Member of Editorial Board of "Journal of Oil and Gas Finance and Accountancy", 1985 to 1999.
  • Member of Committee, Institute of Petroleum, now Energy Institute, Aberdeen Branch, 1988 to date.
  • Member of Board of Editorial Advisers of "World Oil", 1990 to date.
  • Member of Board of Editorial Advisers of "Journal of Energy Finance and Development", 1996 to 2000.
  • Member of Board of Editorial Advisers to "Energy Economics", 2000 to 2010.
  • Member of Panel of experts of the International Monetary Fund, 1990 to 1998.
  • Member of Independent Energy Advisory Panel to UK Minister of Energy, 1993 to 2003.
  • Specialist Adviser to house of Commons Select Committee on Trade and Industry on Inquiry into Competition in the Domestic Gas Market, 1994.
  • Appointed Official Historian by the Prime Minister to write the Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas, 1999.
  • Member of the UK Industry Oil and Gas Task Force, Innovation and Technology Group, 1999.
  • Member of the joint Government and Industry Economic Advisory Group to PILOT (successor to Task Force), 2000.
  • In 2000 appointed member of PILOT Network.
  • In 2000 appointed member of CRINE/LOGIC Task Force Group on "Doubling Value of Development Wells".
  • Appointed member of Council of International Council on Oil and the Environment, 2000.
  • Member of the Council of British Institute of Energy Economics for some year.
  • Member of the Council of International Association for Energy Economics for some years.
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Geopolitics of Energy for many years.
  • Member of Expert Council of Jugopetrol (Montenegro), 2002.
  • Chairman, 25th Annual Conference of International Association for Energy Economics, June 2002.
  • Special Adviser to House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee on Fuel Prices, 2005.
  • Appointed member of Council of Economic Advisers to Scottish Government, 2007-2011.
  • Member of Steering Committee of Scottish Consortium on CO2 Capture and Storage 2008-2009.
  • Member of Scottish Energy Advisory Board, Chaired by the First Minister, 2011-2021.
  • Member  of Energy Transition Oil and Gas Senior Leadership Group, 2021 to date.
  • External Assessor for post of Professorial Fellow, Business School, University of Edinburgh, 26th July 2018.
  • Chairman and joint organiser of SPE conference on Petroleum Economics Conference, 11th December 2018, Aberdeen.  Presented paper entitled "An Economic Reassessment of Long-Term Activity in the UKCS".
  • Member of Council of Economic Advisers to Scottish Government 2007-2011.
  • Member of Independent Expert Group to the Calman Commission on Scottish/UK Government Devolution (chair: Professor Anton Muscatelli).  Lead author of Report on North Sea Oil and Gas.
  • Gave invited written and oral evidence to House of Commons Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change in its inquiry into North Se Oil and Gas, March 2009.
  • Gave invited evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Committee on Economy, Energy and Tourism in its inquiry into Scotland's Energy Future, march 2009.
  • Specialist Adviser to House of Commons Select Committee Enquiry on Energy and Climate Change, 2009.
  • Member of Steering Committee of Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage and contributor to its report entitled "Opportunities for CO2 Storage around Scotland - and integrated strategic research study", 2008-2009.
  • Appointed to panel of judges for UKOOA competition for "Oil and Gas UK Awards", 2008.
  • Re-appointed to panel of judges for UKOOA competition for "Oil and Gas UK Awards", 2009, 2010, 2011.
  • Member of Council of British Institute for Energy Economics for several years to 2011.
  • Invited to give written and oral evidence on Scottish Independence and North Sea Oil to House of Commons Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change, April 2012.
  • Evidence to Economic Affairs Committee, House of Lords, on Implications for the UK of Scottish Independence, May 2012.
  • Member of the Independent Oil and Gas Expert Commission established by the Scottish Government, September 2013 - July 2014.
  • Gave oral and written evidence on North Sea Oil and Scottish Independence to Scottish Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Energy and Tourism, Aberdeen, 28th April 2014.
  • Appointed by the New Zealand Government to be a member of its Petroleum Resource Allowance Advisory Group, November 2017.

Latest Publications

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

  • University of Aberdeen, Principal's Award for Excellence, 1993.
  • Alick Buchanan-Smith Memorial Award for Personal Achievement and Contribution to The Offshore Oil and Gas Industry, 1999.  Event organised by Scottish Enterprise.
  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2001.
  • Awarded OBE in 2006 for services to the oil and gas industries.
  • Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award in SPE Offshore Achievement Awards event, Aberdeen, 2012.
  • Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Hall of Fame at the "Press and Journal" Gold Awards event, June 2015.
  • Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Education for Future Energy Leaders by the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development, Doha, Qatar, October 2022.
Research

Research Overview

Petroleum and Energy Economics

Current Research

Petroleum and Energy Economics

Supervision

Supervisees

Funding and Grants

  1. By major accounting firm, 1975-1977. Subject: North Sea Oil Taxation. Amount: £2,500
  2. By British Petroleum Ltd, 1978-1980. Subject: Comparative Study of Oil & Gas Taxation. Amount: £20,000
  3. By Shell Grants Committee, 1980-1982. Subject: Investment Decisions & Fiscal Systems in the Oil & Gas Industries with Emphasis on the Risk Aspect. Amount: £27,500
  4. By Shell UK Exploration & Production Ltd, 1982-1983. Subject: Comparative Analysis of Oil and Gas Taxation. Amount: £18,450
  5. By Phillips Petroleum Ltd, Britoil, Shell UK Exploration and Production, 1983-1984. Subject: Comparative Economics of Oil & Gas Exploitation with Special Reference to Incremental Investments & End of Field Life Problems. Amount: £24,741
  6. By Britoil plc, Phillips Petroleum Co., Shell UK Exploration & Production, 1984-1985. Subject: Fiscal Aspects of Incremental Investments & End of Field Life Problems in the Petroleum Industry. Amount: £27,000
  7. By Economic & Social Research Council, 1985-1987. Subject: Comparative Study of the Relationship between Oil Companies & Governments in the UK, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. Amount: £36,000
  8. By Institute for Research on Public Policy, Canada, 1985-1987. Subject: International Petroleum Rent Collection. Amount: £20,000
  9. By BP, Phillips &Britoil, 1987-1988. Subject: North Sea Petroleum Economics. Amount: £20,000
  10. By group of oil companies, 1988-1989. Subject: North Sea Fiscal & Regulatory Economics. Amount: £36,000
  11. By group of oil companies, 1989-1990. Subject: North Sea Investment Risks & Fiscal Arrangements. Amount: £38,000
  12. By group of oil companies, 1991. Subject: North Sea Economics. Amount: £41,344
  13. By group of oil companies, 1992. Subject: North Sea Fiscal and Regulatory Economics. Amount: £45,219
  14. By EEC (ACE Programme). Subject: Structural Change in the Bulgarian Energy Section: Energy and Environmental Options. Amount: ECU 80,000 (shared among Sofia, Kiev, Rotterdam and Aberdeen).
  15. By group of oil companies, 1993. Subject: North Sea Fiscal Economics. Amount: £45,000
  16. By group of oil companies, 1994. Subject: North Sea Economics in a Low Price Environment. Amount: £45,000
  17. By group of oil companies, 1995. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £46,450
  18. By group of oil companies, 1996. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £46,450
  19. By group of oil companies, 1997. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £60,000
  20. By group of oil companies, 1998. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £70,000
  21. By group of oil companies, 1999. Subject: North Seal Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £70,000
  22. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2000. Subject: North Sea Oil and Gas Economics, 2000. Amount: £76,000
  23. By Japan National Oil Company, 1999-2000. Subject: Lessons of Development of North Sea Gas & Oil for Possible Developments in Sakhalin. Amount: £48,500
  24. By Cabinet Office, 1999-2007. Subject: Official History of North Sea Oil & Gas. Amount: £220,000
  25. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2001. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £69,250
  26. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2002. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £72,000
  27. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2003. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £76,000
  28. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2004. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £93,000
  29. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2005. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £99,819
  30. NERC, June 2005 - June 2008, Economics of CO2 Capture, Injection into North Sea Oil Fields, EOR & Sequestration. Amount: £105,000
  31. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2006. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £106,000
  32. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2007. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £119,200
  33. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2008. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £107,600
  34. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2009. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £114,000
  35. By Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF). Subject: Analysis of Effectiveness of ITF 1999-2009. Amount: £5,960
  36. By Cabot Speciality Fluids, 2009. Subject: Production Decline Rates in Various Gas Fields with and without Use of Cesium Formate Brine Drilling Fluids. Amount: £15,100
  37. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2010. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £103,000
  38. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2011. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £126,700
  39. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2012. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £111,700
  40. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2013. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £122,700
  41. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, 2014. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £133,700
  42. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, Office of Chief Economic Adviser, Scottish Govt, 2015. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £120,000
  43. From European Union. Subject: Capacity Building at Higher Education Institutions in Tanzania in Development of the Oil & Gas Sector, 2015-2018. Amount: Euro 2,000,000. "Note: Project shared with several other Depts within the University".
  44. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, Office of Chief Economic Adviser & Scottish Govt, 2016. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £120,000
  45. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, Office of Chief Economic Adviser & Scottish Govt, 2017. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £95,000
  46. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, Office of Chief Economic Adviser & Scottish Govt, 2018. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £110,000
  47. By group of oil companies, Scottish Enterprise, Office of Chief Economic Adviser, Scottish Govt & OGA, 2019. Subject: North Sea Oil & Gas Economics. Amount: £115,000
  48. From National Decom. Centre, 2020 - August 2023. Subject: Economics of Decommissioning in UKCS. Amount: £114,000
Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

Petroleum and Energy Economics

Publications

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