Entrepreneur in Residence
- About
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- Email Address
- ian.phillips@abdn.ac.uk
- School/Department
- School of Engineering
Biography
Ian Phillips has over 35 years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas and energy transition industries,
He spent 25 years in mainstream oil and gas roles with oil operating companies (Shell, BP, Marathon and Ramco) and with a major service company (Halliburton).
In 2007 he became a founding Director of CO2DeepStore Limited (the world’s first pure CCS company), and in 2013 he and his CO2DeepStore colleagues launched Pale Blue Dot Energy – an energy transition business consultancy which conceived and created the Scottish Acorn CCS Project.
Having spent 6 years as CEO of the Oil and Gas Innovation Centre Ian re-joined Pale Blue Dot Energy – now an energy transition development company - in January 2020 as the Acorn Project Director. Pale Blue Dot merged with Storegga in 2020 and he became involved in developing the carbon storage and low carbon hydrogen businesses of Pale Blue Dot / Storegga.
Since October 2022 Ian has been an independent consultant in the Energy Transition space.
He obtained an M.Eng. in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot Watt University (1983), and an MBA through the Open University (1994). He is also a Fellow of the UK Energy Institute and is a Chartered Petroleum Engineer.
Qualifications
- B.Sc. Civil Engineering1979 - Leeds University
- M.Sc. Petroleum Engineering1983 - Heriot Watt University
- MBA Master of Business Adminstration1994 - Open University
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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I formally report into John Underhill, Professor of Stratigraphy and Director of the Centre for Energy Transition
My remit is across the university with three aims
- To supplement the design of taught undergraduate and postgraduate programme with input from a person with deep industrial knowledge and understanding of the Energy Transition.
- To apply this deep industrial understanding to support existing research, and to focus new research in the Energy Transition in additional areas that can deliver greatest potential societal benefits.
- To support industrially relevant research to reach the market by spinning out companies or otherwise transferring IP to industry.
- External Memberships
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The Entrepreneur in Residence position is part time (2 days per week on campus)
I undertake freelance consultancy in the Energy Tranistion space through my private consulting business
I lecture in Energy Transition on the MBA programmes at Robert Gordon University and the University of Dundee
I am a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Chartered Petroleum Engineer
I am a Distinguished Member of the SPE - a global energy professional society - and have chaired the SPE ABerdeen Section and been the North Sea Regional Director on the SPE International Board. I was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer on the future of the oil and gas industry in the Energy Transition.
- Research
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Funding and Grants
Funded by the Royal Society under their Entrepreneur in Residence programme