Strengthening Sino-Scottish relations
1 Jul 2014 11:44 AM
First Minister Alex Salmond has welcomed a cross-strait
Chinese delegation to Edinburgh, as they explore investment opportunities in
Scotland – including a £5 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with a Scottish company.
This mission is the first time that cross-strait energy
sector companies have joined together to explore investment opportunities
across several Scottish industries, including oil and gas and
renewables.
Aberdeenshire-based Unmanned Production Buoy Group Ltd
(UPB) and Tong Ze Group of Hong Kong have signed a £5 billion MOU (264.9
billion in Chinese Renminbi), to develop and use UPB’s technology, which
allows marginal and uneconomic oil fields to be exploited at much lower cost
than conventional methods.
As
part of the visit, an MoU was signed among Scottish Enterprise, Falkirk Council
and Chinaway Energy Company to develop an action plan to look at reducing the
cost of energy generation in the wider Grangemouth industrial
complex.
Welcoming the visit, the First Minister
said:
“It’s fitting that our countries should work
together, to develop and commercialise the energy and low carbon technologies
of the future. The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to encouraging
that co-operation and building on the links we have made though engagement with
China since 2007.
“And it’s why I welcome these three
Memorandum of Understanding. They will strengthen our economic links in areas
such as energy, the creative industries and tourism. They are a further sign of
the growing partnership and friendship between our countries.
“In particular the MoU for UPB is significant,
given the scale of investment. As mature basins, the North Sea and Chinese
waters face many similar challenges, but also huge opportunities and I’m
pleased to see Scottish expertise being recognised – demonstrating once
again our international leadership in the energy sector.
“In Scotland, we have a continuing appetite for
invention and innovation; a desire to look beyond our own country and to build
partnerships with countries and businesses around the
world.”
Richard Selwa, Chairman of UPB, said:
“We are delighted with is significant announcement
and look forward to many years of friendship and sharing of mutual prosperity
with Tong Ze and our many Chinese stakeholders.
"We are proud this MOU marks a major milestone for
UPB. The MOU rewards the many years of hard work by the Scottish and UK
governments.
“On behalf of our Chinese friends and the UPB team
I would like to thank the First Minister and his SDI team for hosting this
significant and important MOU signing ceremony.”
Scottish Enterprise director of Energy, Maggie McGinlay,
said:
“Scotland has much to offer the Chinese energy
market and this visit has been a great opportunity to profile our highly
innovative energy companies to key Chinese investors.
“We also recognise the importance of Grangemouth
as Scotland’s largest industrial complex and that to be a globally
competitive manufacturing nation, we need to explore ways to reduce energy
costs for energy intensive business such as the chemical sciences sector. That
is why this MoU plays an important role in helping us do that.
”We aim to work closely with Falkirk Council,
Chinaway Energy Company, and the businesses in Grangemouth to maximise the
economic benefits from this partnership.”
Councillor Craig Martin, Leader of Falkirk Council,
said:
“Falkirk Council welcomes the opportunity to sign
up to this ground-breaking partnership which will explore how energy costs can
be reduced in Grangemouth. The Grangemouth petrochemical complex has huge
strategic importance to the national economy and the Council is aware that
energy costs are one of the greatest concerns of businesses based at the
complex.
“The Chinaway Energy Company has considerable
expertise in energy technology and we are confident that this agreement has the
potential to help reduce energy costs and improve efficiency in Grangemouth. It
also demonstrates the power of forging international links and creating
partnerships that will bring great benefits to our local
economy.”
China Way Energy Limited said:
“Signing this Memorandum of Understanding cements
China Way Energy’s commitment to investing in different technology that
looks at increasing efficiency and save energy. We look forward to working with
Scottish Enterprise and Falkirk Council to bring knowledge and expertise to the
table in the coming months.”
The
MoU is an agreement to develop an action plan to consider the physical,
technical, commercial and regulatory viability of a range of renewable and
other technology projects aimed at reducing energy (power, heat and steam)
costs by 20% or more.
The
study will seek to: identify appropriate avenues for potential investment in
any viable projects identified by the Parties in respect of the Complex,
together with, where possible, details around timelines for such investment;
and explore the potential for formation of an energy services company with a
view to maximising any benefits (including cost efficiencies) which may arise
from aggregating energy production and demand on the Complex.
China Way Energy Limited will actively evaluate the
scope for it to become the lead investor in any viable energy efficiency
projects which may be identified in respect of the Complex; and the setting up
of a private limited group company to be headquartered in Scotland for the
purpose of working closely with all stakeholders in respect of such
projects.
UPB
is an oil development company and mass manufacturer of unmanned oil production
platforms. The focus of UPB's business model is marginal fields, or fields
that are currently under production but the host platform is no longer
economic.