One of the most prominent figures in energy and carbon storage in the UK has been granted an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Dr Nick Richardson, a geologist and Head of Exploration and New Ventures at the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), has been given the honour in recognition of his services to Energy Security and the Energy Transition.
Dr Richardson, 50, has been instrumental in advising on, and implementing, offshore licensing policy for the past decade, with the aim of optimising the use of the UK’s subsurface resources including oil and gas but also for natural gas, hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage.
Managing this extensive portfolio has included running five oil and gas licensing rounds as well as ensuring the UK regulator has been able to build the most comprehensive set of storage sites in Europe, leading to the permitting of four carbon stores so far, and instigating the country’s first ever carbon storage licensing round.
Speaking about the moment he realised that the UK needed to seize the opportunity of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in order to meet the UK Government’s Net Zero targets, Dr Richardson said: 'I was sitting in the office one evening looking at the Climate Change Committee’s carbon budgets which set out pathways to decarbonise the UK economy, reading all the data in the annexes and relating that to the number of carbon stores we needed to meet those targets compared to where we were as a country, and that was the moment I thought ‘hang on, we need to do something much more radical here’. I realised we were going to have to make a greater effort, and we were going to have to do it exceptionally well.'
What followed was a concerted team endeavour, both by the then Chief Executive of the organisation, Andy Samuel, and the current one, Stuart Payne, as well as a hugely dedicated and talented team. They knew that industry had demonstrated an interest, not only in the technology but were also committed to reducing the impact that industrial emissions had on the planet.
He said: 'Of course, as geologists and engineers there’s always that scientific interest of ‘can we actually do this, how can we make it work?’, but it’s more than that as there’s the knowledge that we are doing something really important in applying the skills we have in a positive way that has a wider benefit to society – both on the impact of climate change, but also in the here and now, with job creation and retention as a whole new industry develops.'
Dr Richardson was brought up in Essex, one of three children, and he and his brother both went to Oxbridge to study science - Nick to Oxford University, and his brother to Cambridge University. He then spent a stint in the City of London, before spending time researching tectonics for his doctorate, based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich)..
After spells at Shell and Maersk as a geologist, he moved to a technical leadership position in Dana Petroleum and was then brought on board by the then Oil and Gas Authority, later to become the NSTA, in 2015. At that point his work focused on redesigning the petroleum licensing system following the Wood Review, working with operators and other interested parties to ensure a more systematic approach to driving activities in the North Sea, and managing the natural resources of the basin. His team began with acquiring seismic surveys from across the UK Continental Shelf, which kick-started the organisation’s National Data Repository (NDR) - data that is now publicly available and used across the offshore energy industry, not only by oil and gas operators, but for carbon storage, energy storage and offshore wind.
'What has made my work here has been the nature and the calibre of the people, right from the very start. We had a small, talented team and an immense amount of work to do.
'Obviously we are making great progress with maturing and developing a number of CCS projects, and granting the permits for the HyNet and Northern Endurance projects was an amazing moment, but I think the real ‘we’ve done it’ will be when industrial CO2 emissions actually go into the ground at scale.'
When Dr Richardson received the letter from the palace saying he had been offered the MBE he said he wasn’t sure it was real. He said: 'I struggled to process it at first, I wasn’t sure it was a real thing. It was only the quality of the paper that convinced me! But this award is not just about my part in the process. There’s been a huge amount of hard graft by so many people over an extended period of time. We’ve had to have that conviction and to convince others. And it’s not a job that’s done. This is just the beginning.'
Chief Executive of the NSTA, Stuart Payne said: 'I am delighted to see Nick recognised in His Majesty's Birthday Honours this year.
'Over the past decade, Nick has made a major impact on the UK's energy sector driving innovation in petroleum licensing, being a key part of making carbon storage a reality and now working to help shape the delivery of Transitional Energy Certificates.
'“All of my colleagues in the NSTA will be thrilled to celebrate Nick's recognition today.'
Source: NSTA
