“I’ve travelled the world for work, but Scotland is leading the way in developing and testing new, low carbon energy”.

Aberdeen native Ross Wattie (39) works at Harbour Energy, an independent exploration and production group. He’s travelled the world with his career, which has seen him work offshore and onshore in London, China, Dubai, Spain and Alaska, where he’s been involved in multibillion dollar projects. 

I was born in Aberdeen but growing up I was lucky enough to live in other cities including London, Houston and Dubai – which is a bit of a giveaway that my parents worked in oil and gas. It’s probably not a surprise that I inherited an interest in engineering, but as I got older, I found myself wanting to know more about machines, vehicles, structures and buildings. You could say I was something of a voracious Lego builder!

After brief ambitions of being a pilot, followed by a teacher and then a policeman, eventually I decided to follow my interests and study towards a career in oil and gas. Having grown up in the industry, I had a clear insight into the benefits of working in the sector – a lifelong and enriching career that also afforded me the ability to pursue my other interests like astronomy, music and adventure travel.

While at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow studying mechanical engineering, it was the classes I took on energy technology that held most interest for me, as I learned about all the different types of energy production and distribution. The integration of many aspects of engineering, topped off with economics appealed to me greatly. Everything from mechanics, thermodynamics and materials science, right through to where they all fit within a successful energy business.

Living overseas as a child is something I’ve also replicated as an adult. It began while at university, where I took an Erasmus year abroad in Spain, allowing me to practice my Higher Spanish skills. Beyond academic pursuits, I would strongly advise anyone to take a year abroad as it was easily what gave me the most mileage when it came to graduate interviews – completing part of my degree in a foreign language and foreign country. It also stood me in good stead for a career that would take me to London, China, Dubai, Spain and Alaska. Since I graduated, I’ve spent a total of seven years working overseas, and two years offshore, working on multi-billion dollar projects in roles including project risk management, construction, mechanical completion and commissioning.

Today, I work as a campaign maintenance supervisor at Harbour Energy (previously Chrysaor) in Aberdeen – an onshore role with occasional offshore visits. My responsibilities include running partial shutdowns and turnarounds of our biggest production platform, with a particular focus on major rotating equipment. We have six gas turbines to be serviced and occasionally replaced, together with inspection and repairs on associated train piping, vessels, valves and equipment.

It's an exciting time to be working in oil and gas. Human civilisation and development has historically required ever-increasing amounts of energy – the 19th century was powered by coal, the 20th by oil, and the 21st is yet to be fully characterised, but each new form of energy has tended to be an addition to the existing base, rather than replacing it. It’s clear that we need to move to cleaner forms of energy production, and in the short term this is being met by things like hydrogen production from natural gas, and carbon capture and storage in depleted gas reservoirs. When these technologies are scaled up internationally, they will begin to make a significant impact on reducing our emissions. 

In the longer term, we have a golden opportunity to develop commercially viable future forms of clean energy production. What most excites me about future energy production is the enormous potential of nuclear fusion, which I hope to witness in operation someday. 

Being based in Scotland, I’m privy to the development of regions like Greater Glasgow, which was once a global centre of heavy industry and is now becoming a global centre of knowledge, expertise and research. With continued investment in the growing knowledge-based economy, academic research and innovation, Glasgow will lead the way in the development and testing of new energy technology.

This leaves me feeling really positive about the energy industry’s future. Human nature is to solve problems and improve processes, and today’s engineers and innovators continue to do so even when faced with ever greater challenges, such as climate change. It may not feel like it day to day, but the rate of technological progress is tremendous, and I’m privileged to be part of that journey.