We understand that innovation in oil spill response doesn't happen in isolation. Over the past decade, we've prioritised strengthening ties with the academic and research community to push the boundaries of our field and integrate cutting-edge scientific research with practical, operational solutions that improve response strategies.
We introduced the Science, Technology, and Stakeholder Engagement (STSE) team at the start of the year. Through their work, the team maintains a connection to the academic community to ensure that the science of spill response is tuned to operational realities.
This activity has been described as “Bridging Research to Response” and covers a wide range of engagements from scientific conference attendance, research funding / supervisory roles to undergraduate lectures and careers advice.
OSRL has taken a proactive approach, focusing on three core objectives:
1. Protect the existing tools in the response toolbox
STSE will engage with the academic and scientific community to communicate key messages for response strategy development covering topics such as but not limited to NEBA, dispersant use, shoreline response techniques, and incident management.
2. Shape the response techniques of the future
STSE will work with internal collaborators and external stakeholders to actively identify and pursue new and novel technology, techniques, and approaches to advance spill response. Having a spill response organisation intrinsically involved with academic response research ensures that an element of “operational realism” is injected into those programmes to produce outputs with more direct relevance and application to advance the boundaries of future spill response techniques and capability.
3. Inspire the spill responders and scientists of the future
We are seeing reduced interest for graduate careers in the oil and gas industry fuelled in part by a desire to move towards a low-carbon future society, climate change concerns, and media portrayals. This provides a challenge for OSRL (and its Members by default) in the recruitment of a new cohort of next-generation oil spill responders. This is also compounded by the departure of experienced professionals from the spill response community through retirement or shifting to the renewable sector mid-career. To counter this, STSE will actively pursue the goal of future responder recruitment as an intrinsic part of its function and delivery model.
We've seen great success in collaborating with universities and research institutes across the UK and North America. These partnerships have yielded new tools, research insights, and the development of future spill response professionals. In 2025, we plan to expand this activity in the Asia-Pacific region leveraging our experiences to date.
We have highlighted a few case studies that emphasise the impact of these joint efforts.
Case Study 1: Rapid Impact Assessment Tools
We have actively forged close relationships with key University researchers and quickly identified Exeter’s marine ecotoxicology group as a leading group studying impacts of chemicals and contaminants on marine ecosystems
In collaboration with the University of Exeter, we supported a PhD project to develop new methods for assessing the ecological impact of oil spills. Kat Colvin embarked on the PhD which assisted in the development of her career. She is now a Senior Environmental Toxicologist at BP, and is a perfect example of how we (OSRL and its Members) worked with the PhD student to get focused outcomes of the research and push knowledge forward. It resulted in research paper publications, industry engagement at key conferences and ultimately a route for Kat into a Member company. You can read her papers ‘Current issues confounding the rapid toxicological assessment of oil spills’ and Colvin et al. 2021 Miniaturised marine tests as indicators of aromatic hydrocarbon toxicity Potential applicability to oil spill assessment.pdf
Rob Holland, STSE Manager, was also co-author on the paper Marine Oil Snow, a Microbial Perspective, which demonstrates the importance of understanding the interplay between the physical chemical, and biological factors to response effectively to a release of crude oil.
Case Study 2: Plastic Nurdle Enzyme Research
In response to the X-Press Pearl incident off Sri Lanka, where large quantities of plastic nurdles contaminated shorelines, OSRL initiated a joint research project with the University of Portsmouth. This project explores innovative methods for breaking down plastic waste, potentially revolutionising how we manage plastic spill response in the future.
Case Study 3: Educational Outreach and Mentorship
We are deeply committed to developing the next generation of spill responders. Through our academic engagement programs, we have delivered lectures and workshops to universities across the UK, sharing knowledge on spill response techniques and inspiring students to join the industry. Our collaboration with academia has been cemented with the inclusion of the Oil Spill Management module in the Crisis and Disaster Management Masters course, at the University of Portsmouth. We've also taken on mentorship roles which have helped guide PhD students toward successful careers in oil spill science.
Industry outreach with our Responders
One of our Senior Response Specialists, Dan Lambley, headed to Wales as part of our commitment to industry outreach with academia. Dan was recently promoted to Senior Response Specialist, thanks to the experience he’s gained through spills, training, and stakeholder engagement.
He said: “Industry outreach is something I thoroughly enjoy. During my talks, I like to showcase the capabilities of OSRL and the environmental rationale behind response strategies. This industry outreach is crucial to increasing awareness of our industry, inspiring research to enhance response strategies, and inspiring future responders to the industry.
Dan gave talks at Bangor University and Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd in Wales. Both universities were welcoming and keen to host our talks, continuing to support the collaboration between industry and academia.
Responder helping students develop educational game
Laurie Buthfer from our Response team, recently attended the Royal Norfolk Show with a team of Environmental Scientist students from the University of East Anglia to demonstrate a game he had helped to develop, ‘Oil Spill Challenge’, designed to teach children how to clean-up an oil spill and the environmental impact it has.
This innovative educational tool is designed to educate young minds about environmental protection. It teaches children how to respond effectively to oil spills, giving them an insight into protecting marine ecosystems in a fun and engaging way.
Laurie drew from his experiences as a responder dealing with oil spill response and mitigation, to create something that would simplify complex spill response strategies into child-friendly lessons
The Oil Spill Challenge is both a game and a learning tool that allows children to understand the science behind oil spills, the impact on wildlife, and the techniques used in real-life cleanups.
