Some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies will invest £600,000 ($788,000) in a new research initiative at the University of Aberdeen, eastern Scotland, aimed at reducing emissions from oil and gas projects.

The companies include BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Equinor and TotalEnergies, with the oil giants looking for ways to adapt their production habits to comply with the energy transition.

The scheme includes the establishment of a Centre for Energy Transition that will support training and PhD studentships.

According to a public statement on Monday, Professor John Underhill, the university’s director for energy transition, will head up the initiative.

Before his academic career, which has included stints at Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Aberdeen Universities, Underhill worked as an exploration geoscientist for Shell and worked with bp in Glasgow.

Under the initiative, students will study and research carbon capture and storage techniques, green hydrogen production, compressed air and gas storage systems, and the potential for oil and gas companies to invest in onshore and offshore wind.

Underhill said: “The starting point on the journey to net zero is very challenging as oil and gas still provides three quarters of the UK’s energy needs.”

He added that in supporting these studentships “our funders have sent a strong message about the confidence industry has in the centre’s ability to progress the energy transition and support the industry’s shift to a cleaner future”.

According to a UK Government report on energy trends, domestic oil production fell by 13% in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024), compared with the same time period in 2023, with production trending downward since 2019 due to reduced investment in the North Sea basin.

However, in the same period imports of oil were up 1.9% compared with last year. Demand for gas was broadly stable in Q1 2024.