University of Houston strengthens commitment to clean energy with key partnerships

HOUSTON, June 25, 2024 – The University of Houston, the energy university with multiple energy-focused research centers, last week signed two memorandums of understanding with industry partners Promethean Energy and Endeavor Management. The agreements formalize the partnership to address the challenges of repurposing offshore infrastructure for clean energy use.

Both companies will work closely with UH Energy, the University’s interdisciplinary energy initiative, and members of UH’s Repurposing Offshore Infrastructure for Clean Energy, also known as ROICE, Project Collaborative. The goal of this effort is to promote innovation, research and implementation of sustainable energy solutions in the next phase of the ROICE project.

The broad scope of the ROICE program requires support and guidance from a wide range of companies, institutions and subject matter experts. “It is supported by experts from over 40 institutions, including engineering companies, national labs, equipment manufacturers, investors, regulators and other parties interested in the energy transition objectives offered by the project,” said Ram Seetharam, Energy Center officer and ROICE program lead. “We are especially grateful for the support of the two key RPC members who signed the MOUs.”

Previous efforts of the collaborative yielded insightful research and comprehensive reports focused on successfully implementing ROICE projects. The two most recent reports, published this week, focus on regulatory and technical considerations for repurposing offshore infrastructure projects. For more information, please visit the ROICE website.

“Promethean Energy is focused on being the best, last steward of offshore oil and gas production assets, and our strategy is fully aligned with an orderly energy transition,” said Clint Boman, senior vice president of operations at Promethean. “We are therefore very excited to be partnering with the ROICE program to advance clean energy repurposing and by the prospect of becoming the first ROICE operator of a repurposed oil and gas facility in the Gulf of Mexico.”

John McKeever, chief growth officer of Endeavor Management, highlighted the significance of the partnership and plans for the future.

“Our collaboration for this ROICE phase and with the RPC will blend our offshore operations expertise, our years of experience addressing evolving regulatory requirements with our decades of creating innovative commercial enterprises to meet the demands of energy transition” McKeever said. “Together, we will create the blueprint that drives real business impact with the application of clean energy principles.”

The signing was followed by the unveiling of a new ROICE logo, showcasing an existing oil and gas platform being repurposed for clean energy, with the wind turbine representing offshore wind energy, waves representing wave energy and a hydrogen tank representing green energy.

Located in Houston, home to more than 4,500 energy companies and a pivotal international oil and gas hub, the collaborators aim to leverage each other’s strengths and resources to accelerate advancements in sustainable energy technologies and strategies to support a successful energy transition.

“These MOUs formalize our mutual commitment to advance the industry’s implementation of energy transition strategies,” Seetharam said. “Together, we aim to create impactful solutions that will benefit both the energy sector and society as a whole.”

*** For more information, please contact Rashda Khan: rkhan20@uh.edu or (c)325-656-2824. ***