(HyPT-3) Overview of Session 7B: Natural Hydrogen

Friday 15 September 2023 4:30pm - 6:00pm ACST (UTC+9:30)

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Dr Chris Boreham (GeoScience Australia), Benjamin Mee (AUS), Owain Jackson (H2Au Ltd), PANELLISTS Dr Linda Stalker (CSIRO), Elinor Alexander (SA Govt), CHAIR Prof. Simon Holford (UoA)

SESSIONS AIMS TO:

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Dr Chris Boreham (GeoScience Australia)

Dr Christopher J. Boreham is a principal organic geochemist at Geoscience Australia working in the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division. He obtained a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Australian National University. Chris applies his skills to understand the evolution of petroleum and abiogenic gas in Australian basins. Chris is a member of PESA and AAPG.

Benjamin Mee (AUS)

With a degree in geology and geophysics from Curtin University and University of South Australia, Benjamin started his career in energy at Woodside in 2002. He has held a variety of key technical positions across exploration, appraisal, development and production of oil and gas. In 2012, he joined Shell broadening into corporate strategy, portfolio management and venture leadership. He has led highly successful teams across Australia, Europe, Russia, Egypt and finally was Head of Deepwater Exploration for several sub-Saharan African countries, prior to moving back to Perth, Australia in late 2022.

Benjamin joined HyTerra in April this year to apply his skills to exploring and developing hydrogen made by Nature, which compliments his passion for sustainable and affordable energy.

Owain Jackson (H2Au Ltd)

Owain has over 20 years of experience as an exploration geologist, spending much of his career working across Africa for consulting firms, FTSE 100 commodities houses and national oil companies.  More recently Owain has turned his attention to exploration for natural hydrogen, is now CEO and Co-founder of H2Au Ltd, a natural hydrogen exploration company based in the U.K. and France.

In partnership with the Natural Hydrogen Study Group in the UK, H2Au has developed exploration models for natural hydrogen and is screening and building a portfolio of natural hydrogen assets internationally

PANELLISTS

Dr Linda Stalker (CSIRO)

Linda Stalker is a Senior Principal Research Scientist who obtained a BSc. (Hons) in Applied Geology (University of Strathclyde, Scotland), and a PhD on the contribution of sedimentary organic matter to the generation of oxygenated species (including CO₂) in North Sea oilfields at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. After a post-doctoral study into organosulphur compounds trapped in coals at the University of Oklahoma (USA) she relocated to Norway to work at Statoil, in E&P including 2 years on the Sleipner Field.

She joined CSIRO as leader in gas geochemistry, conducting research on natural gas, coal seam gas as well as CO₂ related research with CO2CRC. She also conducted research in monitoring and verification, with particular focus on chemical tracers. Linda has been Science Director of the National Geosequestration Laboratory (NGL) since 2012.

In more recent times she has been applying her gas geochemistry expertise to the emerging area of exploration for naturally occurring hydrogen and parallels between hydrogen and other forms of gas storage.

She maintains her research activities through contributing to major projects in Carbon Capture & Geological Storage, in areas of geochemistry, monitoring, social licence to operate and education.

Elinor Alexander (SA Govt)

Elinor commenced with the Department as a geologist in the South Australian Department of Mines and Energy in 1985 after graduating from the University of Adelaide with an Honours degree in geology.

Since the 1990s Elinor has focused on researching and marketing SA’s petroleum, geothermal, gas storage and more recently, hydrogen potential, to the world to attract investment via acreage releases, new data products and research deliverables.

In her current role in the Department she is oversighting energy resources prospectivity research, investment attraction activities and is involved in regulating company work programs and data compliance.