Conference Convenors

Caroline Gill is a geologist working for Shell in Aberdeen as Subsurface Lead for a new development in the Central North Sea. She is currently chair of the Energy Group Committee of the Geological Society of London with whom she has been part of the transition from Petroleum to Energy. She is also a past Aberdeen Director of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB). She has presented at a range of major conferences and has published her work in a number of peer reviewed journals.  In addition, she has received multiple international awards in recognition of her contribution both technically and in the coaching and mentoring realm, including the Geological Society’s Aberconway Medal (2021).

John Underhill is Chair of Exploration Geoscience and the Academic Executive Director of the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) Centre for Doctoral Training entitled GeoNetZero. The latter is an industry-academic collaboration between 12 UK Universities and supported by 8 industry partners that is exploring the role of geoscience for the energy transition. A past President of the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers (2011-12), he holds awards including the Silver Medal of the Geological Society’s Energy Group, the Clough Medal of the Edinburgh Geological Society and the Geological Society’s Lyell Medal.  He was University Chief Scientist (2016-19), a member of the UK Energy Minister’s Technology Leadership Board (2015-18), OGA’s Exploration Task Force since 2018, the Scottish Government’s Science Advisory Council since 2019 and NERC’s GeoEnergy Observatories Scientific Advisory Group since 2015.

Neil Frewin has 27 years of oil & gas experience as a geoscientist with Shell and formerly with Hess UK Ltd and BG Group. His recent career is mostly in exploration asset management and new business development, with roles in Oman, China, Australia, Mexico and Canada and he leads a regional geology team with a global basin search remit. He was President of the PESGB (2017-2019) and is a founder of the “Exploring the Energy Transition” special interest group. He is a Trustee of the Geological Society of London (2021 onwards) and of The Etches Collection, a museum of Jurassic marine life in Dorset. He is a member of advisory boards including the UK Centre of Masters Training, Royal Holloway University of London School of Life Sciences & the Environment, and the Haliburton STEPS research program.

Charlotte has been promoting the geothermal potential of the UK for over a decade. Since 2020 she has been the Principal Manager for Mine Water Heat at the UK’s Coal Authority. A geologist/hydrogeologist by training, her PhD from Newcastle University (1999) focused on treating the polluted discharges flowing from historically abandoned lead-zinc mines in the North Pennines. Latterly she worked on the design of low cost ways to treat coal mine water when it reaches surface. Spending time above and below ground taking water samples from mines sparked her interest in energy and following her PhD she worked for several years in the renewable energy sector. Charlotte spent 11 years at Durham University as Assistant Professor working on geothermal energy and she remains an advisor to Durham Energy Institute. In 2018 she was awarded the Geological Society’s Aberconway Medal.

Graham Goffey is a geologist by training and has worked in in the petroleum industry since 1985, in roles ranging from geoscientist to managing director. Currently he runs his own company, Soliton Resources, focussed on North Sea exploration to limit UK hydrocarbon importation.  He is a past chair of the Geological Society’s Petroleum (now Energy) Group and a recent past Trustee and Treasurer of the Geological Society (2014 – 2021). He has convened multiple geoscience conferences and co-edited conference proceedings and geoscience publications, most recently including Geological Society Memoir 52 on UK Oil and Gas Fields. He is a member of the OGA’s Exploration Task Force and a director of the Oil and Gas Independents Association.

Matthew Allen is a geoscientist currently working for Dana Petroleum in Aberdeen, as New Ventures & Exploration Team Lead covering the North Sea and Egypt. He has 25 years petroleum industry experience, mainly in exploration but also appraisal and pre-projects up to submission of development plan. Matthew served as a committee member and Communications Officer of the Petroleum (now Energy) Group of the Geological Society (2003 – 2013). He has acted as convener and editor/sub-editor of a number of GSL conferences and conference proceedings including; PGC VII (2009),  “Major Discoveries of the 21^st Century” (2011) and the Geoscience Challenges session at PGC VIII (2015). He has presented at a range of major conferences, published in a number of peer reviewed journals and has been actively involved in several joint industry projects’s and the supervision of MSc student projects.

Dr Mads Huuse is a Professor of Geophysics at The University of Manchester where he leads the Seismic Interpretation Group. He is currently vice chair of the Energy Group Committee of the Geological Society. His work uses seismic and borehole data to investigate sedimentary basins to unravel how surface processes, basin filling processes and burial dynamics interact. He has published widely on geology, glaciation, sediment remobilization and fluid flow in basins around the world. He is on a quest to explore how the subsurface can be optimally utilized in the energy transition, both onshore and offshore. He is a co-founder and director of the Earth Project – a not-for profit organisation on a mission to promote sustainable Earth stewardship.

Bruce Levell is Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. He worked for Royal Dutch Shell for 35 years in positions including Chief Scientist Geology, VP of Exploration New Ventures, and VP Emerging Technologies which included leading research into scientific and business ideas for Shell’s new suite of investments in renewable energy.

Simon Norris studied geophysics with geology at University of Liverpool and has been with Radioactive Waste Management Ltd. for over 25 years. He is currently Principal Research Manager, leading studies relating to the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) on waste-derived gas generation and migration, long term natural processes and their effects on GDF evolution, GDF engineered barrier systems and on sealing deep site investigation boreholes.  He was lead editor on three Geological Society special publications, most recently SP482 (Multiple Roles of Clays in Radioactive Waste Confinement), and is a member of the Society’s Energy Group and Professional & Chartership Committee.

Nick is a geophysicist operating as a Technical Lead within the Geological & Geophysical Assessments department at Ørsted. He studied Oceanography & Geology at Southampton University and has been working in commercial geoscience industries for 16 years, including working offshore conducting marine seismic surveys on projects throughout the world for O&G, telecoms and offshore wind farm clients. He worked in oil and gas exploration and development on the onshore Taranaki Basin, NZ, maturing the company’s portfolio and developing seismic QI workflows. Latterly he has transitioned into offshore wind, building integrated surface and sub-surface ground models for engineering requirements.

Lucy Williams has worked for 30 years in the oil and gas industry, primarily as a development geologist working on field appraisal and development projects in UK, South Atlantic and Africa. She is past Chair of the Petroleum (now Energy) Group of the GSL, and currently a Trustee and member of Council of the Geological Society. She was involved with the PESGB in the summer of 2020 to deliver their first ever Energy Transition Webinar Series.

Other members of the Conference Board include Alicia Newton – Director of Science and Communications at the Geological Society and Beverley Smith – Past President of the PESGB.

Jon is a M. Sc. level structural geologist (Imperial College) with more than 30 years experience in consultancy to hydrocarbons E & P, deep geothermal resource projects, geological disposal of radioactive waste, and seismic hazard assessments. His speciality has been in fractured reservoir characterisation and associated fluid flow models, especially in basement and carbonate formations. Jon has taught classroom courses and field courses in the Spanish Pyrenees on fractured reservoirs, and published several papers on the topic. He is currently heavily involved in deep geothermal power and heat projects in Cornwall, UK, as well as hydrocarbons and seismicity.

Cathy is Chair of Carbonate Geoscience at University of Manchester and focuses on the sedimentology and diagenesis of carbonate systems.  She has worked as a carbonate sedimentologist for Badley Ashton and Associates and as reservoir geologist and team leader for carbonate research in Shell. As research group lead for sedimentary basins research she is the principal investigator on an industrial research consortium with the Universities of Bergen, Bristol and Liverpool.  She has also been an Associate Editor for Sedimentology since 2014. Her current research includes the impact of post-depositional processes on pore geometry and connectivity, and their relationship to flow behaviour during hydrocarbon production, geothermal heat flux, carbon dioxide and gas storage.

Mark is Lecturer in Energy Geosciences at Newcastle University. A geophysicist by training, he worked for 8 years with bp in the upstream oil and gas industry before appointment to his current role in 2019. His research spans the broad area of geoenergy, focussing on the interpretation and modelling of subsurface data. Current projects include deep closed loop geothermal systems; heat flow modelling; geological storage of hydrogen; repurposing of oil and gas infrastructure and geological disposal of radioactive waste. He is a fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the Energy Group Committee.

Emma is a geologist currently working applied sedimentology in exploration for BP and is a committee member of the Geological Society’s Energy Group. She has an MEarthSci from the University of Oxford (St Anne’s) and an MSci in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College London. She has 5+ years’ experience in the industry and her areas of specialism are paralic reservoirs, geocellular modelling and image log interpretation for sedimentology. With experience in highly integrated studies for both traditional hydrocarbons and CCS, she has published and presented some of her work at multiple high profile conferences. She has also applied her work as a trained fine artist to run interdisciplinary drawing classes for the Geological Society, Geologists’ Association and UK museums.

Gwilym Lynn is geologist working for Shell in Aberdeen as Subsurface Lead for the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project utilising the former Goldeneye gas field. He has worked on numerous fields across the North Sea throughout their lifecycle. As a specialist in subsurface integration and reservoir modelling he has acted as a convenor for three Geological Society Conferences on Integrated Reservoir Modelling and presented and published work in a number of peer reviewed journals.

Tim is the Principal Geologist and Geomechanics Specialist at TRACS International. He has 29 years of experience in geological and geomechanical reservoir characterisation and modelling, project management and training. Tim has applied these skills to hydrocarbon, Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and geothermal projects. He has a particular interest in characterising and modelling fractured reservoirs and the application of geomechanics to wellbore stability, reservoir stimulation and reservoir management. Tim has published technical papers on many of these topics and is also a Technical Paper Reviewer for the Geological Society, SPE and EAGE and an Editorial Board member of the Petroleum Geoscience journal.

Ingrid Demaerschalk has a Geology degree from the KULeuven University in Belgium and an Msc in Computing in Earth Sciences from Keele University in the UK. She is an expert geomodeller and Petrel user with 24 years of industry experience. Previously Group Technical Authority for Reservoir Modelling at BG Group and Reservoir Modelling Advisor at Tullow Oil Plc, she is currently working as an independent reservoir modelling advisor for her own company In-Grid Solutions Ltd. Ingrid was a co-convenor for the 2019 Petroleum Group conference Capturing Geoscience in Geomodels and is a current committee member of the Geological Society’s Energy Group. She has been a Fellow of the Society since 2001.

Sian is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oslo currently working on the characterisation and structural de-risking of potential CO2 storage sites on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. She has a PhD in salt tectonics and MSc in petroleum geoscience from Imperial College London. She is also a keen science communicator and has run a series of public science events with Pint of Science.

John Colleran is a geologist by training and began working for the British Geological Survey in 1986. After 2 years he moved to work in the petroleum industry where he has worked in technical and leadership roles for a number of UK and international companies, as well as consulting, in a geoscience career spanning 35 years. He has presented at a number of conferences including PGC VI and published in the conference proceedings (2005). He has been actively involved in several joint industry projects and the supervision of MSc student projects, is a Chartered Geologist and currently a member of the NSTA’s Exploration Task Force.

Kirstie Wright is a geoscientist and director of North Sea Core CIC. She has spent time working in both the energy industry and academia using subsurface data to investigate complex sedimentary basins. She has previously been involved in the Geological Society’s Decarbonisation Working Group and was formerly Communications Officer of the Society’s Energy Group. Her work with the award-winning North Sea Core CIC (Commmunity Interest Company) involves the collection of unwanted offshore core material to provide accessible teaching and research material for academia, industry and government.

David Offer is a principal geologist for RPS Energy, currently working energy projects covering CO2 storage, geothermal and petroleum themes. Over 24 years in the hydrocarbon industry he has worked for both international E&P companies and consultancies, mostly as a development geologist/modeller and team lead for hydrocarbon field developments. He also qualified as secondary school geography teacher, after being awarded a Royal Geographic Society Scholarship. David was the Vice President of the PESGB from 2019 to 2021 and is involved, with RPS, as a founding member of the Geothermal Energy Advancement Association.

Katie May works for Shell in Aberdeen as a production geologist. Katie has a BSc in Geology from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Leeds. She has 7+ years’ experience working both on non-operated West of Shetland and Shell-operated Central North Sea ventures. Her work has focused on turbidite reservoirs from exploration and production through to abandonment. Katie supports the co-ordination of geological field trips for Shell UK and heads up Field Trip HSSE for Shell Norway, UK and Netherlands (NAM).

Rachel is a Lecturer in the School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen where she is involved in running the MSc’s in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience and Sustainable Energy Geoscience. Rachel initially worked in Shell as a new ventures exploration geoscientist before undertaking postdoctoral research projects sponsored by the North Sea Transition Authority, Global Challenges Research Fund and Wood Mackenzie prior to her current position where she promotes the energy industry as a career path for students.

Lucinda works for Equinor in Aberdeen as a subsurface geoscientist in exploration and development. Lucinda has a Masters in Integrated Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Aberdeen where she also undertook a Ph.D. through the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) focussed on developing new insights into the evolution of the Faroe-Shetland Basin. She has published on the central-northern Corona Ridge area, taught various modules on the Aberdeen MSc course and is a qualified secondary school geography teacher.