At the forefront of energy geoscience...
Chair
Mads Huuse
Mads Huuse has a BSC and PhD from the University of Aarhus in Denmark (1999). He is a marine geology and geophysics enthusiast. Mads undertook post docs at Aberdeen and Cardiff working with sand injection complexes and fluid migration using 3D seismic datasets from around the world before joining Aberdeen as a lecturer and senior lecturer in geophysics (2005-2009). In 2009 he joined the University of Manchester as a Reader and is currently a Professor in Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences where he teaches geophysics to undergraduate and MSc students and leads the Seismic Interpretation Group. His research is looking at sedimentary basin processes and phenomena including gas hydrates, igneous, salt and sedimentary intrusions in datasets globally. Currently his research group is focussing on evidence for glaciation, focussed fluid flow, reservoir and seal distribution for CCS and developments in seismic imaging for subsurface characterization and interpretation. Mads has published over a hundred papers, mostly with his PhD students, and edited a handful of Geological Society Special Publications and journal thematic sets.
Vice-Chair
Mark Ireland
Dr Mark Ireland is currently a Lecturer in Energy Geosciences at Newcastle University. He is a geoscientist by background with a PhD from Durham University and has over 8 years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas industry with BP Exploration. In 2019 he was appointed to his current position where his research spans the broad area of geoenergy and the role of geosciences in decarbonisation of the energy systems. Currently Mark is involved in a variety of energy research projects including: deep closed loop geothermal systems; heat flow modelling with applications to geothermal resources; feasibility of offshore hydrogen storage; repurposing oil and gas infrastructure and geological disposal of radioactive waste. His research includes collaborations with local and regional stakeholders and industry partners across the energy sector.
Treasurer
Ivan Fabuel-Perez
Ivan is a petroleum geologist with more than 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with ExxonMobil. He has a BSc in Geology from the University of Zaragoza (Spain), a MsC in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Manchester and a PhD in stratigraphy and geological modelling from the University of Manchester. Ivan has worked in various roles within the upstream, including several exploration projects in different basins in Europe and Africa, production assets in the United States and stratigraphy research projects.
Since 2017, he has been working as the Technical Team Lead for the Cyprus Exploration Licences and the Easter Mediterranean, working within a multifunctional team of geoscientists, drillers and operation geologists. He has been a Fellow of the Geological Society since 2011 he is also currently an Industry Representative for the British Sedimentological Research Group (BSRG).
Publications Officer
Tina Lohr
Tina is a very passionate structural geologist with over fifteen years of experience.
She graduated from Freiberg University in Germany in 2003. She then obtained a PhD from Free University of Berlin, and worked at the Helmholtz Research Centre in Potsdam. She has been working for ERCE since 2008, where she is the Technical Lead for ERCE’s Structural Geology Group. Working for a consultancy enabled her to gain experience in many regions worldwide encountering a vast variety of geological settings, reservoir types and data. She has great experience in seismic interpretation and structural modelling ranging from basin- to reservoir-scale.
Tina has presented her work at numerous conferences and in peer reviewed journals. She is also an editorial board member for Journal of Petroleum Geoscience and reviewer for several journals. In her spare time she enjoys outdoors, sports and exploring historic towns.
Communications Officer
Munira Raji
Dr Munira Raji is a Sustainable Geoscience Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth. She also holds visiting researcher positions at the University of Portsmouth and Hull, and a Science Policy Fellowship with the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Munira has a PhD in Geological Sciences from Durham University, a BSc in Geology from the University of Portsmouth, an MSc in Petroleum Geosciences from the University of Derby, and a Certificate in Science Diplomacy from the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals. Her areas of research expertise revolve around sustainable geoscience, sustainable energy, geoscience diplomacy and the SDGs. Munira’s research is focused on identifying and developing strategies to accelerate the shift from traditional, non-renewable sources of energy to more sustainable energy sources in order to meet net zero by 2035. Munira is also interested in the geopolitical implications of the global energy transition and the resulting shift in the balance of power between nations. Her research also focuses on energy diplomacy and how it can promote sustainable energy while managing the impact of the energy transition on international relationships and trade. Munira was awarded the Early Career Energy Geoscientist Medal from the Geological Society of London Energy Group in October 2022.
Student Representative
Rifky Wijanarko
Rifky is a subsurface geoscientist with an MSci from Imperial College London. Since 2021, he has been working as a PhD student at Heriot Watt University as part of the GeoNetZero CDT, looking at subsurface low carbon energy opportunities in NE England and the Southern North Sea. Previously he has worked on projects in offshore Gabon and Qatar with Perenco and TotalEnergies respectively. Rifky’s research interests mainly lie in the application of geoscience in decarbonising the energy sector, using technologies such as CCUS and geothermal. He also has an avid interest in the integration of data science techniques to subsurface workflows, being proficient in both Python and C++.
Outside of research, Rifky was a mentor as part of the EQUATOR network, a NERC funded initiative that aims to increase retention of black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) students in environmental research. Rifky has been a Fellow of the Geological Society of London since 2022.
Other members
Corinna Abesser 
Dr Abesser is a Science lead for Geothermal Energy at BGS, bringing a wealth of knowledge and interest relating to geothermal resources, exploration, policy and regulations, specifically within the UK, including shallow (ground source heat) and deep (direct-use and power) settings.
Dr Abesser is a long-standing member of the Geological Society of London, and has served on the Hydrogeology Group between 2014 and 2019 as Chair of the UK Groundwater Modellers’ Forum. In this role, Dr Abesser has lead the organisation of various workshops and events, and frequently collaborated with other Specialist Groups within the Society. Dr Abesser is keen to support the promotion of geological sciences and engaging with early career scientists and students. She is currently supporting the organisation of the GeolSoc Virtual Careers Days 2020.
Nick Lee
Nick is a geologist by training, and a fellow of the Geological Society. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S.c in geology. Following his academic studies, he joined the oil and gas industry starting his career as geologist for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and latterly working for BG Group, Shell and as an independent consultant to various privately held energy companies. Most recently he joined PGS, where he holds the position of Subsurface Manager within PGS’ New Energy group. He has worked on a wide range of exploration and production projects globally across a diverse variety of geological settings. He now focuses on the application of geoscience to energy transition problems, and has a particular interest in how the energy industry can accelerate the identification and maturation of more sites for large-scale CO2 storage.
Helen Doran
Helen is an active member of the Geological Society, organising and chairing a workshop on heat flow and subsidence in 2018, editing a forthcoming GSLSpecPub2021-109 on the fundamentals of strike-slip and transform margins and recently chairing the Basin Modelling conference. In addition, she has presented at several past Geological Society events, including the Evening Lecture.
Helen Doran has a background in geochemistry, heat flow, reservoir diagenesis, seal capacity assessment and pressure prediction. She obtained a 1st class degree in Geology from the Queens University of Belfast and a PhD in reservoir quality and diagenesis at the University of Edinburgh. She has over 20 years’ global experience performing ‘Petroleum Systems’ evaluations in more than 100 sedimentary basins and has held technical leadership roles in BP, Ophir Energy, Ola Geoscience and Causeway GT. She is the co-author of several publications, including her latest book; “Strike-slip terrains and transform margins; structural architecture, thermal regimes and fluid systems” (in press).
Stuart Gilfillan
Stuart Gilfillan is currently a Reader in Geochemistry in the School of GeoSciences, at The University of Edinburgh. He has over 16 years of post-PhD experience of innovative geochemical research in fluid tracing for GeoEnergy applications, mainly related to CO2 storage. More recently, he has applied his expertise to the emerging GeoEnergy sector through novel monitoring of unconventional gas extraction, geothermal energy, CO2 contamination in, and connectivity of, hydrocarbon fields. He has a keen interest in all areas of utilising the subsurface for energy production or storage and is currently Deputy Programme Director for the GeoEnergy MSc course at , which he co-developed. He has been a fellow of the Geological Society since 2003 and is currently a member of the UK Carbon Storage Research Facility Science Advisory Group.
Christopher Lloyd
Chris is a Senior Geophysicist at Equinor, with several years’ experience working on the North Sea. Chris has a PhD from the University of Manchester on CO2 storage exploration, where he performed regional aquifer screening, site characterisation and CO2 injection modelling. He moved to Norway in 2020, initially working for Lundin Energy (now part of AkerBP) in Oslo prior to joining Equinor in Bergen. His interests include CO2 storage site appraisal/ monitoring, hydrocarbon exploration/production, offshore wind development and how geoscience can contribute to this energy mix in delivering sustainable, clean energy globally. His goal in the Energy Group is to help increase its visibility and provide insight into the broad range of careers in the energy industry available for geoscience students.
Eleanor Rollett
Eleanor is a chartered geoscientist with over 30 years’ experience in the energy industry, following graduation from the University of Glasgow in 1990. Over that period, she has worked internationally for BP and Shell in a broad range of projects though the oil and gas exploration and development lifecycle. She is currently working as a principal geoscience advisor, project manager and line manager within RPS Energy where she provides consultancy services, primarily for the oil and gas industry, and more recently for energy transition. She has an active interest in the repurposing of oil and gas geoscience skills to meet transition targets. Within the Geological Society Eleanor also acts as a scrutineer of Chartership Applications.
Michele Martins
Michele is a geophysicist with more than 18 years of experience in the O&G and Renewables industry. She has a BSc in Geophysics from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She started her career working offshore doing 3D seismic data acquisition in the Gulf of Mexico and South America. She then spent few years in seismic processing before moving into exploration and data interpretation, where she worked in a variety of geological settings and basins. Since 2019 she has been a geophysical consultant for the Renewable sector, working with ground models and integration of geological, geophysical and geotechnical data for Offshore Wind Farms in the UK, Europe and Asia. She now works for Global Maritime as a Geophysical Lead.
Simon Norris
I studied geophysics with geology at University of Liverpool, and been with Radioactive Waste Management (and predecessors) for over 25 years. Currently I lead research activities on the long-term geological evolution of the UK and how this could impact a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for the UK’s radioactive waste inventory; the generation of waste-derived gases and their fate in the geosphere and biosphere; and how evolving waste in a GDF could affect the host rock and surrounding geology including coupled thermal-hydrogeological-mechanical-chemical-gas processes. I am active in GeolSoc matters, as a scrutineer of Chartership applications, as co-organiser of Career & Industry Days, and as a member of the Professional and Chartership Committee – I seek to build on these inputs with work in the Energy Group.
James Todd
James is an engineering geologist with over 15 years’ experience working on energy related projects. James’ work has taken him around the globe from offshore wind in Norway, hydropower in Romania, Oil and Gas in Azerbaijan and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen projects in the UK, with roles varying from policy development through to design and construction. James is passionate about promoting the role geoscience has to play in the energy transition and ensuring our contribution is recognised across this industry. As a Technical Director in AECOM, James’ current focus is working across the energy, environment and sustainability business, to develop our geoscience offering in key energy sub-markets such as Future Fuels, Renewables and Industrial Decarbonisation, and supporting our transition to net zero.
David Townsend 
David is a geologist driving the energy transition (BSc Geology, University of St Andrews). With over seven years experience working at the interface between the private, public and academic sectors, David brings extensive understanding of the technical, financial, political, and environmental aspects of the global geothermal energy sector. As Founder & Managing Director at TownRock Energy, he has managed numerous geothermal and ground-source energy projects from conceptualisation through to drilling and testing. He draws on his practical experience to help clients unlock the valuable geological assets beneath their sites to reduce heating/cooling costs and eliminate carbon emissions.
Robert Wilson
Over the past decade I have co-convened a number of conferences/ sessions (inc: Industrial Structural Geology, 2012 & Fault Seal Analysis, 2018, both in collaboration with the Petroleum Group), and would hope to continue this active participation in the coming years through collaboration with other experts in the Energy Group.
I hold a PhD (Structural Geology) from Durham University, and an MSc (Geochemisty) and BSc (Geological ) from Leeds. I’m a fellow of the Geological Society (20 years) and was the Tectonic Studies Group Industry rep (2010-12).
Mark Wood
Mark is a Geoscientist with 13 years’ industry experience. Since joining Shell in 2009 he has been involved with field operations in Oman and the UK, and conventional hydrocarbon project maturation in the UK and Nigeria. He is currently a senior geologist and storage advisor in Shell’s CCS Capability and Assurance Team. In this role he acts as subsurface lead for Shell’s interest in the Northern Endurance Partnership project in the Southern North Sea. He also supports a number of CCS opportunities across the global portfolio. He has a undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of Aberdeen, and a Masters degree in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College London.