Researcher biography

Jim has over 25 years of experience in petroleum hydrogeology, unconventional hydrocarbons and carbon storage research. He has previously held senior science management positions at Australian National Low Emissions Coal R&D as General Manager Science and at CSIRO as Theme Leader for Unconventional Petroleum and Geothermal Energy R&D. Jim’s recent research has focused on petroleum hydrodynamics of faulted strata and the incorporation of hydrodynamics into seals analysis. He gained international prominence through his work on the design and implementation of measurement, monitoring and verification (MM&V) strategies for sub-surface injection.

The was the Sub-surface Program Director for the UQ Surat Deep Aquifer Appraisal Project (UQ-SDAAP) under the UQ Energy Initiative. This project aimed to assess whether or not CCS could be a real option in Queensland in terms of future energy choices. Jim was responsible for the geotechnical and techno-economic studies to increase understanding of aquifer properties in the Surat Basin, also relating to more general groundwater assessment.

Jim was based in The University of Queensland’s Centre for Natural Gas working closely with various water-related researchers across the University such as CWiMI and AWMC.