CCUS Education Course Trainers
Meet the team
Our CCUS education courses are taught by technical expert trainers who draw on their extensive industry experience in CCUS, oil and gas, geology, and hydrogen to ensure you gain the latest knowledge and develop relevant skills to advance your career. Our team has won multiple awards, including the ‘Best Peer-Reviewed Paper – Alan Prince Award’ at the 2024 Australian Energy Producers Conference and Exhibition in Perth.
Dr Geoff O'Brien
Chief Scientist
Dr Geoff O’Brien has a PhD in marine geochemistry and sedimentology and has over 35 years’ experience in the marine research, petroleum and CCS sectors. He has worked in and for the petroleum industry as a petroleum systems and CCS technical specialist, with a focus on integrated petroleum systems and basin analysis, including remote sensing, basin modelling and hydrocarbon migration, leakage and seepage. He has also consulted to the Federal and other governments.
Geoff worked for Geoscience Australia (1985-2001), where he was the Research Group Leader in the Marine Environment & Offshore Petroleum Group, as a research fellow and consultant at the University of Adelaide (2001-2003), as the Energy Geoscience Manager at Geoscience Victoria (2006-2011) and as the Chief Geoscientist for NOPTA between 2012 and 2018.
Geoff has been awarded multiple awards for his efforts, including three APPEA/AEP Best Technical Paper Awards and a WABS Best Presented Paper Award. He has published over 100 papers, a similar number of abstracts and his work appeared on the front cover of Nature.
He has a vast knowledge of Australia’s sedimentary basins and their petroleum potential and over the last 15 years has become increasingly involved in the CCS sector. A passion of his is regulatory analysis and streamlining and the development of tailored and targeted CCS work programs that relate specifically to the ultimate regulatory requirements.
Dr Max Watson
Senior Manager - Technology Development
Dr Max Watson is the Senior Manager for Technology Development and is Australia’s Delegate for the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, a Ministerial-level international climate change initiative. Max has over 24 years of experience in developing industry-relevant, low-emission technologies, including carbon capture & storage (CCS) and, more recently, hydrogen storage. Max has worked in academia, industry, and R&D management sectors, gaining insights from a variety of countries and business types. He completed his PhD at The University of Adelaide.
He has a vast knowledge of Australia’s sedimentary basins and their petroleum potential and over the last 15 years has become increasingly involved in the CCS sector. A passion of his is regulatory analysis and streamlining and the development of tailored and targeted CCS work programs that relate specifically to the ultimate regulatory requirements.
Dr Simone De Morton
Techno Regulatory Advisor
Dr Simone De Morton is a versatile Geoscience professional with 8 years of experience spanning various sectors, holding a PhD in Geology along with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. Simone has worked as a Production Geologist and Exploration Geologist at ExxonMobil Australia, where she gained global experience across multiple geological basins.
Prior to this, Simone served as a Geologist at the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA), contributing to the oversight of the regulatory framework for petroleum activities in offshore Australia.
At CO2CRC, Simone has combined her regulatory and geological expertise as a Techno-Regulatory Advisor. In this capacity, she provides techno-regulatory guidance to CCS project proponent and has delivered CCS regulatory educational courses to government professionals.
Dr Jai Kant Pandit
Senior Engineer - Capture
Dr Jai Kant Pandit holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Monash University, Australia. He has extensive experience and a wide range of interests in sustainability and emission reduction, including CO2 capture, utilisation, hydrogen energy, and power generation. Jai has previously worked on thermal power plant design, performance improvement, and alternative fuels for Babcock & Wilcox and Alstom Power. In CO2CRC, he developed pathways for retrofitting CO2 capture to fossil fuel-based power plants. He has actively contributed to the management of post-combustion capture and CO2 utilization research and development and has led various feasibility studies on CCS for the Asian Development Bank and the government. Jai has delivered various courses on CCUS to Australian and international organizations. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles on CO2 capture and utilisation and has presented his work at various conferences, symposiums, and seminars.
Genna Patho
Reservoir Engineer
Genna is a Reservoir Engineer with experience across multiple sectors in the oil & gas industry at major Australian operators, including operations of offshore Australian gas and oil fields, well planning & execution, and dynamic reservoir modelling. She currently provides subsurface technical expertise for upcoming CCS projects across Australia, including storage site evaluation, simulation studies, risk assessments and monitoring and verification planning. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering (with Honours) and a Bachelor of Science in Geology & Geophysics.
Mark Sanders
Techno Regulatory Advisor
Mark has 15 years of experience in the oil and gas exploration and production industry with a Master of Science from Imperial College London. Mark has worked as an Exploration Geologist and Petroleum Systems Analyst internationally with Premier Oil in London and Murphy Oil in Kuala Lumpur. Recently, Mark worked with Senex Energy in Brisbane with purview over asset management planning, primary approvals, land access, regulatory monitoring and business development. At CO2CRC, Mark has combined this diverse background to help CO2CRC’s members understand the regulatory and policy settings for CCS in Australia and the technology’s strategic development.
Dr Hadi Nourollah
Senior Geophysicist
Dr Hadi Nourollah is a Senior Geophysicist at CO2CRC and the science lead for the shallow fault project. He has worked for National Oil Companies in the Middle East, operators in SE Asia and directed an international consultancy in Australia for a decade prior to joining the global CCS leader, CO2CRC. His research interests are the sealing potential of shales and innovative seismic techniques for efficient CO2 monitoring. Hadi holds a Master of Science in Petroleum Geosciences and completed his PhD in Geophysics at Curtin University.
Laura Gomez
Senior Geoscientist
Laura is a senior geologist with over 10 years of experience in the oil & gas industry, with extensive experience in spatial data analysis, reservoir characterization from clastic to carbonates and shale formations, 3D modelling, and most recently building geological models for carbon storage in saline formations.
Previously Laura has worked as Senior Exploration Geologist for Total Energies in Asia Pacific, with expertise in EOR, unconventional plays (shale) and mature field development gained from working with Total and Repsol-YPF in Southeast Asia and Argentina.
Emeritus Professor John Kaldi
CO2CRC Board Member
John Kaldi is a Professor of Petroleum Geology and Engineering at the Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, and holds the South Australia State Chair in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS). He is also an Adjunct Professor at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia, and Visiting Professor at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Malaysia.
John previously was the inaugural Head of the Australian School of Petroleum (ASP) and earlier, Director of the National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (NCPGG). He is presently Distinguished Scientist of the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC), having served earlier as the Storage Program Manager and Chief Scientist.
Prior to academia, John spent 18 years in the Petroleum Industry in both technical and managerial roles with Shell, Arco and Vico. He has received numerous awards, including Distinguished Service, Honorary member and Special Commendation awards from the American Association of Petroleum Geologist (AAPG) and was AAPG’s International Vice-President and recently chairman of AAPG’s House of Delegates (the Associations Parliamentary body). John is an SPE Distinguished Lecturer (DL) and has served as DL for several other professional organisations, including, AAPG, IPA and PESA. He has been the author and presenter of over 150 journal articles and technical conference papers.