Above image: The last time that Nick was in Tasmania (2017). Caution, some changes may have occurred since then!
After 10 years of sterling service, Tim O’Brien is stepping down from the branch presidency and Nick Hoffman is taking up the role. We would like to thank Tim for his dedication to the role through thick and thin, whilst also toiling hard against the Victorian government bureaucracy over onshore gas. Perhaps the tide is finally turning there as gas shortages creep ever closer to the east coast energy market?
VIC/TAS members will be familiar with Nick, who first became a branch member in the early 90’s and has made a number of lunchtime presentations (and has a matching set of PESA glassware to prove it). For those who haven’t met Nick at conferences or in the course of business, a brief bio and flattering photo are attached.
Nick attended Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities in the UK back in the ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, with a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geophysics. He has enjoyed a 30-year career as a geoscientist and team leader in the oil and gas industry, including significant spells with BP in Europe and BHP in Australia, where he had extensive exposure to international petroleum opportunities and geotechnical R&D. In 1999 he co-founded and jointly-led for 10 years the consulting house 3D-GEO, working on numerous energy projects worldwide. He also has direct experience of the energy transition, with 13 years direct experience in decarbonisation projects including 11 years with the Victorian government-led CarbonNet CCS Project where he acted as R&D technology co-ordinator, subsurface technical lead and/or subsurface manager. That role is now completed, with the preparation of (several generations of) regulatory application documents for carbon storage offshore Gippsland. In that time, He personally drove the CarbonNet subsurface programme with a focus on innovation and technical quality. He is now an independent consultant in the CCS and petroleum fields.
“As incoming branch president, I see my task as twofold – to maintain the regular branch lunchtime and social meetings, which are the core of the branch activity in Melbourne, and to try to widen our net a little. I am keen to organise some sort of social and/or technical event for our Tasmanian members (and for subsurface and petroleum specialists in other professional societies and independent consultants), who have been out on a limb for a very long time. Perhaps we can also get a field course organised in Victoria to bring back the experience of looking at real geology, or visiting a production or processing facility?”
Tim will not be leaving the committee – his knowledge and skills are far too valuable to let him sail off into the sunset. Tim will be remaining as branch treasurer. The full VIC/Tas committee consists of:
President: Nick Hoffman vic-tas-president@pesa.com.au
Treasurer: Tim O’Brien vic-tas-treasurer@pesa.com.au
Secretary: Fabian Kohlmann vic-tas-secretary@pesa.com.au
Committee: Daniel Thompson, Karla Valdellon, Wayne Noble, Steve Cooper
