General

South Australia Core Workshop

11/05/2026 Posted by Rachel

Want a hands-on look at South Australia’s producing basins?

PESA Members are invited to a Core Workshop at the South Australia Drill Core Library this May for a practical deep dive into key oil and gas reservoirs and Moomba CCS intervals.

Led by senior geoscience experts at the Department for Energy & Mining (DEM), this interactive session explores basin architecture, petroleum systems, reservoir characteristics, and the evolving role of these basins in gas supply and carbon capture and storage.

With direct access to core material (including 600m of core on display) this is a rare opportunity to connect subsurface data with real geological evidence.

Omega Oil and Gas and the Taroom Trough Story

06/04/2026 Posted by Rachel

The PESA SA/NT Branch welcomed Trevor Brown and Nathan Parker to give 36 members an update on Omega’s activity in the Taroom Trough, onshore Queensland.

Trevor introduced the company and gave an overview of the geology of the Bowen Basin, and this was followed by Nathan giving a very interesting history of the oil and gas industry in the region which started in the late 1800s.

Peter Moore – National Geoscience Champion Lecture Tour

02/04/2026 Posted by Rachel

PESA are pleased to announce the Dr Peter Moore, Adjunct Professor from Curtin University and 2023 National Geoscience Champion, will be giving a lecture tour to the PESA branches this year. Through June to September, he will be visiting each of the branches to give his perspectives on the petroleum industry and predictions for the future.

Tour Dates for your diary:

“Petroleum geoscience and the energy transition: a personal historical perspective and predictions for the future”

The petroleum industry was technologically advanced by the mid 1900s, but a number of developments over the last half century stand out in the areas of seismic, sequence stratigraphy, assessment technologies, deepwater plays, drilling, offshore developments, CSG and shale, which will be discussed, including from a personal perspective.

Get your PESA discount to Australian Energy Producers 2026 Conference & Exhibition (Adelaide)

10/03/2026 Posted by Helen

Australian Energy Producers invites industry leaders, professionals and stakeholders to join us in Adelaide for the Australian Energy Producers 2026 Conference & Exhibition from 18–21 May 2026.

We are proud to bring the 2026 Conference & Exhibition to Adelaide, South Australia — a state that recognises and values our industry’s important role in the nation’s economic and energy future.

This annual conference is Australia’s flagship event for the oil and gas sector.

Barry Goldstein Medal Tour

09/03/2026 Posted by Rachel

Dr Bruce Ainsworth has wrapped up his successful tour of the PESA State Branches presenting his work honouring the humble clinoform, kindly sponsored by Santos. Read on to hear more from the different branches visited.

Prominence Energy Announce Next Steps in Hydrogen Exploration

27/02/2026 Posted by Rachel

Prominence Energy Ltd announced in February that preparatory work gas commenced for the Company’s first geochemical survey within Petroleum Exploration Licence 803 (PEL 803) in South Australia.

PEL 803 forms part of the Eyre Project, which Prominence Energy acquired 100% interest in during 2025. The project area covers more than 29,000km2 and includes PEL803 and PELAs 749-751. The Eyre Project sits on the cratonic Gawler Craton Archean Crust, considered prospective for natural hydrogen, helium and other associated gases.

PESA Gazette: We need you

10/02/2026 Posted by Rachel

The PESA Gazette is our exclusive monthly online publication, accessible only to PESA members. Envisioned to be a newsletter by the members for the members, it targets including industry updates, breakthroughs in exploration, case studies, technical talks, expert analyses and PESA state branches social news. The PESA Gazette aims to help you stay informed and connected with Australia’s energy geosciences industry. The Gazette is scheduled to go out on the second Tuesday of each month February-December. Content submissions are requested on the first Thursday of each month for review by the editorial board and upload to the system.

Perth building stones walking tour

09/02/2026 Posted by Helen

Write up by Helen Debenham. Photos from Helen Debenham and Karen Pandya.

On Friday night (6th February) a group of PESA members, led by Stephen Molyneux, and ably assisted by Peter Haines and Leon Normore from the geological survey, wandered through the streets of Perth looking at building stones and other geological wonders.

If you are sad to have missed this, you can take a look at the guide below that talks you through a self guided similar tour.

https://dmpbookshop.eruditetechnologies.com.au/product/stepping-stones-two-self-guided-geology-trails-in-the-city.do

Our intrepid walkers met up in the Melbourne Hotel on Hay street, where, as you can see in the image below, there is some lovely amygdaloidal basalt in the passageway down towards the toilets.

The 2025 PESA SA/NT core workshop, a fresh look at South Australia’s eastern Warburton Basin, Daralingie Shelf Area

08/02/2026 Posted by Rachel

Author | Chris Cubitt: Geological Survey of South Australia

Chris Cubitt of the Geological Survey South Australia (GSSA), hosted the 2026 PESA SA/NT core workshop at the SA Drill Core Library on Friday November 21st, 2025, (Fig. 1). This year’s event was well attended by industry, government and academia focussing on the eastern Warburton Basin (Daralingie Shelf area) with the aim to produce a quick look GDE map and form an opinion on the basin’s prospectivity.