SPE – PESA Joint Technical Meeting
- This event has passed.
Society of Petroleum Engineers Western Australia (SPE-WA) together with Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA-WA) are proud to present the details of our May 2026 joint Technical Evening Meeting.
About the Presentations:
The Bonaparte CCS Project – Mathieu Muller (INPEX)
As part of its Vision 2035, INPEX is progressing carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives to support lower-carbon energy solutions. This presentation will provide an overview of INPEX’s global CCS strategy. It will also highlight the company’s efforts to decarbonise its upstream operations, including proposed development of the Bonaparte CCS Project – an initiative aimed at providing safe, permanent offshore CO₂ storage to support emissions reduction.
The Integration of Core and FMI Borehole Image Data in Understanding Reservoir Heterogeneity for CCS Studies: West Peron-1 and West Peron-2, Bonaparte Basin – Fiona Burns (Task Fronterra)
Core and FMI borehole image data from wells West Peron-1 and West Peron -2 provide a remarkable dataset for gaining insights into reservoir architecture and heterogeneity in the Jurassic to Cretaceous successions of the Bonaparte Basin. Such information is critical in the assessment of suitable sites for the long-term storage of CO2 in the Bonaparte Basin in terms of injectivity potential and movement of the CO2 plume (porosity, permeability, lateral and vertical heterogeneity).
This talk will focus on the Elang and Frigate formations, which comprise exceptionally thick successions of deltaic and shallow marine sediments with highly complex depositional histories. The high-resolution FMI data, calibrated with core, provides precise information on lithofacies, depositional environments and sediment-dispersal trends. The FMI data also assists in the interpretation of bedform architecture and channel-fill style. Integrated core and FMI data aids evaluation of the key controls on deposition i.e. river-, wave & and storm, – and tidal influences. This talk will summarise the evolution of both the Elang and Frigate formations, highlighting the dominant controls on deposition of these formations. This approach also provides an invaluable framework in which small-scale features that can cause baffles/barriers to fluid flow can be assessed e.g. tidal clay drapes, fluid-mud deposits, types and degrees of bioturbation, the presence of cemented layers and concretions.
Geomechanical Modelling of Hydrogen Storage at the CO2CRC Otway International Test Centre – Ratih Puspitasari (SLB) with an introduction by Eric Tenthorey (Geoscience Australia)
Australia’s emerging hydrogen economy depends on the ability to safely store large quantities of hydrogen underground. As part of the national Exploring for the Future program, this study assesses the suitability of depleted gas fields for hydrogen storage, using the CO2CRC Otway International Test Centre as a representative site.
With natural gas and CO₂ storage far more extensively characterised, these systems provide essential reference points for understanding subsurface hydrogen storage behaviour. However, hydrogen’s distinct density, viscosity, compressibility, and thermal properties mean that established injection and storage practices from these gases cannot be assumed to apply directly. To investigate these differences, this study presents the first like‑for‑like comparison of hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide behaviour under identical reservoir conditions. A fully coupled reservoir–geomechanics–thermal model was developed for this purpose, incorporating high‑resolution wellbore grids to quantify pressure, temperature, and stress evolution.
Results show that hydrogen injection generates significantly lower thermal perturbations than methane or CO₂, reducing the likelihood of thermally induced fault reactivation and wellbore fracturing. Simulations also demonstrate that moderated injection rates further minimise thermal and pressure impacts, providing additional operational safeguards. The study underscores the importance of integrating flow modelling with geomechanical risk assessment and highlights how dynamic injection control strategies can enhance the safety and efficiency of future hydrogen storage projects.
About the Presenters:
Mathieu Muller is the CCS and Gas Supply Manager at INPEX Australia, where he leads the Bonaparte CCS Subsurface team through appraisal and pre-FEED stages, while overseeing the Gas Supply team in developing and optimising long-term gas strategies.Prior to joining INPEX in 2023, Mathieu built a global career with Chevron, Total Energies, and Beicip-Franlab taking on diverse technical and leadership roles across Australia, Indonesia, USA, and France.He holds advanced engineering qualifications from the Paris School of Mines and IFP School, specialising in executive and reservoir engineering. With over 25 years of experience in the energy sector, Mathieu has progressed from hands-on reservoir and simulation engineering to senior subsurface leadership, contributing to projects spanning oil, gas, and CO₂ sequestration – from appraisal through to operations.Mathieu also served on Chevron’s Reserves Advisory Committee, lending his expertise to ensure robust reserves and storage resource estimations, in line with industry best practices and SEC regulatory standards.
Fiona Burns is the Perth/APAC Manager at Task Fronterra Geoscience and is the PESA WA President. Fiona has over 30 years’ experience in the Oil and Gas industry with expertise in the ichnofabric analysis, and the application of trace-fossil analysis to depositional modelling and high-resolution sequence stratigraphy.
Prior to this she collaborated on various subsurface projects worldwide through her company Firmground, including UK North Sea, offshore West Africa, offshore China, offshore Thailand, Papua New Guinea and NZ. Here in Australia, she has worked extensively on single and multi-well studies in the Bonaparte, Browse, Carnarvon and Perth Basins, including depositional modelling for use in CCUS studies. Fiona also runs core workshops on Ichnology and fieldtrips in NZ.
Fiona was a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia (2001-2004) and a Senior Research Fellow at Curtin University from 2004-2007 (positions sponsored by a consortium of oil companies and MERIWA) where she also taught Sedimentology and Petroleum Geology. She holds a B.Sc. from Imperial College an M.Sc. from Aberdeen University and a Ph.D. from Manchester University. Fiona is an Associate Editor of Ichnos, a journal which aims to promote excellence in ichnologic research.
Ratih Puspitasari is a Senior Geomechanics Engineer at SLB in Australia. She holds a Master of Petroleum Engineering from Curtin University. With over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Ratih has worked in various areas, including cementing, stimulation, reservoir, and production. For the past 15 years, she has specialised in geomechanics, applying her expertise to a wide variety of applications such as drilling optimization, methane hydrate modelling, and sanding analysis. Her current interests include 3D geomechanical modelling, carbon capture, and unconventional reservoirs.
Eric Tenthorey is a Senior Researcher at Geoscience Australia, with expertise in geomechanics, carbon capture and other low carbon geoscience disciplines. He holds a a BSc from McGill University and a PhD from Columbia University and subsequently worked as a rock mechanics researcher at the Australian National University. In 2007, he was engaged by Geoscience Australia to work as a geomechanics expert, focused on developing and proving up CCS technology. More recently, his work has centered on other low carbon geoscience sectors, such as the hydrogen energy future, and CO2 storage in residual oil zones.
About the Event
Price: Early Bird SPE Member $65 <Until 7 May 2026>
Early Bird Non-Member $80 <Until 7 May 2026>
SPE Member $75
Non-Member $90
Date: Thursday, 14 May 2026
Location: Parmelia Hilton Hotel
Address: 14 Mill Street, Perth WA
Time: 4:45pm – 5:00pm Registration & Networking.
Time: 5:00pm – 5:15pm Opening remarks and SPE-WA Scholarship presentations .
Time: 5:15pm – 6:15pm Technical Presentations.
Time: 6:15pm – 6:30pm Q&A Session.
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30 pm Networking drinks & nibbles.
Free tickets are available for Students. SPE WA in conjunction with our sponsors is kindly sponsoring students to attend the monthly technical events. Please apply through your Student Chapter.