Engagement

Centre engagement (archived page)

Centre researchers undertake a wide range of engagement activities to gather information for research projects, share research findings and contribute to public discussion. This includes conducting public workshops, meeting with stakeholder groups, undertaking surveys, and presenting at a variety of academic and industry conferences. Some of the Centre’s recent activities are listed below:

Recent engagement events

  • On 12-14 December 2017, the President of Canadian Foundation CMG (now Energi Simulation), Mr Duke Anderson, visited the Centre to discuss progress in establishing Prof Suzanne Hurter's research program relating to her recent appointment as Chair in Onshore Gas Reservoir Modelling, including recruitment of researchers and PhD students. During his visit, Mr Anderson also attended the Centre Research Review and met with CSG industry representatives as well as UQ executives.

  • The annual Research Review 2017 took place at UQ on 12 December when more than 125 people from academia, industry, community and government experienced an afternoon of presentations, poster displays, workshops, discussion groups, netwokring and lab visits. 

  • In mid-October, Prof Jim Underschultz, Chair in Water, presented the Centre's groundwater research at the DNRM springtime workshops in helping landholders' understanding of groundwater resources. The workshops took place in Injune, Wallumbilla, Taroom, Noonga and Wandoan, respectively, and also included presentations by resource company hydrogeologists.

  • Prof Suzanne Hurter and Dr Saswata Mukherjee attended the Foundation CMG (Reservoir Simulation Foundation) Summit 2017 from 30 September to 5 October 2017 and both presented at the conference. The summit presentations were mainly based on reservoir simulation, dynamic flow modelling, and optimisation. Read more about the event here.

  • A senior delegation from Sinopec Beijing headquarters visited the Centre on 21 September 2017 for a general research overview to get an understandng of the Centre's work and current projects. The Centre Director, Prof Brian Towler, Prof Raymond Johnson and Dr Mahshid Firouzi provided briefings to the delegation led by Chief Geologist Dr Xu. The visitors were also given a lab tour in the School of Chemical Engineering to see the new UQ well simulator facility and get a demonstration of the large scale, experimental well bore.

  • The Centre co-organised the event "Gas for the Future 2017" together with the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA), the China University of Petroleum Beijing, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Formation Evaluation Society of Australia Queensland (FESQ) on 4-8 September. The conference brought technical, commercial and academic disciplines together for a variety of events highlighting the importance of gas for the Australia and Asia-Pacific region. The Centre was also responsible for the "University Science Day" on St Lucia campus where PhD students presented their work as well as for the running of a 1/2-day technical core workshop. About 300 people registered for events during this conference. Read more about the event here.

  • The Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) visited the Centre for research briefings and a lab tour on 31 August 2017. The committee (8 members) provides scientific advice to decision makers on the impacts coal seam gas and large coal mining developments may have on Australia’s water resources. Prof Andrew Garnett, Prof Jim Underschultz, Prof Brian Towler, Prof Suzanne Hurter, A/Prof Sue Vink and Dr Mahshid Firouzi provided briefings to the committee members and their accompanying staff. Next step is to keep the committee updated on relevant research and exchange information on a regular basis.

  • Prof Peta Ashworth and Dr Kathy Witt participated in the Business Community Leaders Breakfast in Roma on 15 June 2017, organised by the GasFields Commission Queensland. Based on a recent review of the GasFields Commission Queensland, recent trends, experiences and concerns across the business community as well as ideas on building self-reliant communities were discussed. Dr Witt presented the 2016 Annual Gasfields Communities Report during the forum.

  • The Centre Director was one of the presenters at the workshop "Building Bridges: How to engage industry in research projects" held at The University of Queensland on 8 June 2017, organised by the EAIT Early/Mid-Career Researchers Committee with the aim of providing insights about building bridges between industry and research. The workshop presenters also included ConocoPhillips and The Australian Industry Group representatives.

  • The Centre Director and Prof Underschultz participated in the 5th IEA Unconventional Gas Forum ('from coal seam to LNG') in Brisbane (24/2/2017), which was co-hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and The University of Queensland (UQ). The forum was attended by over 75 delegates from 15 countries, and the Hon Matt Canavan, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, gave the opening address at the forum.

  • The Centre Director and Prof Underschultz attended the Energy Exchange Series industry engagement breakfast (24/2/2017), with the topic "Prospects for global energy markets and their implications for Australia". Keynote speaker was Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, and the panel discussion was moderated by the Centre Director.

  • The Centre Director and Assoc Prof Will Rifkin met with the Ruth Wade (Chair, GasFields Commission Queensland) and Carolyn Collins (CEO, GasFields Commission Queensland) following Ms Wade’s appointment to discuss the Centre’s research program and the new structure of the Commission (31/1/2017).

  • The Centre held its Annual Research Review on 9 December 2016. Over 120 people from industry, government, community and the university attended the afternoon. Researchers provided 3-minute presentations on their projects, and a substantial amount of scientific posters providing more details were also on display.
     
  • The University of Queensland and AgForce Projects – CSG and Mining Project held a research forum in Chinchilla on 17 November 2016. Researchers presented findings from a number of research projects funded by the Centre for Coal Seam Gas. The presentations covered research into agriculture, groundwater, small-medium enterprises, changes in socio-economic conditions and stakeholder trust. GISERA researchers also delivered a presentation on research into community sentiment.
     
  • A number of PhD students from the Centre’s geoscience and petroleum engineering projects attended the FESZ/SPE/DNRM Unconventional Technologies Day on 5 October 2016 and had the opportunity to display scientific posters regarding their research. This was a great opportunity for the students to discuss their research with attendees from industry, government and consultancy firms. Prof Jim Underschultz also presented at this event.
  • A/Prof Rifkin, Dr Kathy Witt, Lisa Kelly and Helen Schultz attended a Connecting the dots research forum in Toowoomba (15/6/2016). This event engaged community stakeholders by reviewing current social science research in regional Queensland and suggested future directions.

  • Prof Jim Underschultz and Helen Schultz attended the Water research network meeting in Toowoomba (23/5/2016).

  • A/Prof Rifkin presented to the South Australian Natural Resources Standing Parliamentary Committee (15/4/2016).

  • The Centre Director and Prof Underschultz met with (Gasfields Commission Queensland) Commissioner Hayllor to discuss the Centre’s research program, particularly in relation to groundwater.

  • The Gasfields Social Scientists Group meeting was held on December 7th 2015, prior to the Centre’s Research Review.

  • The Centre and GISERA delivered a joint Queensland Parliamentary Briefing on November 12th 2015. Approximately 100 people attended, including at least 15 parliamentarians. The Centre Director has engaged with the Chief Scientist to offer gas field ‘lunch and learn’ sessions for parliamentarians, staff or civil servants.

  • The Water Research Network was held on 29 October 2015 and included presentations from two CSIRO research groups regarding two water treatment technologies - Virtual Curtain and forward osmosis. This meeting attracted a good mix of researchers, industry and government representatives and consultants.

  • Reception and NSW Preview of the UQ Boomtown Toolkit, ATSE Conference Sydney (22 Sept). The Centre sponsored a reception attended by 50 ATSE conference delegates. The reception featured a launch/preview for NSW of our online UQ Boomtown Toolkit ©. An overview of the Cumulative Impacts project was provided along with an explanation of what the toolkit's tools could be used for.

  • Quest - Eastern Australia's Energy Market Outlook, Sydney (18 Sept). A/Prof Rifkin served on a panel introduced with a talk by John Cotter of the GasFields Commission and populated by John, the Mayor of Narrabri - Conrad Bolton, and the mayor of Gloucester - John Rosenbaum. All emphasised the importance of early and ongoing community consultation by the industry. UQ's indicators data was shared with the audience.

  • The Centre Director and A/Prof Rifkin had interviews with the members of the South Australian Legislative Council in Roma regarding their ongoing investigation into impacts of onshore gas development. 

  • The Interactions of CSG development with agriculture research team coordinated a research forum in Roma on 26 August 2015. Approximately 70 people attended the event - landholders, government representatives, GasFields Commission staff and industry representatives. Presentations were delivered in respect of 3 projects (agriculture, water chemistry atlas and estimation of groundwater uses); GISERA agriculture research; and AgForce CSG projects. Landholder participants provided positive feedback regarding the event. Several landholders expressed interest in participating in the groundwater flow metering field study for the estimation of groundwater uses project.

  • The GasFields Social Scientists met on August 5th 2015, with researchers from the Wesley-St Andrew Research Institute providing an overview of their research into improving the health and well-being of communities in Surat Basin and Gladstone. Another meeting was held on October 7th 2015, which featured a skype presentation from Jeffrey Jacquet, South Dakota State University, discussing social impacts of shale gas development. 

  • The Centre Director made a submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Unconventional Gas on August 3rd 2015.