This event will offer structured, expert-led sessions designed for academics and professionals, as well as participants interested in delving into specific topics.

Workshop 1: Measuring Methane: From Resource to Fugitive Emissions

Course Description

This one-day workshop explores the fundamentals of measuring methane from resources to fugitive emissions. Methane is both a commercial source of energy but also a greenhouse gas with important impacts on climate.  

The uniqueness of the course is that it is rooted in scientific understanding of the how methane formed, stored and ultimately released, especially in association with organics.  

The course will cover the pathway of methane formation in organic sediments and how we estimate it in-ground. This is important not just as a resource but to also mitigate fugitive emissions. Thus, also covered in the course is a review of regulatory frameworks for reporting and, ultimately, limiting fugitive emissions to the atmosphere.

Presenter: Dr Tim A Moore (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

Tim is the Managing Director of Cipher Consulting Pty Ltd, specialising in the understanding of organic-rich sediments. Tim is a Non-Executive Director for OGT Energy Pty Ltd. in Brisbane and he is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Australia as well as Distinguished Visiting Professor at China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing and Xuzhou. He has held numerous Executive Management positions in industry and governmental organisations. His research encompasses paleoclimate, paleoecology of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments, primarily in Asia. He has worked and conducted research in Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Indonesia, Singapore, Scotland, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Colombia, United States, Poland as well as New Zealand, Australia. He has acted as an Expert Witness for international arbitrations and for civil and criminal cases. He is also on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Coal Geology, Indonesian Journal on Geoscience and Mongolian Geoscientist. Tim has over 280 papers in internationally refereed journals, reports and abstracts.

Presenter: Dr Kaydy L Pinetown (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

Kaydy has over 20 years of professional working experience in research and in the energy and mining industries in South Africa and Australia. She was employed with CSIRO Energy from 2006 to 2022. She has technical expertise in CO₂ sequestration and emissions from coal and gas extraction, gained through leading and contributing to numerous projects on GHG emissions from the subsurface. She was a lead researcher in multidisciplinary teams involved in large scale projects such as CO₂ CRC projects on CO₂ sequestration in coal and the Bioregional Assessments Program, as well as several Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) projects related to the assessment of fugitive gas emissions from coal mining. Prior to CSIRO Kaydy obtained technical industry experience through her employment with BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Coal in Queensland as a coal geologist on an open cut mine and with Sasol Limited in South Africa as a coal geologist at two underground mines, and in their synthetic gas research group. Kaydy holds a BSc (hons) (2001) and MSc in coal geoscience (2003) (University of the Free State, South Africa). She completed a PhD (2012) on coal seam gas distribution in the Hunter Coalfield. She also holds a Bachelor of Education (Secondary Science) (2023) from Macquarie University. 

Kaydy joined the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (now the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, DCCEEW) in late 2022. She is currently a Team Leader in the Net Zero Emissions Modelling and the Project Manager for the NSW Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Verification Program. In her current role she oversees the development of the fugitive emissions projections for NSW and the establishment of the NSW GHG Monitoring Network; however, she does not represent the NSW Government in her participation at this workshop.

Workshop 2: AI for Coal Geology

Course Description

This one-day workshop invites participants to explore the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence for coal geology. Rather than replacing traditional methods, the course seeks to foster a dialogue between classical geological expertise and modern data science, viewing their synergy as a valuable complement for refining analytical precision.

Participants will delve into common machine learning and deep learning models, specifically as they apply to solving real-world geoscience problems. We move beyond theory into practical application, demonstrating how machine learning models can decipher the complex modes of occurrence of elements in coal and provide high-accuracy predictions for REY concentrations and higher heating values of coal. Finally, we will discuss recent advancements in coal petrography, specifically exploring the potential of deep learning for the automated identification of macerals.

Presenter: Professor Na Xu (Beijing, China)

Na Xu is a Professor at China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). She is primarily engaged in the application of artificial intelligence in geosciences, with a particular focus on coal geology. She has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, International Journal of Coal Geology, Environmental Science & Technology, Energy, Fuel, and International Journal of Coal Preparation and Utilization, among others. She currently serves as a council member of the Chinese Society for Mineralogy Petrology and Geochemistry. She serves as a youth editorial board member for the Bulletin of Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry and as guest editor for the International Journal of Coal Geology. She has been given the Best Oral Presentation Award at the International Workshop on Compositional Data Analysis (CoDaWork) and the Best Poster Award at the International Society for Organic Petrology (TSOP) annual meeting.