Panel I: Recent Breakthroughs and Future Challenges in Exploration
Date: 6th May 2025
Moderated by Bryan Gill (Westwood Global Energy Group)
Panel Description:
Whilst it is often said that oil is found in the minds of explorers, advances in technology have also had a large part to play in many of the most significant hydrocarbon discoveries, especially in recent years. This panel will explore some of the recent technological and conceptual breakthroughs in exploration geoscience with focus on the Atlantic conjugate margins. The panel brings together geophysical and geological experts from leading operators, the service industry, and regulators to discuss new concepts in exploration, and what challenges lie ahead.Bryan Gill
Exploration Geologist, Westwood Global Energy Group
Bryan is an exploration geologist with 18 years of industry experience and previously worked for BP and Apache in both Canada and the UK. Bryan has worked on various regions around the globe such as onshore Canada, the Arctic, Libya and Angola. In his current role at Westwood Global he is responsible for tracking exploration activity in Africa.
DR. CARL WATKINS
Director of Global Business Development, Viridien Earth Data
Carl Graduated with a degree in Geology and Geography and completed his PhD at Oxford Polytechnic working on the sedimentology, palaeogemorphology and basin fill of the North Pyrenean Basin in SW France. He joined Robertson in 1991 and worked as a sedimentologist and reservoir geologist on projects ranging from frontier exploration in far eastern Russia to detailed reservoir characterisation and modelling studies in Norway, North Africa, SE Asia and the Americas. After managing several large integrated studies, including a 2007 study of the Russian and Norwegian Barents Sea, and developing novel techniques in drainage network and hinterland analysis, he joined the senior management team of Robertson in 2011, then part of Fugro.
Following the acquisition of Fugros geoscience arm by CGG in 2013 Carl took an expanded role covering business development and marketing for CGGs GeoConsulting group, whilst finding ways to keep his technical expertise sharp. Carl currently works for Viridiens Earth Data (formerly MultiClient and New Ventures) group with responsibility for business development and technical direction of the global geological portfolio. His focus is on identifying and realising incremental value by combining leading geoscience expertise with Viridiens extensive seismic and geology library to address clients sub-surface problems.
Peter MCDonnell
Seismic Processing Lead, CNOOC
Peter has been in the Oil and Gas industry for over 30 years, with approximately the first half spent with service companies and the second half with Operators, initially with Shell and currently with CNOOC. He has gained experience working in a wide range of geological settings, including the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Brazil, Canada, the North Sea, the Middle East, the Caspian, North West Australia, and East and West Africa. Peter feels privileged to have spent time in many of these locations, meeting talented and amazing people along the way.
Peter's area of expertise is in Seismic Processing, and it has been an enlightening journey for him. He has witnessed the evolution of routine 3D and 4D processing from Pre-stack Time to Pre-stack Depth, Deghosting, and most recently, Full Waveform Inversion. Currently, he serves as the Seismic Processing Lead for CNOOC International based in the UK, providing expert advice and supervision to the company’s international business.
DUNCAN WALLACE
Technical Director, Chariot Energy Group
Duncan is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience in the industry and has been a Director of Chariot since 2020, playing a key role in the adoption of a diversified transitional energy strategy, including the focus on natural gas exploration and commercialisation projects in Africa. Since joining the company, initially as Exploration Manager, Duncan has overseen Chariot’s upstream activity including exploration campaigns in Morocco, Namibia, Brazil and Mauritania and the appraisal and development project on the Anchois gas field, offshore Morocco.
Asmae Benarchid
Petroleum Exploration Director, ONHYM
Having joined ONHYM in 2004, Asmae has held several positions as Explorationist, Offshore Department Manager, Basin Evaluation Manager and currently the Petroleum Exploration Manager. She was involved in offshore and offshore evaluation projects, mainly 2D and 3D seismic interpretation (structural and sequence stratigraphy), play concepts development, volumetric calculations, risk analysis and basin analysis.
Having graduated from school of Mining-Rabat in 2003 to obtain an Engineering degree in Geology, and a Master degree in “Oil and Gas Exploration and Production” in 2006 from Heriot-Watt university & Repsol Institute (ISE), and recently Asmae has obtained an Executive MBA degree from Ecole des Ponts Business School in 2022.
