Speaker

Dr Nick Riley MBE, C.Geol., FGS

 

Current Position: Director, Carboniferous Limited (www.carboniferous.org)

 

Nick has been fascinated by geology since he was about six years old and spent much of his childhood and youth on mine tips, in quarries and in stream & river beds in NW England. In 1977 Nick graduated in Geology and Zoology at Bristol University and then followed through with a  PhD on the Worston Shales of N. England.  He joined the Institute of Geological Sciences (now the British Geological Survey- BGS)  in 1980. Nick has been an international expert on Carboniferous rocks throughout his 33 year career with the BGS.

 

His expertise has been utilised in a variety of ways, including surface and subsurface mapping of UK Carboniferous strata; coal, oil, gas exploration & development in the UK and Former Soviet Union; large civil engineering projects, radioactive waste storage, Carbon Capture & Storage, underground natural gas storage & mineral exploration. From 2001 -2010 Nick was an adviser to UK government on Carbon Abatement Technologies and during that period he became BGS’ first “Head of Science for Energy”, he also advised UK research councils on energy research . In the European Research Area Nick  co-ordinated “CO2 GeoNet”,  the European Research Network of Excellence on research into underground CO2 storage,  from 2004-2009, and was the first President of the CO2GeoNet Association (2009-2011). He is currently Chair of the EC Support Action  “CO2Geological Storage (CGS)  Europe”.

 

Nick advises national energy research programmes in Norway & The Netherlands.  Nick’s last position at BGS was as “Team Leader for unconventional gas”. In this role he was a contributor and reviewer of the DECC report (published July 2013) on Carboniferous shale gas resources in northern & central England. At the end of June 2013 Nick decided to leave the payroll of BGS , but has retained his academic interests there as an Honorary Research Associate. In July 2013 he set up his own company “Carboniferous Ltd” which can provide specialist expertise on Carboniferous geology across the energy, mineral and civil engineering sectors. In 2003 Nick was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for “Services to UK Geoscience”.

 

Dr. Nick Riley MBE

Director

 

Carboniferous Ltd.