Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre
Associate Professor Phil Hayes
Chair of Water Resources and Gas Development
Biography
Associate Professor Phil Hayes leads the Environment and Decarbonisation themes at the UQ Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre. Phil’s current research focuses on the monitoring and quantification of methane fugitive emissions across a range of sectors – including energy, resources, agriculture and water treatment – as well as groundwater and geoscientific modelling.
Phil currently leads a team within the Centre that is working with technology partners to prove and apply technology for the quantification of fugitive methane emissions. The autonomous system uses quantum gas LiDAR to safely identify, visualise and accurately quantify methane emissions at a local scale, filling an important gap in fugitive monitoring and provides a step change in methane measurement accuracy.
Phil’s current work builds on over 25 years’ industry and research experience in water resources, energy and mining. He has worked extensively in the areas of environmental impact assessment, water management and resources, particularly related to the gas sector including Carbon Capture and Storage in the Surat, Bowen and Cooper Basins of Queensland / South Australia. This includes the development and application of groundwater modelling techniques and new codes, and related areas of uncertainty analysis and the worth of data.
Phil holds a Ph.D in Engineering and B.Sc.in Physics and has been a Member of the Federal Government's Independent Expert Scientific Committee (IESC) since 2021.
Associated research themes
Capabilities
- Geological and hydrogeolgical modelling and analysis
- Environmental risk assessment and management
- Water resource management and treatment technologies
- Innovative geoscientific solutions and technologies
Highlighted publications
Hayes, P., Nicol, C., La Croix, A.D., Pearce, J., Gonzalez, S., Wang, J., Harfoush, A., He, J., Moser, A., Helm, L., Morris, R., Gornall, D., 2020. Enhancing geological and hydrogeological understanding of the Precipice Sandstone aquifer of the Surat Basin, Great Artesian Basin, Australia, through model inversion of managed aquifer recharge datasets. Hydrogeol J 28, 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-019-02079-9
Brennand, S., Hayes, P., Leonardi, C., Brennand, S., Hayes, P., Leonardi, C., 2023. The complexity of identifying and quantifying natural and anthropogenic influences on surface movement in coal seam gas producing regions within the Surat Basin, Queensland. The APPEA Journal 63, 127–143. https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22143
Hofmann, H., Pearce, J.K., Hayes, P., Golding, S.D., Hall, N., Baublys, K.A., Raiber, M., Suckow, A., 2023. Multi-tracer approach to constrain groundwater flow and geochemical baseline assessments for CO2 sequestration in deep sedimentary basins. International Journal of Coal Geology 104438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2023.104438
Pearce, J.K., Golding, S.D., Baublys, K., Hofmann, H., Gargiulo, G., Herbert, S.J., Hayes, P., 2023. Methane in aquifers and alluvium overlying a coal seam gas region: Gas concentrations and isotopic differentiation. Science of The Total Environment 861, 160639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160639
Santiago, V., Rodger, I., Hayes, P., Leonardi, C., Deisman, N., 2023. Understanding Compressibility Coefficients in Heterogeneous Fractured Rocks and Implications for CSG Reservoir Simulation. Presented at the Asia Pacific Unconventional Resources Symposium, OnePetro. https://doi.org/10.2118/217281-MS