Salt Basins and Hydrogen Storage

Presenter: Dr Marita Bradshaw

Marita Bradshaw is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in government and industry. With Geoscience Australia she had a series of technical, managerial and executive roles with a focus on revealing and promoting the energy resources of Australia. Within industry Marita has worked in exploration for several multi-national and Australian companies, including ESSO Australia and WMC. She has been recognised by the Australian Geoscience Council as a National Geoscience Champion and by Australian Energy Producers with the Lewis G Weeks gold medal. Her professional qualifications include a BSc Hons. (University of Sydney, 1976) and a PhD (University of Western Australia, 1985). Marita is member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia, Geological Society of Australia, and the steering committee of the National Rock Garden.

Dr Bradshaw will be joined in conversation by Henk van Paridon.

Henk is a geophysicist with over 40 years’ experience specialising in reflection seismic. Seismic exploration uses soundwaves to image the structure of buried sedimentary formations including salt. Much of his career has been exploring for oil and gas in Queensland's onshore basins. 

As Australia and the world transition to net zero emissions, hydrogen will grow in importance as a clean energy source with underground hydrogen storage (UHS) expected to be a key component of this new industry. Salt (halite) caverns are a preferred storage option for hydrogen, given their scale, stability and the high injection and withdrawal rates they can support. The use of salt caverns for storing gas is an established industry in North America and Europe but not in Australia, where exploration for suitable storage locations is in the initial frontier stages. Australia’s known salt deposits are in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory along with the proven thick halite in Queensland’s Adavale Basin. Paleogeography and paleoclimate reconstructions combined with evidence of salt in petroleum wells, and in geophysical and geochemical data, point to where UHS may be possible as part of a new energy geography.

When: 11 March 2025

Time: 7:30 - 8:30 pm AEST  

            8:30 – 9:30 pm AEDT

Location: Zoom Only

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This event may be recorded. If you have any questions, please email us at info@rgsq.org.au