Short Courses

Civil Engineer from the Paris School of Mines, Alain Prinzhofer completed a doctoral engineering PhD on the structural geology and petrology of the New Caledonian ophiolite at the Paris School of Mines, and a state PhD on melting processes of the Earth's mantle at the Institut de Physique du Globe in Paris (IPGP). As a researcher in cosmochemistry, he worked on the formation of the solar system at Caltech (California), then on natural gas at IFPEN. For several years as a precursor, he has devoted himself to research into natural hydrogen, a new source of renewable and non-polluting energy. He is Scientific Director of GEO4U (Brazil), and affiliated professor at the University of Paris and Rio de Janeiro. He has published 70 articles in international journals, 1 book, 8 patents, and approximately 200 communications in international conferences.

Analyst graduated to a Master's degree in Geopolitics and International Security from the Catholic University of Paris, Jean Gaucher has joined Lavoisier H2Geoconsult in May 2023. He follows the natural hydrogen techno-economic ecosystem and develop the company abroad. He assists also Eric C. Gaucher in the research and exploration programs.

Geochemist expert in water-rock-gas interaction, Dr. Eric C. Gaucher is a world leader for natural H2 exploration as the task leader for natural hydrogen (Task 49) in the International Energy Agency's Hydrogen TCP. After 19 years in academic research (CEA, BRGM in France and the University of Bern in Switzerland) and 10 years in industry (TotalEnergies), he is now building bridges between the worlds of research and industry as CEO of Lavoisier H2 Geoconsult since June 2023. His work focuses on water-rock-gas interactions at the laboratory scale up to basin scale using experimental, field and numerical modeling methods. He is committed in all geo-energy sectors (Nuclear Waste management, CO2 & H2 storage, Geothermal energy, lithium extraction from brines, evolution of porous medium in carbonate reservoirs, environmental concerns related to oil&gas shale). He has published more than 120 publications in international journals (Nature Geoscience, Science...) and 3 patents.

After a Ph.D. in physics, Simon occupied various positions in advanced R&D teams, mainly focused on optical components and systems. With Thales Research and Technology, he developed non-conventional laser sources. With Draka he worked on hole assisted and nonlinear optical fibers and then joined the Scientific division of the HORIBA group as a novel instrument scientist. Simon is now part of the R&D team of FEBUS Optics to bring his expertise in physical optics.

Daniel, born 1955, embarked on a life-long journey into the world of dinocyst morphology and stratigraphy during his PhD at Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France, awarded in 1981. He then applied his skills to industrial projects, as a summer internship with the exploration team of EXXON's European team. In 1984, he moved to Canada, providing palynological support to an oil exploration partnership involved in offshore Newfoundland plays. In 1986 he crossed the Atlantic back to Europe and moved to British Petroleum, where he was responsible for Tertiary palynology of the Central North Sea. In these early stages of his career, he was fortunate to meet two of the pioneers of dinoflagellate studies, Lewis (Lou) Stover, from ExxonMobil and William (Bill) Evitt from Stanford University and have profitable exchanges with them about dinocyst morphology. He attended Evitt's unique 2 weeks dinocyst course, entirely focused on morphology, regardless of stratigraphy. This reinforced Daniel in his belief that there can be no good biostratigraphy, be it based on dinocyst or other microfossil groups, without an accurate morphological interpretation. He joined Total (now TotalEnergies) in 1989 for an extended career of 32 years, during which he applied this approach to new horizons, broadening his expertise both stratigraphically (in the Cretaceous and Jurassic) and geographically, with a focus on western Africa, Angola, Ivory Coast, and more recently South Africa). Recently retired, he is now keen to share the experience accumulated during four decades of first-hand, eyes down the microscope experience of what represent arguably the most exciting of all microfossil group, Dinoflagellate Cysts of the Mesozoic and - best of all - the Cenozoic.

Geoscientist with 30 years' experience in oil and gas exploration/development in major oil companies: ENI, Gaz-De-France, ENGIE, Neptune Energy. Throughout these decades he was multi-disciplinary team and project leader, peer review team leader, company's key expert, chief geologist and Technical Authority for exploration geology. He is also teacher, mentor and coach of young geoscientists, via pedagogical-educational courses and training-on-the-job activity, leading teams by doing, with technical expertise gained over the years. His core technical background is 2D/3D seismic/structural interpretation and mapping, prospect generation and assessment, from regional play evaluation to target identification, ranking, Play Risk analysis, HIIP volumes evaluation, well location and proposal. He got a strong experience in New Venture analysis and regional or block size assessments for licensing rounds. Piero has worked in several Countries, regions and basins throughout the world: North Sea (UK, Norway, Hollande, Germany), offshore Poland, Italy, France, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Malta, Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Brazil.

Joan F. Flinch is currently an Independent Consultant and Senior Geoscience Consultant for Elsevier based in Madrid, Spain. Joan received his B. S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Barcelona, Spain in 1988 and 1990 respectively. His M.S. thesis focused on the structural mapping of the southern Pyrenees. He enrolled in the Geology and Geophysics Department at Rice University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1994, directed by Professor A. W. Bally. Before becoming an Independent Consultant, he spent 17 years at Repsol where he held the positions of West Africa New Ventures and Asset Manager, Latin America New Ventures Manager, Geology Manager, Geoscience Discipline Manager and Exploration Quality Advisor. He worked from 1997 to 2004 for Total, in Paris and Pau, France. From 1994 to 1997 he was a consultant geologist for Lagoven (PDVSA Affiliate) in Caracas. Joan has given numerous talks and published papers on the Pyrenees and the Betic Cordillera in Spain, the Moroccan Rif, the Northern Colombia Accretionary Prism, the Eastern Venezuelan fold-and-thrust belt, the Gulf of Paria, the Bolivia Sub-Andean region and the Sierra Leone-Liberia continental margin. He has been teaching several courses on Seismic interpretation and deep-water plays and leading geological field trips.

Olivia Gémain est anthropologue et travaille sur les questions d'écologie humaine et du facteur humain en entreprise. Elle est spécialiste du Haut Potentiel Intellectuel.

Une intervenante experte en son domaine et certifiée @Horses and Coaching et @PCM (Process Communication Model) : coaching, agilité managériale, accompagnement à la prise de fonction managériale.

Dominique has 20 years of HSE experience in the Oil and Gas industry, with a Master in Environmental Management. Passionate about Mining and Environmental regulations, she has been involved in Decommissioning cases for several years and is interested in both documentary and historical research about the site and in identifying solutions in line with the environmental constraints.

After a degree in Geosciences, Daniel spent more than 30 years in France and abroad in companies providing services to oil and gas wells. Trained at the University of Aberdeen in Well Plugging and Abandonment, he is interested in all the technical, economic and regulatory constraints that govern well abandonment.

Jean-Claude Heidmann has 40 years of experience in the geosciences and energy sector. He holds a Master of Science degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Paris XI and a Master of Exploration from the IFP School. He has spent his whole career in the energy sector working for the Total Group in France and abroad. He has held various positions including Manager of Business Development for Technology and R&D and Global Vice President at Total's New Ventures Identification. Major achievements have been the TOTAL Award for Audacity, an outstanding track record of major discoveries, and the publication in the 2017 edition of the "AAPG Giant Fields of 2000-2010" for his Incahuasi discovery. He also acquired academic experience both at IFP School as Director of Geo-Resources and Energy and then as Total Education Director in charge of corporate academic partnerships.

Ludovic Peignard began his career as an exploration geophysicist, involved in many Oil & Gas projects, covering various domains of geosciences. While getting experienced in geosciences, feeling a lack of flexible and swift software solution in the Oil & Gas Industry, Ludovic has developed EarthQuick, a software to act as a companion for Geoscientists. The solution evolved rapidly and let now geoscientists performed usual tasks which are part of their redundant duties, covering a wide range of facilities, from geosciences data loading and interpretation to volumes assessment, passing by mCSEM feasibility studies. From 2016, EarthQuick has also turned to Near Surface issues, keeping the same motto: letting user get straight to the point through simple and intuitive workflows. From 2013, Ludovic has become a geophysicist consultant, a technical software expert and an associate professor in Geophysics at different reference institutions (IFP School, IFP Training, École et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST), Polytech Sorbonne (UPMC) and École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie (ENSG)). Ludovic graduated M.Sc.'s from the EOST (France) in 2006 and from the IFP School in 2007, major Geophysics.

Ludovic Peignard began his career as an exploration geophysicist, involved in many Oil & Gas projects, covering various domains of geosciences. While getting experienced in geosciences, feeling a lack of flexible and swift software solution in the Oil & Gas Industry, Ludovic has developed EarthQuick, a software to act as a companion for Geoscientists. The solution evolved rapidly and let now geoscientists performed usual tasks which are part of their redundant duties, covering a wide range of facilities, from geosciences data loading and interpretation to volumes assessment, passing by mCSEM feasibility studies. From 2016, EarthQuick has also turned to Near Surface issues, keeping the same motto: letting user get straight to the point through simple and intuitive workflows. From 2013, Ludovic has become a geophysicist consultant, a technical software expert and an associate professor in Geophysics at different reference institutions (IFP School, IFP Training, École et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST), Polytech Sorbonne (UPMC) and École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie (ENSG)). Ludovic graduated M.Sc.'s from the EOST (France) in 2006 and from the IFP School in 2007, major Geophysics.

Ludovic Peignard began his career as an exploration geophysicist, involved in many Oil & Gas projects, covering various domains of geosciences. While getting experienced in geosciences, feeling a lack of flexible and swift software solution in the Oil & Gas Industry, Ludovic has developed EarthQuick, a software to act as a companion for Geoscientists. The solution evolved rapidly and let now geoscientists performed usual tasks which are part of their redundant duties, covering a wide range of facilities, from geosciences data loading and interpretation to volumes assessment, passing by mCSEM feasibility studies. From 2016, EarthQuick has also turned to Near Surface issues, keeping the same motto: letting user get straight to the point through simple and intuitive workflows. From 2013, Ludovic has become a geophysicist consultant, a technical software expert and an associate professor in Geophysics at different reference institutions (IFP School, IFP Training, École et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST), Polytech Sorbonne (UPMC) and École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie (ENSG)). Ludovic graduated M.Sc.'s from the EOST (France) in 2006 and from the IFP School in 2007, major Geophysics.

Edwige has 20 years' experience in exploration, development and production in the North Sea, North Africa, West Africa, US Gulf of Mexico and onshore Canada. She started at Lasmo Plc in 1997, where she worked in North Africa New Ventures. Joining Nexen in 2001 as Exploration Geologist she had a major role in Nexen's exploration efforts in the North Sea. As UK Exploration and Appraisal Manager, Edwige led the Golden Eagle field discovery and appraisal campaign. She also took on various international technical and development project leadership roles based in Nexen Canada. In 2015, Edwige set up GeoTactics Consulting Ltd, helping companies develop and implement growth strategies in exploration and development. Edwige is a graduate from IFP School.

Upstream petroleum economist and engineer with more than 30 years experience. He has worked for industry, government and more recently research. He was involved in a wide range of offshore and onshore, oil and gas project evaluations cases in different countries. During this training, he will share his working methodology based on interviewing the different departments for gathering the key data, designing robust decision models and delivering his analysis to decision makers in a comprehensive way.

Jean-Louis Cappelli graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs. He is a technical consultant and instructor in carbonate geology with more than 40 years of worldwide industry and field experience in all aspects of applied modern and ancient carbonate geology. His experience comprises 35 years with Elf-Aquitaine and then with TOTAL, where he was a training instructor for in-house seminars and development courses (both, reservoir-oriented and exploration-oriented courses).

Philippe (PhD) is a technical consultant and instructor in carbonate geology with more than 36 years of worldwide industry and field experience in all aspects of applied modern and ancient carbonate geology. This experience includes 31 years with TOTAL of which 4 years with ADMA-Opco, 3 years with ExxonMobil, training instructor for in-house seminar and development courses (reservoir oriented and exploration oriented courses).

Jean-Louis Cappelli graduated from Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs. He is a technical consultant and instructor in carbonate geology with more than 40 years of worldwide industry and field experience in all aspects of applied modern and ancient carbonate geology. His experience comprises 35 years with Elf-Aquitaine and then with TOTAL, where he was a training instructor for in-house seminars and development courses (both, reservoir-oriented and exploration-oriented courses).

Philippe (PhD) is a technical consultant and instructor in carbonate geology with more than 36 years of worldwide industry and field experience in all aspects of applied modern and ancient carbonate geology. This experience includes 31 years with TOTAL of which 4 years with ADMA-Opco, 3 years with ExxonMobil, training instructor for in-house seminar and development courses (reservoir oriented and exploration oriented courses).

Predictive stratigraphy consultant, 1957, French, more than 35 years of experience in the industry. He served as a clastic sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy advisor with Repsol from 2006 to 2016, supplying internal expertise to exploration and production projects run in both Madrid and affiliates. After studying geology at the Université de Caen in France, he joined the industry in 1981, starting as a seismic surveyor in South Yemen and Gabon with C.G.G. before processing and interpreting seismic data in Massy (France). In 1985, he worked as an exploration geophysicist with Fina Exploration Norway in Stavanger. In 1989, he joined Elf in Paris, in the basin study group. His transfer to their scientific and technical centre in Pau brought him much closer to rocks. Since the early 90's he has described quite a mileage of cores and has dedicated attention and time to trace fossils and ichnofabrics.

Predictive stratigraphy consultant, 1957, French, more than 35 years of experience in the industry. He served as a clastic sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy advisor with Repsol from 2006 to 2016, supplying internal expertise to exploration and production projects run in both Madrid and affiliates. After studying geology at the Université de Caen in France, he joined the industry in 1981, starting as a seismic surveyor in South Yemen and Gabon with C.G.G. before processing and interpreting seismic data in Massy (France). In 1985, he worked as an exploration geophysicist with Fina Exploration Norway in Stavanger. In 1989, he joined Elf in Paris, in the basin study group. His transfer to their scientific and technical centre in Pau brought him much closer to rocks. Since the early 90's he has described quite a mileage of cores and has dedicated attention and time to trace fossils and ichnofabrics.

As a former geologist with Total, Christian has more than 30 years of experience in the oil industry, from HR stratigraphy to basin analysis. He worked for 12 years in Angola, being lecturer at A.Neto University and in charge of competencies development. Working as Geosciences Education Manager, he created local training programs, in which national case studies were warmly approved by the authorities as key elements of educative projects.