Home > Divisions > CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering

Explore CSIRO

About CSIRO

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is Australia's national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

Open to the Public

CSIRO has a range of facilities that are opened to the public, with each offering a unique insight into science research activities and history.

National Research Flagships

Large-scale, long-term, multidisciplinary science to address Australia's major national challenges and opportunities.

Divisions

CSIRO expertise is organised into 15 research areas.

National Facilities

CSIRO manages national facilities and collections that are opened to researchers around Australia and overseas.
- The Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
- National Collections - The Australian National Insect Collection, The Australian National Fish Collection, The Australian National Herbarium, The Australian National Wildlife Collection
- The Marine National Facility - The Southern Surveyor
- Telescopes - Parkes, Narrabri, Mopra, Tidbinbilla, VLBI, ASKAP
- Pyrotron

CSIRO's core areas of impact

Astronomy & Space

Climate Change

Energy

Environment

Farming & Food

Health & Wellbeing

Information & Communication Technologies

Manufacturing

Materials

Mining & Minerals

Oceans & Coasts

Transport & Infrastructure

Contact Enquiries: Phone - 1300 363 400 | Email - Enquiries@csiro.au | Contact Us

Earth Science and Resource Engineering

Providing science and engineering solutions for the continuing growth of Australia's resources industry whilst delivering benefits to the economy, society and the environment.

The March/April edition of earthmatters magazine details how researchers are working to improve understanding of drilling mechanics and dynamics.

Research Programs

Mineral System Sciences - Developing new concepts and techniques to reduce exploration and production risks. Learn more>

Mining Science and Engineering - Providing solutions that keep Australia’s minerals industry on the world stage. Learn more>

Petroleum Engineering - Providing technologies and capabilities to solve exploration and production issues. Learn more>

Petroleum Geoscience - Integrating petroleum systems analysis and reservoir characterisation to maximise Australia’s oil and gas self-sufficiency and secure a sustainable energy future. Learn more>

Our Expertise

People
Facilities
Services and Capabilities

People

Dr Mike McWilliams, Chief of CSIRO Exploration & Mining

Dr Mike McWilliams: Chief, CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering

Dr Mike McWilliams leads the Division’s staff at the Australian Resources Research Centre in Perth, the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies in Brisbane, and at North Ryde in Sydney and Clayton in Victoria.

Portrait of David Whitford, Deputy Chief (Research) CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering.

Dr Dave Whitford: supporting Australia’s minerals and energy industries

Dr Dave Whitford manages the development and maintenance of CSIRO’s research and development capabilities in geoscience and geo-engineering.

Dr Edson Nakagawa: leading petroleum, gas and geothermal research

Dr Edson Nakagawa is a highly skilled engineer with worldwide experience in areas such as drilling and completions performance, production performance and subsea processing.

Ms Peta Ashworth: understanding public perceptions to complex issues

Peta Ashworth's work coordinates a range of social research projects for a number of CSIRO flagships as she and her team continually trial new and old ways to integrate social sciences into the scientific research programs of CSIRO.

Dr Chris Yeats: discovering the secrets of the seafloor

Dr Chris Yeats is the Program Leader for CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering's Mineral System Science Program.

Portrait photograph of Dr Jonathon Ralston

Dr Jonathon Ralston: delivering the 'Future Mine'

Dr Jonathon Ralston's research aims to deliver the 'Future Mine' through advanced sensing, mapping, navigation, automation, communications and visualisation technologies.

Dr Michael Glinsky: Office of the Chief Executive Science Leader

Dr Michael Glinsky is the Office of the Chief Executive Science Leader for the division of Earth Science and Resource Engineering.

Dr Rob Jeffrey: leading CSIRO's research into hydraulic fracturing

Dr Rob Jeffrey is studying hydraulic fracture growth in naturally fractured rock.

Meet our Staff

Facilities

A picture of shale from the front page of the SHARC Consortium PDF

Shale Research Centre facilities

The Shale Research Centre facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technologies to conduct experimental and theoretical research on shale properties and problems.

A picture of an experimentally produced borehole breakout.

Petroleum geoscience: rock mechanics

CSIRO Petroleum’s Rock Mechanics Laboratory undertakes research and testing for exploration, development and production scenarios in the oil industry as well as for geological storage of CO₂.

$Hydraulic fracturing experiments in transparent materials.$

Hydraulic fracturing: facilities and capabilities

CSIRO has extensive expertise in hydraulic fracturing techniques and analyses.

Man loading a sample (white) between the inner and outer conductors prior to analysis.

Dielectric services and facilities

CSIRO's Petrophysics Laboratory offers a range of dielectric measurement options in a broad frequency range for solid and drill cutting samples.

Man using a machine to cut rock in the Rock Cutting & Drilling Laboratory.

Specialised facilities for researching rock mechanics

With our detailed knowledge of rock mechanics and our well-equipped facilities, we can provide services for measuring rock properties, and designing and testing new rock-cutting equipment.

Services and Capabilities

electron microscope image of illite a clay mineral found in sedimentary rock

Argon dating meets exploration challenges

Successful exploration relies on knowledge of basin formation and thermal history of sedimentary rock and hydrocarbon migration. CSIRO’s argon dating services can help petroleum companies better determine potential locations for drilling petroleum wells.

Photograph of VG 354 Thermal ionization mass spectrometer at the CSIRO Radiogenic Isotope Facility at North Ryde.

Strontium isotope stratigraphy service for petroleum exploration

Our Strontium Isotope Stratigraphy (SIS) provides greater chronostratigraphic control of basin evolution, which is important for petroleum exploration.

Image of a schematic cross-section and pressure-elevation plot for a reservoir affected by capillarity and hydrodynamic flow.

Petroleum hydrogeology services at CSIRO

CSIRO has developed a team of hydrogeologists that have adapted special techniques for understanding hydrodynamic processes of the deep subsurface where oil and gas is generated and trapped and where CO2 can be safely stored for thousands of years.

Technologies for understanding subsurface hydrocarbon distribution and fluid histories

Our fluid inclusion and geochemical technologies help industry define subsurface petroleum migration and accumulation processes.

Dr Erick Ramanaidou standing next to the HyChips™ machine, located inside a container box.

HyChips™: voluminous spectral mineralogy of drill chips for explorers and miners

HyChips™ is a robotic spectrometer system designed for the very rapid collection of high quality reflectance spectra from drill chips and blast-hole samples in their original trays. HyChips™ services are available from service providers throughout Australia as part of CSIRO's structured market testing and product development strategy.

HyLogging™ systems group: logging mineralogy of drill cores and chips using reflectance spectroscopy

CSIRO’s is developing tools that improve the efficiency, productivity and objectivity of logging the mineralogy of samples.

Making a difference

Microbes (green & orange spots) stained with a fluorescent dye, growing on crushed coal samples.

Using microbes to enhance gas production

CSIRO scientists have cultured indigenous microbes which increase methane gas content of coal seam gas reservoirs.

A computer-generated, 3-dimensional map of a mine.

Underground communications system improves mine safety

CSIRO's new underground communications system provides timely and useful information for improved mine safety.

Public participating in Energymark 'kitchen table discussions'

Communities across Australia are invited to learn more about climate change and energy

Energymark is an initiative bringing communities together to discuss energy and climate change.

HyLogging™ systems group: logging mineralogy of drill cores and chips using reflectance spectroscopy

CSIRO’s is developing tools that improve the efficiency, productivity and objectivity of logging the mineralogy of samples.

Image of a hydraulic head distribution in the Plover aquifer system of the Vulcan sub-basin

Petroleum hydrogeology reveals oil leakage from traps

CSIRO hydrogeologists have adapted specialised techniques to understand how to extract more oil from reservoirs as well as identify geological structures to safely store carbon dioxide emissions.

Fracturing at the Northparkes mines, New South Wales.

New safe and cost-effective control of caving in mines

CSIRO has developed a new process that allows the safe control of caving in mines.

Index of Earth Science and Resource Engineering related information:

Overviews

View all 13 items

Careers at CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering

Whether you are in the early stages of your career or an experienced professional, CSIRO can further enhance your expertise in research and development plus gain commercial exposure.

CSIRO petroleum research
CSIRO has world class petroleum researchers working on improving Australia's oil and gas self-sufficiency.

News	View all 105 items

Media Release (105)

Natural energy to help power exploration of the Universe

The Federal Government has announced today that the CSIRO will receive $47.3 million for the development of solar and geothermal energy technologies to power a radio-astronomy observatory and its supporting computer centre.

CSIRO developing smarter drilling technologies

A range of articles detailing how CSIRO researchers are working to improve understanding of drilling mechanics and dynamics are published today in the March/April edition of CSIRO Earth Science and Resource Engineering’s (CESRE’s) earthmatters magazine.

Events

View all 6 items

Peter Hornby Memorial Symposium (WA, 4 Dec 09)

This Symposium will celebrate and showcase the extraordinary work of Dr Peter Hornby and highlight the impact his work has had on science and its application to industry problems.

Solomon Meeting (Yallingup WA, 8–13 May 11)

CSIRO and CODES are hosting an inaugural five-day mineral systems forum for researchers and industry representatives in Yallingup, Western Australia from the 8 to 13 May 2011.

Science

View all 57 items

$Hydraulic fracturing experiment.$

Hydraulic fracturing: new applications for industry

The CSIRO hydraulic fracturing group are pioneering new applications for caving-type mining operations, gas drainage from coal seams, geothermal reservoir development and carbon storage operations.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon dioxide storage

Experience gained extracting fossil fuels can be reversed and applied to storing carbon dioxide greenhouses gas in underground reservoirs.

Business

View all 73 items

Helium thermochronology and U-Th-Pb-He triple-dating

CSIRO’s provides geochronology and thermal history analyses to the minerals and petroleum exploration industries via partnership in the John de Laeter Centre for Isotope Research.

Improving production of coal seam gas
CSIRO is meeting the challenges in understanding coal seam gas reservoirs and improving gas drainage and production

Multimedia

View all 15 items

The bright lights of Clayton (Vodcast 28 Sep 09)

In this vodcast, we visit CSIRO’s Clayton laboratories to see how lasers and a Perspex scale model are being used to configure coal fired power station boilers to burn dried brown coal. (5:07)

New ways to find oil and gas deposits (Video)
A video about better prediction of oil and gas deposits for which CSIRO Petroleum’s Characterisation Team received a CSIRO Medal in 2004. (2:30)

People & Places

View all 121 items

Ms Anne-Maree Dowd: understanding public perceptions to assist in climate mitigation

Ms Anne-Maree Dowd is an applied research expert in climate change mitigation, adaptation, behaviour change, public perception, community engagement, organisational behaviour and communication.

Dr Andrew Ross: developing exploration tools for detecting oil accumulations
Dr Ross leads a hydrocarbon sensors research team developing new hydrocarbon exploration technologies and solutions.

Publications

View all 93 items

Petroleum geoscience: Sensors brochure

CSIRO’s sensors team combines cross-disciplinary capabilities with extensive experience in emerging sensing technologies and nanotechnology to gain a detailed understanding of sensing devices and their possible application within the oil and gas sector. (2 pages)

Geothermal energy
This 2-page brochure discusses the geothermal capabilities that CSIRO is applying to help secure Australia's energy future.

Resources

View all 9 items

Fact Sheet (9)

Locating hydrocarbon resources using nanochemical sensors

Sensing technologies for hydrocarbons and their potential use as exploration devices is being delivered through the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship (2 pages).

Geological storage of carbon dioxide
This 2-page fact sheet outlines geological storage options and the technologies from the oil and gas industry being used to enable the storage of carbon dioxide.