Partners

 

MDOIL

MDOIL's purpose is to explore for hydrocarbons and helium in neglected and over looked areas throughout the world through the analysis of vintage data sets; providing new geochemical and geological analysis; new geological thinking, distillation and high grading of the opportunities and by creating exploration groups or companies to attract investment to take prospect concepts to quantification of the findings.

Vanguard

Vanguard Energy Limited was founded in 2007 as a private equity backed vehicle to access oil and gas development projects in the UK and elsewhere. In recent years Vanguard's team have focussed increasingly on Carbon Capture Use and Storage (CCUS) and helium exploration projects, whilst also retaining capability to progress hydrocarbon projects as appropriate. Today Vanguard provides technical and commercial advisory services to resources sector clients and is currently focused on low carbon development projects in Trinidad and on helium exploration projects in the USA, Europe and the UK.

Professor Chris Ballentine, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University

The department's world-class research is broad but with a particular emphasis on geochemistry, geophysics, natural hazards and climate. One specific area of interest combines geochemistry and noble gasses and has enabled them to understand the role that fluids and gases play in geological systems. This enables the identification of where the fluids have come from, reconstruct the fluid sources and detail the physical framework controlling liquid and gas migration and interaction that underpin many geological systems.

Professor Jon Gluyas, Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University

This world-class department includes the Centre for Research in Earth Energy Systems and the Terrestrial Laser Scanning facility and it co-hosts the UK Ocean-Bottom Instrumentation Consortium. Helium is a specialist interest and until 2015 commercial quantities had only been found by accident.

Following a research programme Professors Jon Gluyas and Chris Ballentine and their teams successfully confirmed a the likelihood of a world-scale helium province in Tanzania's East African Rift Valley. This followed a work programme designed to understand the source, maturation, migration and accumulation of helium in the Earth's crust. Professors Gluyas and Ballentine have been working closely with HRL since its founding to repeat this process on HRL's UK project.

The Harwell Campus

Harwell is a thriving world-class campus, several concerns in its cryo-cluster have a deep interest in helium.

Several of these are significant helium users and technology leaders and they offer a deep knowledge and expertise in the area. Cryogenics is a classic enabling technology in which Harwell has exceptional strength based upon its interaction with Oxford University and the surrounding enterprise over many years.  The area's position as the world's leading manufacturer of MRI scanner magnets can be traced back to pioneering work at Rutherford Laboratories and Oxford Instruments and their cryocooler technology has made it far and away the most successful. 

Vanguard Drilling Limited

Vanguard is a young entrepreneurial company that has successfully combined innovative techniques and high quality, tried and tested, engineering process control to deliver wells of high integrity. Recent work drilling geothermal wells in Holland has allowed the team at Vanguard to hone their skills and as a result Vanguard would be HRL's preferred well design and construction partner.

Blanchard Energy Consultants

Owned and operated by a group of seasoned Health Safety and Environmental ("HSE") experts Blanchard Energy Consultants Limited is HRL's preferred HSE provider for operational HSE in the UK.