Some time ago Dave Quirk started to have doubts about what would soon be 30 years working as an oil industry professional geoscientist. In 2019, he quit the business, took three years leave and now works in Denmark as an energy transition advisor. This is the story of his career change of direction, his longtime association with Isle of Man geology and motorcycle racing, not to mention top class triathlon.
Best job in the world
I thought working in petroleum exploration was one of the best jobs in the world. Growing up in Northern Ireland and later the Isle of Man, from an early age I wanted to be a geologist in the oil industry. I managed to get there, after completing a PhD to make myself employable. For 30 years, I felt privileged working on seismic data, proposing wells and travelling the world.
Variety of research interests
I continued in research and at one stage took a five-year post at Oxford Brookes University, to teach on their MSc course in Petroleum Geoscience… and meet my future wife, Lorraine. Rather than sticking to one thing, I published papers on a variety of subjects including salt tectonics, sequence stratigraphy, mineralisation, petrophysics, volumetrics uncertainty and field geology. Mapping the geology of the Isle of Man, led to the discovery of a surface manifestation of the famous Iapetus Suture and, ultimately, to the setting up of the Manx Geological Survey. I was also racing motorcycles in the UK and Europe so my carbon footprint was quite high!
Return to business
Then, as planned, I went back to industry but continued to publish on topics like the geodynamics of rifting, continental break-up, seaward-dipping reflectors and plate reconstructions. When we were in Houston, running and cycling to work led me to take up triathlons, competing for Ireland at world age-group level. After working on three different continents with Shell, Hess, Cairn and others, we came to Denmark with Maersk in 2006, where our daughter, Amalie, was born.
The turning point
Major floods hit Copenhagen in 2011, which confirmed that climate change was real. Awareness of the threat caused by carbon emissions was heightened by campaigners like Greta Thunberg. I started making my own calculations. One that struck home was that using the world’s conventional oil and gas reserves would cause another 0.5oC rise in global temperatures. By 2019 I could no longer justify working in oil and gas, so I left the industry. It took me three years to get to some level of knowledge on renewable energy, largely through working on sustainable solutions for islands, such as pumped hydro storage. Then I was lucky enough to get the position of Energy Transition Advisor with DTU Offshore at the Technical University of Denmark. I enjoy this job just as much as before – it’s just a different from of exploration!
“By 2019 I could no longer justify working in oil and gas, so I left the industry”
Transition growing pains
My colleagues are inspirational. DTU Offshore has a background in oil and gas too but is now focused on subsurface storage (CO2 and H2), environmental monitoring, wastewater management, well abandonment and island energy systems (my section). An important part of what we do is public engagement, for example developing energy transition games and apps.
"....the transition has been fractious, largely because the system is not joined up and the public is not seeing the benefits”
All the technologies are available to decarbonise energy. However, the transition has been fractious, largely because the system is not joined up and the public is not seeing the benefits. Wind and solar power are remarkably cheap but they have to include energy storage in order to replace traditional power plants. Unfortunately, neither the tendering nor the market system have been set up for such ‘hybrid’ renewable plants. Moreover, the best way to keep people warm (and cool) in towns and cities is with district heating but building the infrastructure requires significant public sector investments. Meanwhile, for transport and chemicals, green hydrogen and its derivatives await integrated storage and pipeline systems.
But these are growing pains. Continued dependency on fossil fuels is a problem for the entire world – for the environment, for the economy and for energy security. In my eyes we no longer need fossil fuels, so we should stop using them. But the transition has to be transparent and equitable, with a balance between carbon taxes, incentives and support.
“Consider the ethics and environmental impact of your actions so that you can remain proud of what you’re doing”
The future
For a young person considering a career in geosciences then I suggest 1) learn all you can about electricity, hydrogeology and civil engineering, including flood protection and mining; 2) remain flexible, it is refreshing to admit you’re wrong but remain true to your convictions; 3) consider the ethics and environmental impact of your actions so that you can remain proud of what you’re doing; 4) don’t let work get in the way of family life and your well-being.
Finally, realising that academic papers are not the quickest or most accessible means to reach ordinary people, I now write occasional LinkedIn posts related to the energy transition.
