Gert, who was Chairman of DEVEX 2005, sadly passed away in 2010. To mark his untimely death and to recognise his contribution to DEVEX the best presentation award is titled ‘The Gert de Jonge Award’

Paul Adair, Chair of DEVEX 2011, said:

“It was with great sadness that the DEVEX committee learned of the untimely passing of our great friend and colleague. Gert was DEVEX Chairman in 2005 and was the SPE’s first representative to lead the event. He was instrumental in putting DEVEX on a professional footing having drafted the first agreement between the Societies who jointly manage the event.

Gert’s drive and determination in the early years of DEVEX have made the conference what it is today and the foundations he laid live with us. In honour of Gert the committee decided that the award for the conference’s best paper in 2012 should be named after him as we remember, with great fondness, the enthusiasm and energy he brought to DEVEX.”

2011 Prize winners

Three awards were made: Best Paper, Best Academic Paper and Best Poster.

Rob Ings of Maersk won the Gert De Jonge Best Paper award and a prize of £250 for his presentation entitled “Stranded but not forgotten - Lochranza, a Dumbarton satellite”. This was a paper that detailed the successful development of a fallow field that lay dormant for more than 20 years. It was a impressive example of the integrated application of modern technology along with a clear understanding of the geological complexities of the reservoir.

For the first time a special award was made for the Best Academic presentation. Adam MacArthur of Aberdeen University won the award and a prize of £500 with his presentation entitled: “Late Jurassic slumping in the “J Block” region of the UKCS Central Graben: temporal and spatial relationship to Freshney Sandstone turbidite reservoirs”. A presentation of a sedimentolgical and palynological study that aims to determine the relationship between Mass Transport Complexes and potential reservoirs of UKCS Quad 30.

The Best Poster award and a prize of £250 went to Elodie Saillet and Euan Macrae of The University of Strathclyde for their poster entitled: “The spatial organisation of deformation in high porosity sandstones: structural barriers to CO2 storage