Maurice Dusseault of Geothermal Canada and the University of Waterloo will be joining Professor Grant Wach of Dalhousie University to present the Geoscience and Geomechanics of Geothermal Energy

In association with the First European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE) Workshop on Geothermal in Latin America, Maurice Dusseault of Geothermal Canada and the University of Waterloo will join Professor Grant Wach of Dalhousie University to present a 4-hour workshop on the Geoscience and Geomechanics of Geothermal Energy.

This is a Pre-Workshop Lecture on Medium and Low-Grade Geothermal Energy: Geoscience and Geomechanics and will take place on August 18, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

The aim of the first EAGE Online Latin America Workshop on Geothermal is to share experiences regarding exploration and exploitation, to establish appropriate practices for geothermal developing in the Americas, which is one of the largest undeveloped geothermal regions worldwide.

To register for this event please click here.


Maurice Dusseault, Professor of Geological Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences Dept., University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, CANADA

Maurice is a Professional Engineer and Professor of Geological Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where he has taught and carried out geomechanics research since 1982. His research is focused on deep subsurface engineering issues including oil production, hydraulic fracturing, energy storage, geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, and deep injection disposal of granular solids and liquid wastes. He holds over 90 international patents and has about 600 full-text papers published in journals and conferences. Maurice is a well-known educator and consultant, an advisor to companies and governments on matters relating to energy development, hydraulic fracturing, energy geostorage, wellbore integrity, technology and innovation. Maurice is deeply interested in energy technologies that can be scaled to community levels to provide robust and reliable heat and power. These include integrating natural gas, hydrogen, compressed air energy storage, and heat geo-storage. Another important component of his research is environmental geomechanics: safe and permanent sequestration of carbon (CO2, petcoke, biosolids…), particulate solid slurries, and waste fluids through injection deep into sedimentary strata.


Grant Wach, Basin and Reservoir Lab, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Grant Wach began his career advising worldwide for multinational companies. He still works with the energy sector but now as Professor of Geoscience at Dalhousie University he serves as a mentor, helping students become successful geoscientists. Wach’s research goal is to understand the reservoir component of CCUS and Geothermal systems; understanding the internal complexity of the reservoir is not easy but part of the path to Energy Sustainability, and Carbon Neutrality. These steps are part of the Energy Transition the World is now undergoing.

Professor Wach is an expert advisor to the Energy Sustainability Committee of the UNECE. The committee just released their technology brief on CCUS CCUS brochure_EN_final.pdf (unece.org). He has advised the Nova Scotia government on Carbon Storage and Sequestration and completed the first evaluation of basins in the Maritimes for Carbon Storage. He was principal Investigator of the Gas Seepage Project (GaSP) evaluating methane (CH4) emissions from coal and oil and gas extraction sites in Atlantic Canada. Wach is a member of Geothermal Canada, and has recently presented invited lectures on Geothermal Technology in Canada (Future Pathways- Geothermal Technology 2020) and at KAUST in Saudi Arabia.

Professor Wach completed his doctorate in Geology at the University of Oxford (D.Phil. Geology). He was the first recipient of the AAPG Foundation Professor of the Year Award in 2012 and received the CSPG Stanley Slipper Gold Medal 2018 for outstanding contributions to exploration and development, teaching and mentorship.