Petro-star on rise; Julianne Lamb, Senior geologist, expl. team lead

Steve Sutherlin

Petroleum News

Julianne Lamb, a Santos senior geologist and exploration team leader, was recognized with the Alaska Oil and Gas Association 2024 Rising Star award Aug. 29 at the organization's annual conference in Anchorage.

"Julianne embodies our corporate values of teamwork, accountability, safety, integrity, and pursuing exceptional results," Kevin Gallagher, Santos managing director and chief executive officer said in a recorded keynote presentation, adding that Lamb is part of Santos team culture of focused, entrepreneurial, energized and disciplined people establishing the company's legacy wherever in the world it operates -- "so thank you Julianne for your dedication to Santos and the bigger project we are operating in Alaska."

Lamb began making a definitive impact on Alaska's oil and gas industry before she set foot in the state, Joe Balash, Santos senior vice president external affairs told conference attendees.

"Julianne was discovered in Texas by a geochemistry expert from Oil Search and soon found herself moving to Sydney Australia," Balash said.

Lamb swiftly joined the Alaska exploration team as an expert basin modeler and found her niche as a fluid geochemistry and basic modeling specialist in the greater Pikka area, he said. She was integral in providing charge risk on two recent and very large discoveries at Stirrup and Mitquq, now recognized by the state in the Horseshoe unit and the Quokka unit.

Lamb relocated to Alaska in January 2020.

"Julianne's contribution goes far beyond Santos; the delineation of the Nanushuk formation has allowed other operators on the North Slope to develop it, and reignite the state's natural resources and fiscal future," Balash said.

"Julianne continues to be at the heart of it all, constantly identifying technologies that could further advance exploration in Alaska; she led the charge to bring Geolisotopes to Santos Alaska," he said. "This technology provides unique insights into reserve characteristics and seal integrity through a deep understanding of source rocks and migration pathways, serving as the subsurface point of contact for Santos elastic carbon capture and storage projects."

Balash said Lamb stands at the forefront of assessing Alaska's geologic resources for viable space to store carbon dioxide, with implications for hundreds of years.

"The epitome of a rising star, Julianne's dedication and love for her profession is impossible to miss; her endless desire to grow enriches Alaska's industry... we're proud to have Julianne on our team at Santos and we are very excited about the pivotal role she plays in the future of our industry."

"Thank you I'm very grateful to have received this award; I'm also very lucky to have found a career that I am so passionate about," Lamb said. "Truly I've worked on some incredible developments in my life thus far from the unconventionals to the Appalachians to Arkoma basin in North America all the way to the mountainous jungles of Papua New Guinea and now in Alaska on the exploration team to lead a group of wonderful bright minded scientists."

"I want to especially thank Santos for this award but also for swiftly taking FID shortly after the Oil Search merger," she said. "This Pikka project is going to be an economic boon for the state of Alaska -- but as I lead exploration and appraisal here at Santos Alaska, I can tell you that I think it is only the first in an immense portfolio of resource that will be absolutely transformative for Alaska oil production."

-STEVE SUTHERLIN