Simon Gibbons
Technical Director, Hydrogeology, CSM
Simon Gibbons is a Technical Director at Environmental
Resources Management (ERM) specialising in the field
of hydrogeology and is based in the UK.
Having completed his masters degree in hydrogeology
at the University of Birmingham he began his
professional career working for Dames & Moore in
Bristol in 1996 before moving to work for ERM in 2012.
In total he has seventeen years’ experience in
environmental site assessment, hydrogeological
modelling, risk assessment and remediation projects.
His recent work has included developing simple
through to complex groundwater and surface water
models for analysing water availability in water scarce
areas of North Africa, eastern and central Europe and
the Middle East. One of his principal fields of expertise
is in the analytical and numerical modelling of
hydrocarbon transport through the vadose and
saturated zones of complex hydrogeological systems.
Most recently he has developed a range of consolidated
assessment services for the oil industry in assessing onshore oil spill risks and consequences. This modelling
involves quantification of time of impact and
magnitude of oil impact via overland and subsurface
flow pathways.
Prior to working at ERM, he was technical director for a
long term remediation project for a multi-national oil
company responsible for design and implementation of
remedial solutions at more than 35 downstream sites
across the UK and Ireland. Simon has also acted in the
role of expert witness on sites impacted by hydrocarbon
contamination and where litigation has required
forensic analysis of the cause and critical review of 3 rd
party assessment of risk.
Across his breadth of expertise, he has also been
responsible for initiating the use of integrated site
investigation/risk assessment and data analysis
techniques at these sites including integrated use of
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for
undertaking modelling and risk assessment work.
Professional Affiliations & Registrations
 Member of the International Association of
Hydrogeologists (IAH)
 Member of the National Groundwater Association
(NGWA)
 Fellow of the Geological Society (FGS)
Fields of Expertise
 Numerical modelling of groundwater flow and
contaminant transport
 Water resource availability analysis
 Hydrogeological and oil spill impact assessments
 Provision of expert witness support on contaminated
land disputes
 Development of bespoke database and GIS solutions
for contaminated land and water resource projects.
Education
 Hydrogeology, MSc, University of Birmingham, 1996
 Environmental & resource Geology, BSc, Manchester
University, 1995
Publications and Conference Presentations
 Presenter, International Shale Gas and Oil
Conference of Turkey, February 20-21, 2013, Ankara,
Turkey – ‘Water Modelling and its Role in Risk
Management during Unconventional Resource
Exploration’.
Languages
 English, native speaker
 German, basic
Key Industry Sectors
 Oil & Gas Upstream and Downstream
 Mining
Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world
Selected Project Experience
ERM, Technical Director, Aug 2011- current
Oil Spill Modelling Services, Unconventional Oil
Exploration and Production, Libya, Confidential Client,
2012-2013, Technical Director
Technical Director responsible for the development and
implementation of a range of oil spill modelling
techniques to analyse overland, subsurface and surface
water based oil spill migration from unconventional
resource exploration and production wells. The work
required analysis of time variant oil impact at locations
around the well to help inform the degree of risk to
sensitive environmental and social receptors. Uniquely
this analysis has combined analysis of product flow
overland incorporating adhesion, ground penetration
and volatilisation together with migration,
residualisation and attenuation through the vadose
zone and assessment of product spreading on the
groundwater and partitioning and migration of mobile
and potentially high risk dissolved phase constituents.
Project Robin, Oil Field Hydrogeological and Water
Resource Assessment, Turkey, Confidential Client
2012-2013, Technical Director
Technical Director for the development of a water
availability assessment for an unconventional oil
exploration project in Turkey. The project required a
detailed assessment of groundwater issues relating to
unconventional resource exploration work and included
a detailed desk study exercise to analyse the shallow
and deep geology/hydrogeology, generation of a
catchment scale groundwater model, detailed
exploration well pad assessments for water resources
and identification of appropriate defensive monitoring
locations to assess groundwater quality prior to and
during the exploration phase of the work.
COMAH MATTE Assessments, UK, Murco Petroleum
and Valero Energy 2012, Technical Director
Technical Director for development of new risk
assessment techniques to support the West Wales
Refining industries in their assessment of potential
Major Accidents to the Environment (MATTE) from
their Establishments under the Control of Major
Accident Hazard (COMAH) Regulations. The work
involved liaising with the sites and regulators to
develop and agree a new bespoke modelling approach
to define potential environmental risks from the sites.
The principal focus of the work has been the in-ground
assessment of contaminant migration and its potential
effect on surface water and groundwater receptors.
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This approach has subsequently been used at a number
of oil storage terminals and at a new gas plant being
constructed in Shetland.
Phase 1 Audit and IFC Assessment Support on
Contaminated Land, Kazakhstan, TengizChevroil 20112012, Technical Director
Technical Director for assessing contamination liabilities
associated with oil field expansion works at Tengiz in
Kazakhstan. The work involved data assessment,
generation of a risk ranking matrix and production of a
risk model to analyse the potential environmental
liabilities at the Rotational Village (RV) connected to the
oil field operations. The RV houses some 100+
contractors over nearly 200 different land parcels with
operations dating back to initial oil field exploration
from the former Soviet era in the 1970s and 1980’s. The
RV also houses extensive evaporation ponds which are
in the process of being assessed for remediation and
decommissioning as part of this project. The output
from the work was a GIS model to identify and rank
more than 300 potential sources of historical and recent
contamination at the site to aid in design of an
appropriate and cost effective programme of intrusive
works. The project has also considered the IFC (2012)
requirements for assessing contractor performance and
much of the information collected during a site visit
completed for the liability assessment has been used to
assess contractor compliance with those IFC standards.
Tank Floor Leak Significance Modelling, UK, Total 2012
Technical Director
Technical Director responsible for developing a new
modelling approach to assess the potential significance
of tank floor leaks at bulk storage sites and how this
may interface with a risk based approach to tank
maintenance activities. The model assesses the
frequency of floor failures, the potential dimensions of
those failures, leak volumes and rates and ground
penetration depths. The penetration depth and oil
migration velocity are then used in a probabilistic
model to analyse how far product could migrate
between tank inspections. The results are then used to
assess requirements for under floor liners/detection
systems and the appropriateness other mitigation
approaches should a leak occur.
Contaminated Land Management System, UK,
Sellafield Ltd, Subject Matter Expert
Subject Matter Expert for assisting Informed Solutions
and Sellafield Ltd build a completely new data
management system for the Land Quality department at
Sellafield. The new system will ultimately replace seven
separate existing systems currently operated by
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Sellafield Ltd which include more than 40 years of
archive records which will be harmonised into a central,
accessible and consistent data asset. ERM has been
assisting Sellafield Ltd and Informed Solutions by
analysing the contaminated land data and helping
identify key data sets and methodologies to enhance
data quality as the system comes into use for day to day
environmental operations at the site. ERM’s expertise
in contaminated land (including nuclear materials) was
key in Informed Solutions wining and successfully
delivering the system.
routinely required interaction with the relevant Local
Authority and Environment Agency offices to agree
assessments, remedial strategies and close-out of the
sites ahead of redevelopment works. The work
involved contracting a wide range of remedial and civil
contractors and incorporated a wide range of remedial
solutions including SVE, DPE, bioremediation, chemical
oxidation, surfactant enhanced product recovery, steam
enhanced vapour extraction and where appropriate site
capping and soil stabilisation where contamination
could not be readily treated in-situ by other means.
Dames & Moore/URS, Oct 1996 to July 2011
Remediation Projects, Arbitration Support
UK / ExxonMobil 2009-2011
Arbitration expert providing advice to ExxonMobil
relating to remediation works which a prospective site
purchaser tried to contend were not complete. The
arbitration resulted in the developer completing the site
purchase without the need for any further remedial
work on site.
Coed Darcy Remediation Monitor, UK, Coed Darcy Ltd /
BP, 2008-2011, Project Manager / Monitor
Project Manager and Remediation Monitor for the
redevelopment of the former Llandarcy Oil Refinery
into a new multi-million pound mixed use
development. The Coed Darcy Urban Village will
ultimately incorporate up to 4,000 new homes along
with commercial, recreational and public use
developments. The Monitor role involved regular site
inspections, discussions with client and developer
teams and direct liaison with the Regulators to ensure
the works proceeded in accordance with the
requirements of a strict Section 106 planning agreement.
The redevelopment comprised remediation to protect
sensitive ecological receptors, controlled waters and
future residents of the site. This required a detailed
understanding of statutory environmental regulations
including planning, Part IIA and the Water Act. Part of
the role required contract review and technical
guidance on the developers proposed remedial plans
including the remediation of three areas of the site
containing large volumes of contaminated sludge. The
adopted approach combined dredging with an
innovative dewatering method using geotubes to
stabilise the sludge ahead of bioremediation.
Long Term Remediation Implementations, UK/Ireland,
ABB / ExxonMobil, 2006-2011, Project Director
Project director for a UK wide long-term remediation
programme at downstream assets on behalf of a multinational oil-company. The work included development
of site specific risk assessments, remedial action plans,
remedial feasibility reports, additional detailed
remediation investigation, remedial trial design and
implementation followed by preparation of detailed
remedial design and ultimately validation reports. A
total of 45 sites were included in this long-term
remediation portfolio. All of these were successfully
closed out through a combination of sustainable
remediation and regulator negotiation. The project
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Expert Support, Meath County Council, Ireland, 20102011
Expert advisor for the Council in their arbitration
process which required assessment of the suitability of
remediation at a former fuelling station. The work
required negotiation with multiple consultants and land
owners to assist the Council in applying for and
submitting a remediation notice to the offending party
and which looked after the requirements for resource
protection and of the rights of neighbouring land
owners. The Council successfully placed the order
following a legal challenge by the responsible party and
further remedial work is on-going
Swansea University EIA, UK, BP, 2010-2011
Project Hydrogeologist
Ground conditions expert for the preparation of a
detailed assessment of a former industrial site in South
Wales for redevelopment as a new University complex.
The ground conditions work required detailed input on
geotechnical suitability, contaminant distribution, risk
assessment for ecological, human health and controlled
waters receptors as well as integrating the
contamination data into a predictive flood risk model.
The flood risk modelling incorporated effects from
climate change modelling, existing sea defences and
changes in the groundwater regime which may have
resulted in significant groundwater flooding. The
modelling work identified appropriate mitigation to the
flood risks which included making effective use of
planned urban drainage designs and the influence of
planned deep basement structures. The submission was
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assessed by the Planning Authority and was given
approval with construction anticipated in early 2013.
DQRA for Power Station Construction Planning
Consent, UK, Scottish and Southern Energy, 2009
Principal Risk Assessor
Principal risk assessor for development of a detailed
controlled waters DQRA model to assess potential risks
from chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination to the
construction activities associated with development of a
second CCGT power station to be constructed at the
Baglan Bay site in South Wales. The work included
liaising with the lead environmental consultants who
were completing the EIA submission and the EA and
Planning Authority. The work was a critical step in the
planning process and the assessment was completed
within a very tight schedule having been requested by
the client team at the last minute to address a technical
issue raised when the development footprint was
changed to allow for CCS development works.
injection. The model was also used to help assess the
magnitude of programme impact from a prolonged
period of heavy rainfall and how the dewatering and
storage ponds might affect neighbouring sites during
this period.
Contaminant Transport Modelling, UK, Confidential,
2006, Technical Manager
Project groundwater modeller responsible for the
development of a groundwater model for an industrial
complex in the northeast of England. The model was
required to assess the flow of chlorinated hydrocarbons
from a source area towards a canal and river. The
model was used to try to assess an unusual distribution
of contamination, which was resolved in the model by
incorporating leakage from the canal caused by the
construction of a partition wall between neighbouring
sites. The results of the model work were subsequently
used to help assess potential remediation options at the
site and assess potential liability associated with the
distribution of contamination.
Remedial Solution Groundwater Modelling Design, UK,
BP, 2008, Technical Manager
Project groundwater modeller responsible for the
development of a spreadsheet model to simulate
natural attenuation of VOCs in groundwater and the
effects of air sparging on contaminant concentrations
beneath a major former chemical complex in the UK.
The spreadsheet model was linked to a GIS system to
facilitate the display of the results. An outline of the
model was prepared at the proposal stage to illustrate
to the client the type of approach to be adopted. The
work at the proposal stage helped to secure the project
and the model was subsequently used to help derive
and agree the remedial approach with the relevant
Environmental Authorities. Subsequently, one of
Europe’s largest air sparging systems was deployed and
successfully removed large volumes of styrene and
xylene contamination at the site. Remediation is now
complete with the land available for commercial
redevelopment.
Site Regeneration, UK, Chemical manufacturing and
distribution, 2006-2011, Technical Director
Principal risk assessor for two redevelopment sites in
South Wales. Responsibilities included coordinating
human health risk assessments suitable for
redevelopment of the sites for residential use and
leading the assessment of risks to controlled waters.
Additional detailed source specific predictive modelling
was also employed to help assess plume stability and
fate using site wide contaminant and MNA data
collected over a number of years. Both client and
regulators have accepted the results of the work.
Additional work was also conducted to assess the
suitability of the building fabric for use as fill material
across the site, again taking into account potential risks
to human health and controlled waters as well as
recommending precautions for workers involved in
demolition works.
Groundwater Model, CCGT Power Station, UK, GE
Power Systems, 2006, Technical Manager
Groundwater modeller responsible for assessing
dewatering requirements for the construction of a new
Power Station at Baglan Bay. The model was
constructed in Visual Modflow and was designed to
take into account dewatering requirements in two
sandy aquifers separated by a clay layer. The model
was used to enable consent from the EA for discharge
via infiltration ponds and reinjection wells. The model
was also used to assess dewatering volumes and the
number and position of wells for dewatering/re-
Chlorinated Solvent Remediation, UK, Chemicals
Distribution Company, 2007, Project Manager
Project manager responsible for the design and
implementation of a site investigation programme and
subsequent remediation scheme for a chemical
distribution facility in Bristol. The work included
phased investigation work comprising drilling on-site
and off-site with installation of multi-level wells, soil
vapour survey, borehole geophysics, packer testing,
pump testing and remedial trial works. A dual phase
system was operational at the site between February
2005 and December 2006 to remediate a cocktail of
chlorinated solvent contamination. Following post
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remedial monitoring the site remediation was accepted
as being complete by both the EA and LA in 2007.
Remedial Cost Estimation Tool, UK, BP, 2006, Project
Manager
Project manager responsible for the development of a
unique remediation costing model used in assessing the
viability of redeveloping the Llandarcy Refinery in
South Wales. The model was designed to make use of
as much previously collected data as possible and
linked to a bespoke soil and groundwater database and
GIS system previously developed for the client. The
GIS was used to assess contamination areas and
volumes as probability distribution functions with
output linked to a bespoke cost model incorporating a
Monte Carlo analysis to calculate the potential total
remedial costs. The output of the model was designed
to fit into a third party model for assessing the overall
viability of the scheme. Revised risk assessments for
human health along with review of previous work and
incorporation of new data were also included in the
project. The work subsequently led to the successful
sale of the site by the client and is currently being
redeveloped as the Coed Darcy Urban Village.
Free Phase Product Migration Modelling, UK,
Railtrack/Network Rail, 2006, Project Manager/Modeller
Project manager and modeller responsible for
developing a dual phase fluid flow model for a
transportation client in South Wales. The project scope
required preparation of a CSM using over 5 years’
worth of investigation data, initial risk assessment and
predictive modelling to assess potential transport
distances and breakthrough times at receptor points for
a mass of oil identified within the site boundary. The
work was used to establish priorities and timescales for
the client to apply remediation at the site. Remedial
work was subsequently undertaken and impact to the
receptors was prevented.
Environmental GIS, UK, Dow Corning, 2004, Project
Manager and GIS Developer
Project manager for design and construction of a sitewide multi-purpose environmental GIS system for a
multi-national chemical manufacturer in Barry, South
Wales which incorporates data on air emissions,
complaints, noise data, ecological habitats, soil and
groundwater contamination, risk assessment data, gas
monitoring data, air monitoring, surface water data and
contains links to a portfolio of electronic reports and
visual impact studies. The client presented this GIS
system internally to sites in the US recommending it to
be their corporate environmental standard.
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Landfarm Risk Assessment, UK, Texaco, 2000, Project
Hydrogeologist
Project hydrogeologist responsible for the development
of a Monte Carlo based risk assessment tool to provide
an assessment of landfarm leachate concentrations and
subsequent potential risks to controlled waters
receptors on behalf of a large multi-national oil
company. The results of the modelling allowed the
client to successfully apply for a permit to increase
loading of specific elements to its landfarms.
Historical Aerial Imagery Retrieval System, United
States Air Force, Washington DC, USA, 2000,
Technical Manager
Technical manager and principal developer for a
bespoke GIS system for the US Air Force. The system
was designed to manage and automatically orthocorrect
and georeference more than 1TB of aerial imagery taken
from a number of different Air Force bases in the US
since World War II. The final product allowed
immediate access to relevant imagery from a catalogue
of more 5,000 images and included development of a
bespoke searchable database of information on each of
the flight runs and images.
Brownfield Regeneration GIS and Modelling Tool, UK,
Confidential, 2000-2006, Technical Manager
Technical manager responsible for the design and build
of a GIS and database system to manage site data
collected during a Phase II site investigation and a
chemical facility in South Wales. The database and GIS
was subsequently used in the risk assessment modelling
and remediation of the site. The system formed part of
the winning submission to the Brownfield Briefing
award for site regeneration.
BP Llandarcy Refinery, UK, BP, 1997-2009
Technical Manager
Technical manager for the development of a database
and Geographical Information System (GIS), on behalf
of a multi-national oil company. The GIS system
incorporated data from a site investigation (see above)
and included borehole construction details for over 1000
monitoring wells, conceptual site models, photographic
records, video files, analytical data, electronic reports,
contour plots, aerial photographs, risk assessment
results, remedial techniques and contaminant
distribution plots. The GIS was developed so that the
client could use the system as a tool to aid in
remediation design, risk assessment work and as a
general presentation tool for third parties. The system
was continuously used and updated over a period of 10
years and was a key tool in completing a due diligence
based risk analysis for redevelopment work.
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