CHRISTOPHER JAMES BANKS
64N Goodhope Park,
Aberdeen,
AB21 9NE, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 7881 601749
e-mail: sedimentology@hotmail.co.uk
email: CBanks@slb.com
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
18th June 2013 ongoing
Senior Geoscience Workflow Advisor,
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Kirkhill House, Dyce, Aberdeen, AB21 0LQ, Scotland.
This advisory role involves a number of key tasks:
 Providing best-practice workflow advice and vision in geological model development to
North Sea oil and gas operators. This involved on site consultancy and geological model
building.
 Teaching advanced courses in geological model development for North Sea clients using
Schlumberger’s Petrel software (including philosophy behind ‘why?’ we model).
 Liaising with academia to help foster geological research collaborations utilizing
Schlumberger’s software products. Enabling these geologists to meet their research aims.
 Teaching postgraduate-level technical courses to UK universities to help provide industry
knowledge to future geologists.
 Development advice: Advising Petrel’s developers in shortfalls in their current geological
workflow.
 Being a geologist doing what I do best, understanding the subsurface.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT
1st August 2012 –
17th June 2013
Leader of Bedrock Geology Section,
Alberta Geological Survey, Energy & Resources Conservation Board, 4999-98th Avenue,
Edmonton, Alberta. T6B 2X3. Canada.
This role involved transforming the workflow and products of the Alberta Geological Survey’s
mapping program. Prior to my leadership, AGS focussed on producing paper surface geology
maps. The technology, workflow and vision was modernised to produce 3D static, digital
geological models of the subsurface.
Specific tasks include:
 3D Geological modelling – static geological modeling using Paradigms’s gOcad suite.
 Providing vision & leadership – taking our science and making it relevant, available and
timely for the benefit of our stakeholders.
 People management – 10 team members of diverse seniorities and opinions.
 Geological surface modelling for map production using geostatistics.
 Field sedimentology & stratigraphy.
 Change management – ensures that a sound business rationale is understood to help enact
changes in our business.
 Project management – the mapping and modelling projects were unified towards producing
a single Earth Model for Alberta.
1st June 2009 – 1st
August 2012
Geological Mapping Specialist,
Alberta Geological Survey, Energy Resources Conservation Board, 4999-98th Avenue,
Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 2X3, Canada.
This role involved using clastic stratigraphy & sedimentology to map geological units in the
Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. These data contribute to a new digital 3D geological
atlas of Alberta:
 Well log interpretation for the purposes of picking stratigraphic
 Geological surface modelling using geostatistics.
 Calibration of subsurface data by facies analysis and section logging in the field.
 Make recommendations for development of the corporate stratigraphic framework and the
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1st October 2006 to
31st May 2009
development of the table of formations.
Database gatekeeper ensuring data security and championing best practices for efficient
subsurface interpretation from the Bedrock Mapping
Reservoir Geoscientist,
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Ashley House, Aberdeen. AB21 0DP. Scotland.
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1st October 2004 to
30th September 2006
9 month secondment as a Senior Consultant Geomodeller to Apache Oil, UK North Sea.
This involved producing a 3D digital geological model for the Forties Field to test
waterflood affects on production rates.
Reservoir Modeling support and consultancy to many UK oil and gas clients, using Petrel.
Providing on-site and off-site subject matter expertise to clients building 3D geological
models, both for geological and reservoir engineering purposes.
Organising and teaching advanced training courses in Petrel reservoir geoscience.
Post doctoral researcher,
British Geological Survey with Keele University. Earth Sciences & Geology, Keele
University, Staffordshire. ST5 5BG. England.
Project title: “Stratigraphical connection versus provinciality in Grampian Group depocentres;
evidence of a submerged basement architecture?”
This project is funded by a consultancy agreement with the British Geological Survey (UCAC
contract 2K04E007). The research involves:
 Planning and supervision of field data collection on the remote Ben Alder massif, Scottish
Highlands.
 Structural and lithostratigraphical mapping of polydeformed metasediments.
 Geological Map compilation for 1:50,000 scale Scotland Sheet 54E (Loch Rannoch).
Immigration
information
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British Citizen with right to work throughout the European Union
Canadian Permanent Resident
EDUCATION
1st October 2000 to
February 2005
PhD research (NERC-British Geological Survey funded), Keele University.
Thesis entitled, ‘Neoproterozoic basin analysis: a combined sedimentological and provenance
study in the Grampian Group, Central Highlands, Scotland”
The Ph.D. project involved:
 The field application of sedimentological techniques to metasedimentary rocks (e.g. facies,
architectural element analysis).
 Provenance analysis using petrology, petrochemistry (XRF & ICP-MS), isotope geology
(ID-TIMS) and detrital zircon geochronology (LA-MC-ICP-MS).
 Presenting project to BGS team for collation into technical reports.
 Presentation of dataset at national and international conferences.
 Collaborating and being trained by British Geological Survey officers in the field.
September 1997 to
June 2000
BSc (Honours) Geology, upper second class, University of Birmingham.
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Dissertation title: “Triassic Magnetostratigraphy”
Geological mapping of North Arran, Scotland
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
2009-present
Member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists
2000-present
Fellow of the Geological Society of London
2000-present
Member of the International Association of Sedimentologists
SKILLS PROFILE
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Scientific
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Leadership
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Computing
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Teaching
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Geological modelling using Petrel
Outcrop geological mapping
Well log interpretation and core description
Clastic stratigraphy & sedimentology of extensional and compressional basins
Scientific technical report writing.
Genetic Sequence Stratigraphy
Geochemical analysis and interpretation utilising XRFS and ICP-MS.
Geochronological / isotopic analysis of minerals by LA-MC-ICP-MS and ID-TIMS.
Manager & Leader of Bedrock Mapping Section (AGS) with 10 direct reports.
Project leader of the “Geological Framework” program at AGS.
Co-ordinator of multidisciplinary Oil and Gas Asset teams for the production of 3D
geological models (Apache North Sea).
Completion of “Managing and Leading People” , a management camp teaching concepts
such as emotional intelligence, MBTI, Performance Management, effective feedback and
change management.
Organisation and project planning for field programmes (British Geological Survey)
Completion of courses entitled “Fundamentals of Project Management” and “Project
Leadership Skills in Risk Assessment and Quality” by Holland & Davis, Management
Consultants and Project Support.
Oil and Gas consultancy experience for 3D digital geological modelling (PETREL,
SKUA).
ArcMap/ArcGIS expertise, in particular with the Geostatistical Analyst extension
Gate-keeper for Bedrock Geology section’s PETRA software using for well log
interpretation.
Advanced skills in Canvas/ CorelDraw for the production of publishable graphics.
Expertise in the use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, for production, analysis, and
presentation of work including technical reports.
Proficiency in MINPET for plotting petrochemical and mineralogical datasets.
Internal training courses at ERCB on Surface Interpolation and Uncertainty Analysis
Teaching Oil and Gas professionals how to model reservoirs in Petrel – Advanced Level
Schlumberger trainer.
Experience in lecturing to 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students on a range of topics.
Teaching of field parties in a wide variety of geological situations.
Leading practicals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates on most genres of geology.
AWARDS AND FUNDING:
2007
2007
2006
2006
2005
2004
2003
2003
2002
2000
2000
Clough Memorial Award for most outstanding contribution to the geology of Scotland and
Northern England by a worker under the age of 35.
Three Schlumberger Awards of Excellence.
Petroalbion, consultancy work providing petrological analysis of clastic sedimentary rocks.
BGS-UCAC, £500 to write a paper on the stratigraphy of the lower Dalradian Supergroup,
Scotland.
British Sedimentological Research Group, research poster prize.
BGS-UCAC, £19,066 consultancy agreement to part fund postdoctoral research until September
2006.
NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, £14,778 grant in kind, for Nd-isotope analysis and UPb geochronology.
International Association of Sedimentologists, 1000 Euros, postgraduate research award.
British Sedimentological Research Group, research poster prize (winner).
NERC, subsistence award to fund PhD studentship at Keele University.
BGS-UCAC, £2000 over three years for field work in Scotland.
PUBLICATIONS:
COMING SOON:
 BANKS, C.J., PETERS, D.P., WINCHESTER, J.A., NOBLE, S.R., HORSTWOOD, M.S.A. In press. Basement
palaeogeography of late Neoproterozoic Scotland: constraints from exotic clasts within the lower Dalradian
Supergroup. Scottish Journal of Geology.
 GLOMBICK, P.M, SCHMITT, D.R., XIE, W., BROWN, T., HATHWAY, B.H., BANKS, C.J. In press. The Bow
City Structure, south Alberta, Canada: A possible complex impact structure. Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences.
 BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. In press. 1:50,000 scale bed rock geology of Loch Rannoch. HMSO
PUBLISHED:
 PRIOR, G.J., HATHWAY, B, GLOMBICK, P.M., PANA, D.I., BANKS, C.J., HAY, D.C., SCHNEIDER, C.L.,
GROBE, M., ELGR, R., WEISS, J.A. 2013. 1:1 million scale map of Bedrock Geology of Alberta. Alberta
Geological Survey.
 LESLIE, A.G., ROBERTSON, S., SMITH, M., BANKS, C.J., MENDUM, J.R., STEPHENSON, D. 2013. The
Dalradian Rocks of the Northern Grampian Highlands. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 124, 263-317.
 BANKS, C.J., HORSTWOOD, M.S.A., NOBLE, S.R., SMITH, M., WINCHESTER, J.A., OTTLEY, C.J. 2007.
Provenance of intra-Rodinian basin-fills: the lower Dalradian Supergroup, Scotland. Precambrian Research.
 BANKS, C.J. 2007. Exceptional preservation of sedimentary structures in metamorphic rocks: an example from the
upper Grampian Group, Creag Stalcair, Perthshire. Scottish Journal of Geology. 43, 9-14.
 BANKS, C.J. & WINCHESTER, J.A. 2004. Sedimentology and stratigraphic affinities of Neoproterozoic coarse
clastic successions, Glenshirra Group, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology 40, 1-16.
 BURT, C.E. & BANKS, C.J. 2004. Metasedimentology – it’s the new vogue! Geology Today, 20, 230-233.
TECHNICAL REPORTS:
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HAY, D.C., BANKS, C.J. & PRIOR, G.J. 2012. Measured Outcrop Sections T79-R17W4-01 (Stony Rapids) and
T81-R17W4-01 (Pelican Cliffs) of the Pelican, Westgate, Fish Scales and Belle Fourche Formations near Stony
Rapids, Athabasca River, Northeastern Alberta (NTS 83P/15 and NTS 84A/02). Energy Resources Conservation
Board, Open File Technical Report, 2012-02.
HATHWAY, B., BANKS, C.J., HAY, D.C. & MEI, S. 2011. Measured outcrop section T13-R9W4-01 of the
Foremost and Oldman Formations (Belly River Group), Suffield area, South Saskatchewan River valley, south
eastern Alberta (NTS 72L/03). Energy Resources Conservation Board, Open File Technical Report, 2011-06.
HATHWAY, B., BANKS, C.J., HAY, D.C. & PRIOR, G.J. 2011. Measure outcrop sections T2-R6W4-01 and T2R6W04-02 of the Foremost and Oldman Formations (Belly River Group), Pinhorn Provincial Grazing Reserve,
Milk River valley, south eastern Alberta (NTS 72E/02). Energy Resources Conservation Board, Open File
Technical Report, 2011-03
HATHWAY, B., BANKS, C.J., HAY, D.C., PRIOR, G.J., MEI, S., CHEN, D. & WEISS, J.A. 2011. Measured
outcrop section T27-R17W4-01 of the Bearpaw and Horsehoe Canyon Formations, Dorothy, Red Deer River
Valley, Southern Alberta (NTS 72P/08). Energy Resources Conservation Board, Open File Technical Report,
2011-07
HATHWAY, B., BANKS, C.J., & HAY, D.C. & MEI, S. 2011. Measured outcrop section T17-R3W4-01 of the
Foremost, Oldman Formations and Dinosaur Park Formations (Belly River Group), White Rock Coulee, South
Saskatchewan River Valley, southeastern Alberta (NTS 72L/08). Energy Resources Conservation Board, Open File
Technical Report, 2011-04
BANKS, C.J., LESLIE, A.G. & MENDUM, J.R. 2007 Bedrock geology and polyphase deformation of the Ben
Alder massif. British Geological Survey technical report.
BANKS, C.J., LESLIE, A.G. & MENDUM, J.R. 2006. Bedrock geology of the Ben Alder massif: report of the
2005 field season. British Geological Survey, internal technical report.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
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PRIOR, G.J., HATHWAY, B., GLOMBICK, P.M., PANA, D.A., BANKS., C.J., HAY, D.C., SCHNEIDER, C.L.,
GROBE, M., ELGR, R., WEISS, J.A. 2013. Map 600: A new 1:1000000 Bedrock Geology Map of Alberta.
Integration: CSPG Geoconvention, 6-10th May, 2013, Telus Convention Centre, Calgary.
HATHWAY, B., PRIOR, G.J., BANKS, C.J. 2012. Regional Subsurface and Outcrop Correlations of the Albian
Loon River Formation, Fort St. John Group, northwestern Alberta. Vision: CSPG Geoconvention, 14-18th May
2012, Telus Convention Centre, Calgary.
HAY, D.C., BANKS, C.J., PRIOR, G.J. 2011. Sedimentology and stratigraphy from Measured Outcrop Sections
on the Athabasca River: Grand Rapids, Joli Fou, Pelican, Westgate, Fish Scales and Belle Fourche Formations.
Recovery: CSPG Geoconvention, 9-11th May 2011, Telus Convention Centre, Calgary.
GLOMBICK, P.M., HATHWAY, B., MEI, S., BANKS, C.J., HAY, D.C. & PRIOR, G.J. 2010. Mapping the Belly
River Group in Alberta. Geocanada 2010, 10-14th May 2010, Stampede Park, Calgary.
BANKS, C.J. & WINCHESTER, J.A. 2006. A 4-dimensional basin model for the lower Dalradian Supergroup,
Central Highlands, Scotland. Tectonic Studies Group, Highland Workshop, 14-16th May 2006, Mayo, Ireland.
BANKS, C.J. & WINCHESTER, J.A. 2005. Metasedimentology of a Neoproterozoic alluvial fan-delta, Glenshirra
Group, Central Highlands of Scotland. British Sedimentological Research Group Annual General Meeting, 18-20th
December 2005, Durham University.
BANKS, C.J. 2004. A facies model for the alluvial fan-delta systems preserved within the Glenshirra “Subgroup”.
Tectonic Studies Group, Highland Workshop, 4th May 2004, Highlands Hotel, Glenties.
BANKS, C. J., NOBLE, S. R., HORSTWOOD, M. S. A. & WINCHESTER, J.A. 2004. Preliminary results of a
combined U-Pb zircon and Sm-Nd whole rock provenance study of the Corrieyairack and Strathtummel basins.
Tectonic Studies Group, Highland Workshop, 4th May 2004, Highlands Hotel, Glenties.
BANKS, C. J. 2003. Confined submarine channel systems in deformed Neoproterozoic rocks of the Grampian
Group, Scotland. Slopes 2003, 28-29th April 2003, University of Liverpool.
BANKS, C.J. 2002. Is sedimentology possible in amphibolite facies metasediments? Two examples from the
Neoproterozoic Grampian Group. British Sedimentological Research Group Annual General Meeting, 18-20th
December 2002, University of East Anglia.
BANKS, C.J. 2002. Sedimentology of the Loch Laggan Depocentre, Corrieyairack Basin, Grampian Group,
Scotland. British Sedimentological Research Group Annual General Meeting, 18-20th December 2002, University
of East Anglia.
BANKS, C.J. 2002. Corrieyairack Basin: a sedimentological study of the Corrieyairack Subgroup in the Loch
Laggan – Loch Spean area. Tectonic Studies Group, Highland Workshop, 16-17th February 2002, St Andrews
University.
LESLIE, A.G., THOMAS, C.W., SMITH, M. BANKS, C.J. & KRABBENDAM, M. 2005. Fragmentation of the
Scottish sector of Laurentia – towards a coherent Dalradian stratigraphy. Recent Developments in the Geological
History of the British Isles. 14th-16th February 2005, Oxford University.
SMITH, M., EVANS, J.A. & BANKS, C.J. 2003. Combined REE and Sm-Nd whole rock provenance studies for
the Dalradian Supergroup in Scotland – A driver for lithostratigraphic revision? Tectonic Studies Group, Highland
Workshop, 1-2nd May, British Geological Survey, Edinburgh.
LESLIE, A.G., THOMAS, C.W., SMITH, M., BANKS, C.J. & KRABBENDAM, M. 2003. Fragmentation of the
Scottish sector of Laurentia – towards a coherent Dalradian stratigraphy? Tectonic Studies Group, Highland
Workshop, 1-2nd May 2003, British Geological Survey, Edinburgh.