Cipher Consulting Pty Ltd
Cipher Coal offers advice, planning and strategies surrounding coal and coalbed methane exploration and assessment
As we travelled between Katowice and Krakow, the Polish translator switched effortlessly back and forth between English, Chinese and her native language. I can vouch that her English was impeccable and can only guess that her Chinese was too, based on the intensity of the exchange and the frequency of the erupting laughter. I confess […]
Cipher would like to welcome three new Associates to the team: Mr Ryan Morris, Mr Peter Roles and Mr Tan Ee. All three have extensive experience in the petroleum business, and the addition of their skills significantly widens the scope of Cipher’s expertise to include hydrogeology (Ryan Morris), conventional and unconventional petroleum engineering (Peter Roles) […]
In early August of this year (2018), Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia conducted a field trip for undergraduate geologists from China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Xuzhou, China. Over the last year in my dual roles as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, QUT and […]
A while ago I reviewed a book on coal. Recently I saw it on my book shelf and thought it might be interesting to put that review up on the Cipher blog. Below is a slightly abridged version of the original review. Enjoy. I knew something was up when upon entering the shop the friend […]
Yes, I know. Normally the words ‘blue skies’ and ‘Beijing’ aren’t in such close proximity. Yet, when I was there just a couple of weeks ago, it was indeed blue skies. Warm, yes; smoggy, not really. Though I was inside much of the time … I was in the captivating capital of China for the […]
The fantastic thing about geology is that it is the perfect mix of both science and imagination. There is that old saying of Einstein about imagination* and geologists, on a daily basis, have to exercise that muscle. But it is the shear scale that geological imagination has to transgress – from continents to subatomic particles […]
My son asked me what scores of other children ask their parents at some point: “Dad, have you ever been on TV”? I was in the middle of painting a wall inside the house and was poised to say no… no, sorry son, I have not, when I realized I actually have. So instead I […]
I have an old fish on the wall, and I get to ponder it’s life every time I walk into my loo at home. I’ve been pondering this fish for the last 24 years. Considering its age, it is not a stinky, yucky fish. In fact it is over 48 million years old, so any […]
China is a big place. The resources are large. The scale of everything is outsized. And as has been well documented, its up and coming middle class is energy depended. Commendably, the Chinese government has prioritized renewable energy and it seems they are well on the way to leading the world. Still, conventional energy is […]
It was an early morning start and the topical air of South Kalimantan (Borneo) already hung heavy and thick. We boarded the wooden powerboat that was more than just a little tippy. It held a party of six, which consisted of colleagues Joan Esterle, Sonny Pangestu, Hermes Panggabean plus Pak Juwady, our pilot, and a […]