We were delighted to welcome Jamie White to Reading Blue Coat, who kindly spoke to our A Level Geology students about his fascinating life and career in the oil and gas industry.

With over 30 years’ experience as a Geologist, Jamie has worked on projects across the globe, including North and West Africa, Indonesia, the Faroe Islands, the UK North Sea, Yemen, Germany and, more recently, Ireland, Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. He brought this wealth of international experience into the classroom with energy and passion.

Jamie shared expert insight into stratigraphic and structural traps, basin evolution over time, the economics of drilling, and the importance of hydrocarbon generation from source rocks, brilliantly likening this to various cooking levels of chicken! His talk linked closely to the A Level specification, and students were able to engage with real-world data and examine oil samples from across the globe, one of which he generously gifted to the department.

Having studied Geology at Durham University, (alongside our very own Head, Mr Thomas!) and with an MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from Imperial College, Jamie answered thoughtful questions from students about university choices, career prospects in the field, and the future of carbon capture and sequestration. Brilliant questions came from Ben H, Archie L, Benjy C, Luke F, Archie B and Henry C, showing real curiosity about university pathways and the future of the industry.

Jamie was open and honest about the fluctuations of the industry, reflecting on how oil has ranged from $9 to over $100 a barrel in his time, making the challenging periods tough but the good times hugely rewarding.

We’re incredibly grateful to Jamie for speaking so enthusiastically and insightfully with our students. We hope to welcome him back to Reading Blue Coat again to inspire our budding Geologists of the future!

Mrs Town