BIG Media’s Person of the Year – Dr. Brad Hayes

BIG Media Ltd.’s Person of the Year for 2023 is doctor of geology, entrepreneur, and educator Dr. Brad Hayes.

Hayes is president of Petrel Robertson Consulting Ltd., a geoscience consulting firm addressing technical and strategic issues around oil and gas development, water resource management, helium exploration, geothermal energy, and carbon sequestration.

Brad has been helping us understand complex issues related to energy supply and demand, energy transition, energy security, climate change, and related environmental concerns since Day 1 of BIG Media’s existence when he contributed an article that provided critical context regarding global sea levels – Sea level is rising; should we be worried?

An adjunct professor in the University of Alberta’s Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department and a sessional lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Mount Royal University, Brad led a team that developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “21st Century Energy Transition – How do We Make it Happen?” as a product of extensive research and consultation on modern energy issues. Thousands of people signed up for the course and have benefitted from Brad’s practical approach to complicated issues.

Brad holds a PhD in geology from the University of Alberta, and has 40 years of diverse experience applying subsurface geoscience in resource industries. He is outreach director for the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy, and a past-president of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG). He is a member of the Energy Resources Technical Advisory Committee for Geoscience BC and a Fellow of the Balsillie School for International Affairs.

Earlier this year, Brad was awarded the Stanley Slipper Gold Medal by the Canadian Energy Geoscientists Association. It is one of the CEGA’s highest awards, for outstanding contributions to Canadian petroleum geology.

Brad has also received the CSPG’s President’s Award, which is the CSPG’s top volunteer award, for outstanding service over more than 30 years of active volunteering in numerous areas.

Brad has been the keynote speaker at BIG Media’s presentation of “21st Century Energy Transition: A Call for Sensible and Balanced Energy Policy”.

Brad was the first person we recruited to write for BIG Media Ltd. because we saw that he was a relentless educator with a deep understanding of many aspects of the energy realm.

While almost all others chase each other’s tails down the journalistic drain with cherry-picked, sensationalized – and therefore inaccurate and misleading – reports on important issues, Brad reads every word of the 300-page reports from such organizations as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency before providing responsible, logical interpretation of critical information and policies.

Through fact-focused examination of fundamental truths, Brad predicted the rising energy prices and general turmoil that would come with foolhardy policies tied to emission targets that do not factor in energy security nor fundamental supply chain challenges.

Examples of Brad’s exceptional work in 2023:

• Real climate science – uncertainty and risk
• Is ‘Big Oil’ holding up the energy transition
• Can climate be litigated?
• Trash talk: are microplastics truly the horror story we are being told?
• Hydrogen: the ultimate path to net zero or a whole lot of wishful thinking
• Use of scenarios in our energy future is a double-edged sword
• Canadian energy modelling flawed and futile
• Where is oil demand really heading?
• Real-world lessons on energy transition
• Peace River earthquakes – did the media get it right this time?
• Recognizing roots of global energy crisis might help us move toward solutions
• Energy transition – a lesson in advocacy and models
• What the world needs now is energy education and pragmatic energy policy

Please join me in congratulating Brad as our richly deserved 2023 Person of the Year.