Alex Hartwig

Alex Hartwig, Partner Risk and Play Performance

Alex Hartwig studied exploration geology at the Technical University in Berlin. His master thesis in 2009 was the first peer-reviewed article on the shale-play potential of Northeast German source rocks. He attained his PhD from TU-Berlin on the topic of “Hydrocarbon migration and leakage in the Orange Basin, South Africa'' while working as PhD-researcher at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ).

In 2012 he began working as petroleum system analyst in ConocoPhillips’ (COP) L48 New Ventures Exploration in Houston, Texas. There he supported unconventional tight-oil and gas exploration and appraisal projects in all major US onshore basins. After a short period in COPs’ International New Ventures team, Alex accepted a position as petroleum system analyst with Aker BP and moved to Norway in 2016. At Aker BP, he worked in specialist and project-lead roles for exploration, digitization and R&D projects throughout the Norwegian Continental Shelf. From 2020 – 2023, he was the exploration manager for Aker BP’s New Ventures team, supervising regional project and R&D studies, developing and capturing new play concepts, as well as leading the annual application rounds for new exploration licenses offshore Norway. He works as an independent exploration consultant since October 2023.

Alex focuses on assessing the subsurface risks for petroleum exploration and is interested in applying proven exploration workflows to geothermal, natural hydrogen and other critical energy resources. His research interests cover basin evolution, fluid migration, alteration and trapping mechanisms.

Contact me: hartwig@geos4.com

List of selected publications