My friend and colleague Jon McQuilken was a geochemist and highly accomplished petroleum systems geoscientist with British Gas and then BG Group, an exploration organisation that was once part of the public utility. He presented at many international conferences, published widely on the petroleum systems of North Africa, and became a chartered geologist in 2014. He had retired from BG Group only four days before his sudden death, from a heart attack, aged 59.
Born at RAF Halton, Aylesbury, son of Norma (nee Hargreaves) and Thomas McQuilken, Jon had a varied and interesting life as a youngster as the family followed his father’s RAF assignments as a warrant officer. This included postings in locations ranging from Uxbridge, west London, to Changi, Singapore, before they finally settled in Beverley, east Yorkshire, where Jon completed his schooling at Longcroft comprehensive.
From an early age, he had an affinity with the outdoors and his appreciation of the natural environment was reflected in his passion for geology and understanding landscapes. He studied geochemistry at Liverpool University, then gained an MSc in mineral chemistry at Birmingham in 1980.
His first job was two years spent as a mineralogist at a South African mine, an experience that stayed with him for the rest of his life, after he witnessed first-hand the injustices of apartheid. His career with British Gas started at its Fulham research labs in 1982. He moved in 1990 to the exploration group at Marble Arch, and latterly to Thames Valley Park in Reading from 1991.
Jon was a caring friend. Among other things, he will be remembered for the number of occasions he participated in the BG Energy Challenge – a sports and problem-solving event for the global petroleum industry. It was not only the physical challenge that interested him but the fundraising too. Jon participated in this event for more than a decade, his tenacious character helping cajole his teammates into raising many thousands of pounds for their chosen charities, Care and Sparks.
Jon is survived by his partner, Daniela, by his children, James and Kate, from his marriage to Catherine, which ended in divorce, and by his mother, brother, Mark, and sister, Maureen.
