Explorer Article

Something old, something new: The venerable Austin Chalk has been a part of the U.S. oil story for more than three decades – but a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey has added a new chapter to its tale.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The name game: Unraveling the geologic complexities of the Granite Wash is tough enough, but one team of geologists went one better – they unraveled the mystery of the clashing nomenclatures.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

Historical Highlights: In spite of secrecy, lack of access to well data, long-time BP employee was privileged to become involved in a major petroleum province before it was discovered and stayed with it until it reached maturity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Early detection: A Canadian geophysicist is finding success by incorporating existing 3-D data to determine fracture networks in the Bakken Shale.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Here, there and everywhere: For the first time, cable-free self-contained nodal systems are being used in an onshore-offshore combination – and in a challenging location.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Oh give me a home where the buffalo … coexist with the oil industry. Thanks to a lot of cooperation and mutual respect, such a place exists at Oklahoma’s Tallgrass PrairiePreserve.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Going natural: A three-vehicle caravan heads from Texas to California powered bycompressed natural gas.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

Oil production in Nigeria started in 1958 after the discovery of Oloibiri oil field in 1956.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

Geology’s role in unconventional natural gas production (via hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling) often is overlooked by the public, but it is a key factor in ensuring that natural gas production is efficient, economic and environmentally responsible.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Director’s Corner

This edition of EXPLORER began with President Paul Weimer presenting a detailed analysis of membership trends in the Association.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Hot Items

Explorer Director’s Corner

Perhaps you did a double take pulling the April issue of EXPLORER from the mailbox. What is this? If you joined AAPG in the last 40 years, you’ve only known EXPLORER in its long-standing tabloid format. It worked well for many years as our advertisers – particularly seismic companies – loved the large format and the ability to display their data on a sweeping canvas. For readers, it was a little more awkward.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

It isn’t news to anyone that prediction is difficult, especially when it’s the future (as a great man once said). Uncertainty and unpredictability are just a part of the job of tracking and predicting the future supply and demand of energy. That being the case, when energy analysts say that the current level of uncertainty is particularly high, it might be easy to dismiss it as a “dog bites man” story. It isn’t.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Advancements in processing and imaging techniques have continued over the last several decades, which have gradually improved the quality of the processed surface seismic data. When the quality of the existing seismic data is not adequate to perform an interpretation task reasonably, then the interpreter looks for other options. Is it feasible to acquire a new survey? In the absence of an improved survey, will reprocessing of seismic data be a good option?

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

A new type of buoyancy model can be used to understand the source of residual oil zones, both thick and thin, to help determine the likelihood that economically viable recoverable oil resides in transition zones of imbibition reservoirs. Application of a buoyancy and breech model will fill a void in reservoir characterization. It will help distinguish between TZs and ROZs, the first of which allows application of primary and secondary (waterflooding) oil recovery methods and the second of which requires more difficult CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects.

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The Casablanca oil field, discovered in 1975 and located on the Mediterranean shelf edge, has been greatly significant in the world’s offshore oil industry activity, besides being by far the biggest oil field in Spain.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Headquarters Contacts

Susan Nash
Susan Nash Director, Innovation and Emerging Science and Technology, AAPG +1 405 314 7730