Nine speakers, hailing from both the worlds of academia and industry, have been selected for AAPG’s prestigious Distinguished Lecture program for the 2012-13 North American tours.
The lecturers will offer expertise and insight into a variety of topics, ranging from practical applications of the latest scientific and technological advances, to a look at what lies ahead for petroleum geoscientists.
AAPG Distinguished Lecture program, funded largely by the AAPG Foundation, is the Association’s flagship initiative for spreading the latest in science, technology and professional information.
North American speakers typically take two tours during the season, one going to eastern locales and one to western locales. Each tour typically lasts about two weeks.
Last year’s North American tour slate endured various cancellations due to weather conditions and other factors, but still the speakers logged 72 visits, addressing 5,281 people.
Some of the tours carry specific Foundation-funded designations and purposes. This year they include:
♦ The Allan P. Bennison Endowment speaker, which is an international speaker who makes a U.S. tour, funded by contributions from the late Allan Bennison, a long-time Tulsa geologist.
This year’s Bennison lecturer is Christopher Jackson, with the department of earth science and engineering, Imperial College, London, England. He offers two lectures:
- “Three-D Seismic Reflection and Borehole Expression of Tectonically Controlled Deep-Marine Reservoirs: Examples From the Northern North Sea Hydrocarbon Province.”
- “The Impact of Igneoous Intrusions and Extrusions on Hydrocarbon Prospectivity in Extensional Settings: A 3-D Seismic Perspective.”
He will tour eastern North American groups January 7-18 and western North American groups April 1-12.
♦ The J. Ben Carsey Endowment speaker, an annual domestic tour provided by contributions from J. Ben Carsey Jr., of Houston, in hontor of his father, who served as AAPG president in 1967-68.
This year’s Carsey lecturer is Marek Kacewicz, research consultant and basin modeler for Chevron Energy Technology, Houston. He offers two lectures:
- “Carbonates – A Challenge for Basin Modelers.”
- “Petroleum Systems Modeling – State of the Art and Future Directions.”
He will visit western North American groups Nov. 5-16 and eastern North American groups March 18-29.
♦ The Haas-Pratt Endowment speaker, provided by contributions from the late Merrill W. Haas, in honor of famed geologist (and Haas’ mentor) Wallace Pratt. The funding is grated for a lecture of an applied nature dealing with the exploration and discovery history of a field, or a subject having economic implications.
This year’s Haas-Pratt speaker is Richard K. Stoneburner, president of the North America shale production division of BHP Billiton Petroleum.
His lecture is “The Exploration, Appraisal and Development of Unconventional Reservoirs: A New Approach to Petroleum Geology.”
He will visit eastern North American groups Oct. 22-Nov. 2 and western North American groups Jan. 28-Feb. 8.
Other Foundation-funded North American lectures this season include:
♦ Ronald C. Blakey, professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz., who will speak on “Using Paleogeographic Maps to Portray Phanerozoic, Geologic and Paleotectonic History of Western North America.”
He will be making four tours this season, and his lecture dates are Oct. 8-19 and Feb. 25-29 (eastern North America) and Dec. 3-7 and March 25-29 (western North America).
♦ Kathleen M. Marsaglia, professor in the department of geological sciences at California State University Northridge.
Her lecture is “Chasing Bits and Pieces of New Zealand From Source to Sink: San Provenance Studies in New Zealand Sedimintary Systems and Implicaitons for Hydrocarbon Exploration Across ‘Zealandia.’”
Her tour dates are Sept. 10-21 and Oct. 22-Nov. 2 (western), and April 1-12 (eastern)
♦ Jeffrey A. May, retired chief geologist for EOG Resources, who will speak on “Mudrock Reservoirs – Why Depositional Fabric and Sequence Stratigraphic Framework Matter.”
His tour dates are Oct. 8-19 (eastern) and April 15-26 (western).
♦ Chris Paola, CSE distinguished professor at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, who will offer two lectures:
- “Mass Balance Effects in Depositional Systems.”
- “Experimental Stratigraphy.”
His tour dates are Sept. 24-Oct. 5 (eastern), and March 4-15 (western).
♦ Art Saller, stratigrapher and exploration geologist, Cobalt International Energy, Houston, who offers four lectures:
- “Controls on Hydrothermal Dolomites and Their Reservoir Properties.”
- Diagenetic Evolution of Porosity in Carbonates During Burial.”
- “Sequence Stratigraphy of Classic Carbonate Outcrops in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico With Subsurface Analogs.”
- “Pleistocene Shelf-to-Basin Depositional Systems, Offshore East Kalimantan, Indonesia: Insights Into Deepwater Slope Channels and Fans.”
His tour dates are Nov. 5-16 (eastern), and Jan. 14-25 (western)
♦ W.C. “Rusty” Riese, Houston, continues as the AAPG Ethics Lecturer, speaking on “Oil Spills, Ethics and Society: How They Intersect and Where the Responsibilities Reside.”
He is available on a request basis.