Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Asia-Pacific Region
There were a number of achievements and overall growth of AAPG’s presence in Asia-Pacific during 2009–10. With our new Asia Pacific office operational, it looks optimistic that the region is looking at a decent measure of start-up success as far as educational programs and other activities are concerned.
Activities and Accomplishments
- Our inaugural GTW was held in Singapore, focusing on pore pressure and related issues. This was very successfully concluded, with 88 paid registrants and sponsorship obtained of US $27,000. Two Short Courses ran alongside, one on Pore Pressure and the other on Petroleum Geomechanics.
- ICE 2012 is planned for Fall 2012. The exact dates are dependent on the 2012 date for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. SEAPEX (South East Asian Petroleum Exploration Society) is our host society for the event. The various committees are making good progress and we hope to welcome all AAPG members to this event.
- Working in collaboration with affiliate society PESA in Perth, a short course was conducted in Adelaide in November 2010. This three-day course on “Cenozoic Tectonics of Southeast Asia,” was taught by Robert Hall of the University of Holloway.
- A second collaboration with PESA in Perth saw a sell-out event. The Core Workshop on the Giant Fields of the North West Shelf, in March 2011, was conducted by Simon Lang and Rob Seggie, (both of Woodside); Peter McCabe (CSIRO); and Bruce Ainsworth (University of Adelaide).
Student Affairs
- The 2011 Imperial Barrel Award competition saw eight teams participating. Winning the Asia Pacific regional event and going on to the AAPG ACE in Houston, was the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. We hope to welcome 12 teams in 2012.
- Asia Pacific has the highest number of student chapters at 42. University GadjahMada in Indonesia was again awarded the Most Outstanding Student Chapter at the AAPG ACE in Milan.
- Publications Pipeline: Two Chinese Universities will receive used, geological publications.
Distinguished Lecturer Tours
We welcomed Dr. Dale Issler of the Geological Survey of Canada and Dr. Steve Dorobek of BP Houston, whose separate tours combined visits to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, and China.
V G Tours
Visiting Geologists visits are being planned to various universities
AAPG President’s Tour 2011
Plans are in progress for a September 2011 tour for Paul Weimer, AAPG President, to visit the Asia Pacific. Paul will primarily visit universities to teach.
New Items
In my view, no new items should be attempted in the near future. The short-term effort should be focused on improving the execution of the various aspects of the current program. A number of the problems that arose during the year (e.g., technical problems with IBA entries, scheduling DL tours in conflict with other events, plus others that I have not specifically mentioned) dealt a serious blow to AAPG’s reputation and credibility in the Asia-Pacific region. The immediate challenge is to reverse these setbacks; introducing new program items should wait until this is accomplished.
Recommendations
My only recommendation is that the communication and service links between headquarters and the regions are improved significantly so that AAPG maximizes its benefit from the various program components and restores its credibility and good name.