Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Middle East Region
2010 marks the third year in which an elected Middle East Regional Council (MERC) has been seated in the Region; this Council meets once per month. The Council has been very active in the past year in ensuring that the regional members are served and that the AAPG name is well branded. Several initiatives were carried over from 2009, and some new ones were introduced this year.
IBA
The IBA Program and Competition has become extremely successful in aiding students to prepare to become professionals of the geosciences community. The students have gained very valuable experience while competing in the IBA Program and moreover, the universities have been able to get access to datasets that will help them enhance their library and be accessible to future students. This year, a second competition was held in Dubai, UAE where again three universities participated: King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait University (Kuwait), and Sultan Qaboos University (Oman). The winning team, SQU, successfully participated at the International IBA competition, which took place April 8, 2011 in Houston, in conjunction with the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition. Middle East Universities were able to compete on an international level and win third place two years in a row, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in 2010 and Sultan Qaboos University in 2011.
Student Chapters
Seven student chapters have been established in the past two years; the regional council understands the importance of tapping into the future of the industry by ensuring that more and more students are a part of the association and educating them on the benefits of becoming AAPG members. More importantly, the Council recognizes that attracting the students is not enough, that more work and effort needs to be put into retaining them when they cross over and become working professionals. The seven student chapters are: AAPG GeoKwt Student Chapter, Kuwait University; Kuwait American University of Beirut AAPG Student Chapter; Lebanon King Abdulaziz University AAPG Student Chapter; Saudi Arabia King Fahd University AAPG Student Chapter; Saudi Arabia Sultan Qaboos University; Oman AAPG-SEG Student Group, Oman Geosciences Student Society Petroleum Institute; and UAE UAE University AAPG Student Chapter, UAE. Additionally, a new student chapter is being included to the above list; Hashemite University, Jordan has submitted eighty (80) student membership applications which are being processed to officially finalize the university as an AAPG student chapter.
Technical Events
A number of GTWs/conference have been held in the region, covering a wide range of topics and held in different locations in the Middle East. This showed the members’ commitment and involvement in the geosciences community. The GTWs/conferences were: Basin and Petroleum System Modeling in the Middle East: Applications and Case Studies: 11-13 October 2010, Dubai, UAE; the 2nd South Asian Geosciences Conference & Exhibition: 12-14 January 2011, New Delhi, India; the Geoscience of Exploring and Developing Tight Gas Reservoirs in the Middle East: 24-26 January 2011, Beirut, Lebanon; Middle Eastern Mixed Carbonate/Evaporite Systems and Analogues; Processes, Controls and Applications: Feb. 28-March 1, 2011, Abu Dhabi, UAE Additional topics and themes are scheduled for the upcoming year; these include Sequence Stratigraphy; EAGE/AAPG Middle East Tight Gas; Source Rocks; and E&P Data and Knowledge Management.
Distinguished Lecturer Tour
The AAPG DL Tour has now been successfully held for two years, 2009 and 2011. The DL for 2009 was Dr. Frans Van Buchem and for 2011 Dr. Mohammed Ameen. During this year, Dr. Mohammed Ameen toured Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE presenting: A Paradigm Shift in Understanding Fracture Origin and Fracture Influence on Deep Carbonate Reservoir Performance: A Study of Onshore Permo- Triassic Deep Reservoirs in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Ameen received very good reviews on the technical knowledge and update he was providing to both professionals and students in the region. This year also introduced a Middle East DL Sub-Committee, headed by Dr. Fowzia Abdullah, Kuwait University. The Sub-Committee is in charge of assisting the International DL Committee in identifying potential distinguished lecturers who are based in the region.
Outreach Program
Hussain Al Otaibi, MER President, included a few visits to Jordan and Lebanon where he was able to present to the Jordanian Geological Association and a number of universities in Jordan, along with the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. These visits were extremely important as part of the outreach program, to strongly brand the AAPG name in the region and educate potential members on the benefits of being part of the association. The Jordanian Geological Association is now willing and enthusiastic about being affiliated with AAPG. Additionally, the Student Chapter of the American University of Beirut is hoping to participate in the 2012 IBA Competition. The Outreach Program has proved to be an integral factor in introducing and enforcing the AAPG brand in the region. It is a continuous effort that will remain in the Council’s plan every year.
First Newsletter
The first edition of the Middle East Newsletter, “The Discoverer” was made available to the members in early 2011; the newsletter’s mission is to keep the members updated on technical topics as well as worthy news of the Middle East geosciences community. The initiative is driven by Dave Cantrell, MER Secretary with contributing editors Ghaida Al Sahlan (KOC), James Tucker (Saudi Aramco), and Khalid Al Ramadan (KFUPM).
International Nominations for Awards
The Council has once again submitted nominations for the International AAPG Awards for the upcoming Annual Convention in 2012, as it had done for the 2011 Awards. This year’s nominations are:
- Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jallal for the “Honorary Member Award”
- Dr. Wyn Hughes for the “Robert Berg Outstanding Research Award”
- Dr. Mohammed Ameen for the “Robert Berg Outstanding Research Award”
Middle East AAPG Awards
The Council has agreed on the importance of hosting regional awards in order to ensure that regional professionals are being recognized for the continuous efforts and commitment to the geoscience community in the Middle East. Hence, a subcommittee, headed by the Past President Hussain Al Otaibi, will be formed with active members serving on the committee. Awardees to include: professionals, affiliated societies, students, young professionals and teams. The Council believes that this initiative will be very successful in enhancing AAPG’s name in the region and will encourage members’ commitment to the organization.
Membership Overall
The Middle East Region of the AAPG compromises approximately 3 percent of the total membership of the AAPG, as of June 20, 2011; 882 AAPG members were officially registered in the Middle East Region. The Council recognized the importance of having more active members on board and came up with the initiative of contacting associate members, encouraging them to become active members. A letter was signed off by the Regional President, Hussain Al Otaibi and sent to associate members in the region.
Young Professionals and Students Support
The Council is very much aware that the future of the geoscience community is dependent on the students and young professionals; therefore, a subcommittee of young professionals was formed, headed by Anwar Al Beaiji. The subcommittee is in charge of all students and young professional activities, such as the IBA, Student Chapters, Programs and Activities during the 2012 GEO Conference and Exhibition.
Council Meetings
The Council regularly meets once a month to ensure that targets and objectives are being met; showing full commitment to the region and its members.