Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
President
This year began with the Macondo blowout and ends with the search for a new AAPG executive director. In between these benchmarks was an eventful year. We began this year with about a half of a dozen goals and I think we have fulfilled most of them.
This has been a good year financially. Thanks to successful conferences in Calgary and Houston, we should have an operating net profit for this fiscal year. AAPG is a not-for-profit organization, but that does not mean we do not want to show a profit periodically to balance those years when we close the year with a loss. On balance, AAPG spends every dollar that comes in the door.
AAPG has always been and always will be about the science of petroleum geology. Our Executive Committees are dedicated to augmenting and assuring the continuation of that mission. We also are dedicated to service to our members and the long-term viability of the Association.
The Science
The Bulletin continues to be our flagship publication and the most cited journal in petroleum geology. The Association has been blessed with the service of highly capable and dedicated editors whose tireless efforts have maintained the high standards our members have come to expect.
Member Service
We have tried to provide you with some new member services this year. We launched Search and Discovery Digest, and we opened up Datapages to individual subscriptions.
We initiated a new digital publication this year that focuses attention on our Search and Discovery website. The Search and Discovery Digest is a quarterly publication that focuses on a specific play-based theme. The first issue was on shale gas and the second issue was on oil shale. The content for each issue is pulled from the relevant submissions to Search and Discovery. For those unfamiliar with Search and Discovery, it is our online, open access database containing more than 4,300 articles. Most of the content of Search and Discovery comes from speakers and poster presenters at AAPG meetings.
We also opened up Datapages to individual subscribers. Datapages is the digital repository for the Bulletin, AAPG special publications and the publications of over 30 of our affiliated societies. Members have had full access to the Bulletin archives as a benefit of membership, but the rest of the database has been largely restricted to corporations and universities in a subscription basis. That database is now available to individuals for a modest annual fee.
We have received a proposal from the Columbian Association of Geologists and Geophysicists to open a Latin American office in Bogota, Columbia. That offer is under review.
Long Term Viability
One theme of this year’s Executive Committee has been to take a long-term view of AAPG. This is an outgrowth of the “AAPG in 2035” session chaired by president-elect Paul Weimer at AAPG Leadership Days. The long-term viability of AAPG is not only dependent upon our financial stability; it also is dependent on our ability to anticipate changes to our business environment and on our ability to react to them in a positive manner. That is the impetus behind the AAPG in 2035 campaign. We need to have a long-term view of what AAPG can and should be in the future. What affects the petroleum industry affects AAPG. The changes in the demographics of the industry will be mirrored within AAPG. We need to be in a position to take full advantage of those changes.
Along the same lines, we have asked the Advisory Council to update the AAPG Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan was conceived in 2003 and implemented in 2006 to provide a guiding document, which would assist the Association in creating clarity and focus on how it should invest its valuable resources and to anticipate changes in the Association and industry that could affect the operation of AAPG.
Another facet of long-term viability is the evaluation of our ongoing programs. This is a continuing process. The first program to be evaluated was the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC). AAPG’s relationship with PTTC began in 2006 when AAPG became the sole member of PTTC. The purpose of the relationship was to help PTTC to re-establish DOE funding, and to secure funding from industry and private sources. We were successful in the first part, but were unsuccessful in the second goal. AAPG made a three-year commitment. DOE has changed the scope of the funding and has asked PTTC to focus on safety and environmental issues rather than exploration and production technology. This shift in focus and the drain on staff time and resources has led the Executive Committee to vote to sever our business relationship with PTTC. We plan to maintain a strategic relationship that will allow us to cooperate on educational programs.