Candidates for AAPG office have been given the opportunity to respond briefly to the subject: "Why I Accepted the Invitation to be a Candidate for an AAPG Office."
Their responses and biographical information were provided by each candidate and edited only for grammar, spelling and format.
This information will also be provided as hard-copy in the January issue of the EXPLORER and available on the AAPG Web site through the election period. Ballots will be mailed, online in the first quarter of 2013. Results will be posted mid-May 2013.
Candidates were asked to limit their biographies to 350 words and responses to 500 words.
2012-13 Vice President, Regions Candidate
István Bérczi Learn about István Bérczi
MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas - Budapest, Hungary
Why I Accepted the Invitation to be a Candidate for an AAPG Office ...
I am pleased to assist and serve the Association, a leading organization of the petroleum industry. This industry was (forced) thinking globally long before the term and idea of globalization emerged. The future of the Association approaching her Centenary is highly dependent on the growth of the membership. Looking at the map of the geography of the membership it is clear that this growth has to come from the eastern part of Europe and central Asia, besides Far East, Africa and Latin America. Raising and living in east central Europe and speaking two of the dominant languages (German and Russian) I feel closer to the people of this region understanding their mentality and cultures deeply stemming in their tumultuous history.
East Europe and central Asia as candidate areas of the membership’s growth do share common features, which – if properly understood and used – can generate added value for the Association. These features are as follows:
- The leading role of strong National Oil Companies (NOCs) as pre-eminent candidates of corporate membership.
- High reputation of the earth sciences in the society.
- Long traditions of teaching earth sciences in universities of national/regional influence.
- Long tradition of the integration of basic engineering knowledge in teaching petroleum geology.
- Growing number of young professionals and students in earth sciences.
- Long history of indigenous and/or isolated development of earth sciences forming the base of a mutual learning process.
- Multi cultural petroleum industry with a high representation of (ethnic) minorities in among earth scientists and engineers.
In addition to the horizontal/geographic growth of the AAPG a vertical and/ or interdisciplinary extension in the direction of petroleum engineering (through reservoir and production geology) geophysics (through the structural geology) and petrophysics (through sedimentology) is a tool of attracting more members.
The position of Vice President-Regions is an attractive position to use my experience in establishing/improving human connections as well as networking in the central and eastern Europe as well as FSU Central Asia. Through these connections I am going to convince:
- Decision makers of NOC-s to join AAPG as corporate members.
- Management of universities and students of Earth Science Faculties to form AAPG Student chapters.
- The leading national geological society of the respective countries to join AAPG as an Affiliated Society.
- Professionals and NOC managers to attend AAPG events regularly and taking advantages of AAPG education programs.
- Government officials, local authorities to host AAPG events.
- NOC managers, faculty leaders, society leaders to join AAPG Visiting Geoscientist and Distinguished Lecture programs.
- NOC managers to establish/host AAPG local chapters or hubs in their respective “oil capital” in collaboration with international oil companies active in the country as strategic initiative.
Obviously, the program ideas above need more time than a two-year term of the Vice President-Regions. Thus the program will be implemented in a close cooperation with the Executive Director of AAPG and next Vice President-Regions elect.
About István Bérczi ...
Senior adviser E&P-corporate center, MOL Group, Hungary
Born 1944, Budapest, Hungary
Academic Degrees
1974
Ph.D., geology, Eötvös Loránd University , Budapest, Hungary
1967
M.S., geology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Experience
2000-present
Senior adviser in E&P-corporate center, MOL Group, Hungary
2003
Ordinary professor (part time), Petroleum Geology, Miskolc University, Hungary
1995-2000
Managing director of Institute of U.S. Engineering, MOL Group, Hungary
1998
Professor adjunct (part time), Petroleum Geology, Miskolc University, Hungary
1993-95
Managing director of E&P division, MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas, Hungary
1988-93
Senior reservoir geologist, HOT Engineering (Austria)
1988-90
Visiting professor, University of Leoben, Austria
1986-88
Vice president, Hungarian Hydrocarbon Institute, Hungary
1980-86
Chief geologist, Hungarian Hydrocarbon Institute, Hungary
1970-80
Reservoir geologist, National Oil & Gas Trust, Hungary
1967-70
Sedimentologist-geological laboratories, National Oil & Gas Trust, Hungary
AAPG Activities
Joined AAPG 1986
Member DPA
2010-13
Alternative delegate, HoD
2011
Member, Council Europe Region
2009-11
Past president, Europe Region
2007-09
President, Europe Region
2005-07
President elect, Europe Region
AAPG Honors and Awards
2009
AAPG Certification of Merit
Publications
Over 60 peer reviewed publications alone and with co-authors about clastic sedimentology (including the first ever book "Sedimentology" in Hungarian, 1992) between 1970 and 1992.
About 100 confidential company reports on reservoir geology and resource, reserve assessment.
1997-present, Presentations at AAPG conferences and World Petroleum Congresses.
AAPG Vice President, Regions Responsibilities as defined by AAPG Bylaws, Article II, Section 4.
The Vice President, Regions, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Sections, shall perform the duties of the President in the absence or inability of the President to serve. The Vice President, Regions, when elected earlier than the Vice President, Sections, shall assume the office of President in case of a vacancy for any cause in that office; and shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President. The Vice President, Regions shall, with his or her other duties, concern himself or herself with the activities of the Association in respect to International Regions. A Vice President, Regions elected pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of this Article II shall be presumed for the purposes of this Section 4 to have been elected on the date of his or her predecessor’s election.