Instructors
Carroll, Alan R., is a professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he conducts research and teaching on sedimentary basins, sedimentary provenance, and ancient lakes. Prior to that he was a research geologist at Exxon Production Research Company in Houston, where he worked on lacustrine source rocks. He also co-wrote the Petroleum Geochemistry Toolkit and the Lakes Toolkit, reference guides that are used widely within ExxonMobil. Previously he was an exploration and production geologist for Sohio in Dallas. He received geology degrees from Carleton College (B.A.), the University of Michigan (M.Sc.), and Stanford University (Ph.D.). TOP
Casabianca, Davide, is a Geoscience Consultant with 15 years experience in the energy business and 8 years experience in the construction business. Currently he works for Marathon on subsurface characterization projects spanning from exploration to reservoir development. Previously he has spent 10 years with BP characterizing, developing and managing fractured carbonates and turbidite reservoirs in the UK Continental Shelf and deepwater Atlantic Margin. Previously he has researched the stratigraphy and structure of a number of basins along the Italian Apennines. He holds a PhD in Structural Geology from Imperial College and an MSc in Basin Evolution and Dynamics from Royal Holloway College in addition to a Laurea in Earth Sciences from the Universita’ di Urbino and a Diploma in Land Surveys and Civil Engineering. His main professional interest is the integration of data and disciplines aimed at understanding subsurface uncertainties and risks and mitigating their impacts on investment return. TOPChatellier, Jean-Yves is currently a Senior Geoscientist with Talisman Energy in Calgary. Previously he worked around the world for Elf Aquitaine, Petroconsultants and Shell International before accepting a job as Senior Reservoir and Structural Geology Research Advisor for Intevep, the research laboratory of PDVSA. His first years in Calgary were dedicated to evaluating new play concepts for Tecto Sedi Integrated Inc. His principal expertise is in data analysis and multidisciplinary integration in tectonically complex areas using tools from geochemistry, geology, geophysics and engineering. He received his BSc in geology from Lille University, a DEA and a PhD in tectonics from Paris VI University. While serving in the French Army he received an MSc in sedimentology from the University of Calgary. He later obtained an MBA from Henley Management College. TOP
Clarke, Don, is a consulting petroleum geologist in Lakewood, California. Don got a Bs degree in Geology from California State University, Northridge and did two years of graduate work at CSUN, LBSU and CSULA. He worked for the California State Lands Commission for 6 ½ years and the City of Long Beach, Department of Oil Properties (Unit Operator for the super giant Wilmington oil field) for 24 years. He taught geology at Compton Community College for 14 years and currently teaches petroleum geology at the University of Southern California. Currently Don does consulting work for clients that include Occidental Petroleum, Signal Hill Petroleum, City of Beverly Hills, City of Newport Beach, City of Hermosa Beach and Terralog Technologies. He has published over 60 papers and abstracts on topics that include computer mapping and Los Angeles basin geology. He has conducted many field trips and short courses for AAPG, PSAAPG, SPE and GSA. Don has appeared as a petroleum geology expert in the Swiss movie “A Crude Awakening”, the National Geographic series “Man Made” episode “Gallon of Gas”, the History Channel series “Trashopolis” episode 9 “Los Angeles” and VBSTV episode “Los Angeles” Hidden Wells”. Don has served AAPG as the Chairman of the House of Delegates, on the Advisory Council and on many committees. He is a past president of Pacific Section AAPG and has chaired and co-chaired conventions for PSAAPG, Cordilleran Section GSA and Western Region SPE.. TOP
Clarke, Robert T. (Bob), received degrees from the University of Oklahoma in geology, specializing in palynology and biostratigraphy. He began his career with Mobil Oil at the Dallas Research Lab where he was involved in the early biostratigraphic correlations of wells in Mobil's offshore Nigeria licenses. A two-year assignment in offshore exploration activities in New Orleans was followed with evaluating proposed exploration research projects that could potentially help the active exploration efforts. Bob was the Exploration Technical Training Coordinator for the exploration courses and field seminars conducted by the Research Lab for Mobil's worldwide personnel for most of the time from 1977 until the merger of Mobil and Exxon in 2000. Bob has helped organize and has taught in the AAPG Field Safety course that was initially developed by ExxonMobil for their personnel. He also continues to do desktop publishing for SEPM and for the Palynology Association. He has organized and helped conduct geology field trips for students and faculty advisors for the AAPG Student Chapter/SEPM sponsored field trips during the Annual Conventions since 1984. TOP
Close, David, is a Senior Geoscientist and Technical Team Lead with Apache Canada Ltd, where he works primarily on reservoir modelling and reservoir characterization utilizing geophysical and geological inputs. David received a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology from the University of Tasmania, Australia, where he specialized in minerals exploration and electrical geophysics. David went on to complete a D.Phil. in Marine Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oxford, UK, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and undertook research on passive rift margin evolution and basin development. David joined Schlumberger Mexico as a wireline engineer before transferring to various locations in the US as a field engineer, borehole geologist, and reservoir geomodeller before moving to Calgary, Canada, to join Schlumberger’s Reservoir Seismic Services group as an AVO inversion geophysicist. David has presented and published widely across a broad range of subjects including rift margin geology and geophysics, deep water sedimentology and stratigraphy, AVO inversion, and reservoir characterization of shale gas. David is a member of the SEG, CSEG, AAPG and AGU. TOP
Cooper, Scott, has his own consulting company, and has spent the last 14 years working projects related to outcrop and subsurface fracture studies, CO2 sequestration, and additional energy related issues. He received a M.S. in geology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in 2000 under Dr. Laurel Goodwin and Dr. John Lorenz; the thesis topic was “Deformation within a Basement-Cored Anticline: Teapot Dome, Wyoming”. Scott left Sandia National Laboratories, a United States Department of Energy research facility, as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff in 2008. Since that time, he has enjoyed working in partnership with Dr. John Lorenz on naturally fractured reservoir issues. Learn more ... TOP
Cronshaw, Mark, is the Chief Economist at Gustavson Associates in Boulder, Colorado, USA. He has over twenty five years of experience in oil & gas, telecommunications, and academics. His economic and engineering analyses include valuation of international and domestic oil & gas properties and facilities including gas-to-liquids, valuation and due diligence for sand and gravel operations, valuation of gold and bauxite mines, energy alternatives for Cook Inlet, development of the natural gas sector in Afghanistan, determination of the economic rate of return for pipeline rehabilitation in the Republic of Georgia, tariff and cost studies for the Alaskan Natural Gas Transportation System, and enhanced oil recovery at Prudhoe Bay. He has been an expert witness concerning cost contingency. Mark has built economic models of production sharing contracts (PSCs) in Tajikistan, Kurdistan, Egypt, and Albania, and was part of a team that prepared a development plan for the first underground natural gas storage in the Republic of Georgia, which led to the award of a preliminary engineering study. His capacity-building experience includes work on the monitoring and supervision of PSCs and future energy scenarios on behalf of the Hydrocarbon Unit in Bangladesh. Mark has taught courses in business strategy, decision analysis, energy economics, microeconomics, mathematical economics and game theory at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), the University of Colorado – Boulder, and the Economics Institute. He co-teaches a two-day course on the appraisal of upstream oil and gas properties. He has a PhD from Stanford University, an MBA from Southern Methodist University, an MS (Chem.E.) from the California Institute of Technology, and a BA (Chem.E.) from Cambridge University, UK. TOP
Dalthorp, Margaret M., presently has her own consulting company, Moorhouse Associates, Inc., in Corpus Christi, TX. Maggie received a BS in Geology from the University of Texas, an MBA from Texas A&M and is currently working on her PhD in Marine and Coastal Systems Science at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi. She worked for Exxon Company USA as a development and exploration geologist and in operations analysis. As a consultant, she has worked for the states of New Mexico and Texas, the International Boundary and Water Commission and numerous private clients to develop natural resource plans and manage pollution issues. Maggie is the author of the DEG on line course: “Environmental Issues in the Oil and Gas Industry”. TOP
Di Cuia, Raffaele, is presently Partner and Technical Director of G.E.Plan Consulting s.r.l. in Ferrara, (Italy) a consulting company specializing in the characterization of complex reservoirs and in assisting E&P companies for their activity in Italy. He previously held technical positions with TOTAL S.A. (France), FINA E&P (Italy) and began his career with Arco British in the UK. He has 15 years experience in E&P industry and he has worked as an asset geologist, an exploration geologist over deep offshore plays and as a reservoir geologist/petrophysicist over fractured carbonate and clastic turbidite reservoirs. During his career he was involved in multidisciplinary studies from the early exploration/basin evaluation to reservoir characterization, seismic and drilling projecting, early production, reservoir modeling and late re-evaluation of old HC fields. He has worked on projects in different countries of Europe, Middle East, Russia and a former Soviet Counties and North and Central Africa. He’s also involved in research projects focusing on the characterization of fractured carbonates and dolomitised reservoirs using different techniques and approaches. He is the principal author of several papers concerning: i) the use of field analogues to better understand and model carbonate reservoirs and ii) a novel approach to the complete interpretation of image logs integrating data mining and artificial intelligence techniques with geological concepts. He holds a first class degree in Earth Sciences (University of Ferrara, Italy) and an MSc in Basin Analysis and Evolution (Royal Holloway College - University of London). TOP
Dolson, John is a Director and founder of DSP Geosciences and Associates, LLC. With partners George Pemberton (Edmonton, Alberta) and Keith Shanley (Denver, Colorado), DSP Geosciences provides a wide range of services from unconventional shale and oil gas evaluation to traditional basin analysis, play generation and peer assists/staff mentoring. Dolson holds a B.A. in Natural Sciences from the Colorado College and a M.Sc. in Earth Science from Colorado State University. His 28 year career with Amoco and BP culminated in Senior Exploration Advisor status and numerous company milestones, including Amoco’s worldwide technology excellence award in exploration, opening of the deep Oligocene play in the Nile Delta and technical oversight and training of TNK-BP’s exploration program in Russia. He lived and worked internationally for 14 years in Egypt, London and Moscow and has experience in virtually all basin types and plays, and has worked extensively in the USA Rocky Mountain, Alaska and Mid-Continent plays. He speaks basic Russian and Spanish and since leaving BP has worked both globally and domestically with over 18 companies. Dolson is also an adjunct professor at Royal Holloway University (London) and Colorado State University (USA) and has served as an advisor for Moscow State University and Tyumen University (Russia). He was AAPG Vice President (2006/2007), a candidate for AAPG President (2010/2011) and is also a member of SEG, GSA and SPE. He holds 2 Distinguished Public Service Awards (AAPG/RMAG), numerous best paper awards and was the senior author of ‘Exploring for Stratigraphic Traps’ in AAPG’s 1999 Handbook of Exploration. His passion is for education of the next generation of explorers and using 2D and 3D petroleum systems migration modeling and quantitative show and seal analysis to de-risk plays and prospects. TOP