461 Presentations

Technical Program Draws 1,818 to Bali

By LARRY NATION
AAPG Communications Director

Bali Photo Gallery

An elaborate opening session with 40 Indonesian dancers performing the Puspa Wresti Dance, a 22-musician Gamelan Bali band and a stage adorned with mounds and rows of flowers provided an exotic welcome to the serious business that was at hand at the 2000 AAPG international meeting held in mid-October in Bali, Indonesia.

While there was plenty around to remind attendees that they were visiting what is billed as "paradise," the attendees' attention quickly focused on the 461 technical presentations with seven concurrent sessions that were well attended throughout the three-day conference.

Technical Program co-chairs Barry J. Katz, of Texaco, along with Karsani Aulia, of Caltex, Indonesia, put together the program that rivaled the size of AAPG annual meetings, giving Bali the largest AAPG interntional meeting technical program ever. Bali also featured the "on the spot" awarding of Continuing Education Units to registrants attending technical sessions.

Fifty countries were represented by the 1,818 attendees at the conference, making it the second-largest AAPG International meeting, the largest being in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1998.

The Bali meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, but was moved to the island of Bali, about 600 miles to the east, due to the political upsets that occurred since the Suharto regime left power two years ago, and due to fears fo´ the safety of attendees. Those concerns were not a factor at Bali and several speakers spoke of the "bravery" of those traveling for the meeting - with tongue firmly in cheek.

However, concerns about the country and the region were addressed frankly from the first speaker - Pak Baihaki, former president of Caltex and now of Pertamina. He noted the many changes looming in the petroleum industry in Indonesia and said "our success depends on our participation in a global dialogue, recognition of our role in a global energy business and acknowledgement of the need to be competitive in the global competition for investment dollars."

Indonesia Oil Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro noted that "Indonesia is now in the process of recovery following the recent economic crisis," and added that "much remains to be done to revive the real economy."

A crucial element of the recovery, Yusgiantoro said, is the role the energy industry will play in the economy of the OPEC member nation, since "the industry accounts for just over 10 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product, a fifth of its export revenue and generates tax revenues that account for almost one-third of the national budget.

"One of our major concerns is the decline of oil reserves, which are today at half the level they were just over 20 years ago," he said. "There are 60 Tertiary sedimentary basins in Indonesia. To date, 48 basins have been drilled - and of these, discoveries have been made in 23 basins and 14 of these are now producing. There are therefore 22 Tertiary basins which still remain unexplored."

He said "it should be noted that (Indonesia) will shortly be offering six new blocks for tender."

Environmental concerns were voiced by numerous speakers, including luncheon speaker Kunihiko Matsuo, of Indonesia Petroleum (INPEX), who spoke of simultaneously pursuing economic growth, energy security and environmental protection.

In looking forward to an extension of the Kyoto environmental initiatives being furthered at The Hague, Netherlands, conference set in November, Matsuo said the Asian Pacific Economic Congress is looking to "large capital investment in (the) infrastructure for pipeline networks required for increasing natural gas consumption," as well as a "shift of energy source from oil, coal and other fossil fuels."

This, as other talks at the Bali meeting, echoed the keynote address at the 1992 AAPG meeting in Sydney, Australia, by G.A.S. Nayoan, head of Pertamina. He said eight years ago "the future of the Pacific Rim is bright - and it is gas-fired." Nayoan served as chair of the steering committee for Bali 2000.

However, Matsuo also noted that oil has been playing the overwhelming role of energy supply in the world after World War II, but that there is "no substantial alternative for oil by 2020" as the Asian Pacific's demand for energy increases are forecast.

AAPG honors and awards were presented at the Bali opening session, with AAPG member Walter P. Grün receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award, honored especially for his work with the Service Team Concept to provide products and services to the international segment of AAPG membership.

Receiving AAPG Special Commendation Awards were Dietrich Welte and Peter Lloyd.

Welte, now professor emeritus at Aachen, Germany, was honored for his contributions as a unifying influence on the various disciplines of earth science. He is known for his work in the field of petroleum geochemistry, and as a co-author with Bernard Tissot of Petroleum Formation and Occurrence.

Lloyd, lead geologist, Southeast Asia and Australia for Schlumberger, was honored for his longtime activities in promoting the internationalization of petroleum geoscience, having lived or worked on five continents, speaking six languages.

There were 59 exhibiting entities at the Bali Convention Center. Also eight countries showed registrants their exploration opportunities at the International Pavilion. They were: Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Namibia, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The Bali meeting was the 13th AAPG International Conference and Exhibition.

Previous AAPG international conferences were held in Brighton, England; Geneva, Switzerland; Nice, France (twice); London; Sydney, Australia; The Hague, Netherlands; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Caracas, Venezuela; Vienna, Austria; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Birmingham, England.