To be (abiogenic), or not to be -- that is the question once again surrounding the origin of hydrocarbons, and it's suffering the slings and arrows of outraged (and interested) fortunes.

AAPG Secretarial Candidates: Katharine Lee Avary and Robert L. Countryman, candidates for secretary of AAPG, present their bios and explain why they accepted the invitation to be candidates for AAPG office.

The second AAPG President's Conference on National Issues takes industry information and suggestions to the decision makers in Washington, D.C.

Shaking all over? One geologist who has been studying Missouri's New Madrid seismic zone believes the origin of the earthquakes there lies beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

Show me the money! Yes, pretty maps and gee-whiz seismic data are nice, but geologists who want to raise money for a deal need something more to claim the cash.

Companies of all sizes are probing the virtually untouched basins all along the coast of West Africa, from Morocco to South Africa.

Tough Questions? Simple Answers.

Little Help, Please: 2004 is just around the corner when you are planning a meeting ... annual meeting that is. A call for suggestions for session topics has been made.

Colleges, are you cutting it in your curriculum?

Think Spring ... Student Expo that is. Make your plans today.

Time for a chat: Here's a good way for AAPG membership numbers to grow.

Rapid Review: What is it and what does it mean to you as a member of AAPG.

A debate that has blown hot and cold over the past several years is about to get hot again. The subject is whether the origin of hydrocarbons is organic or abiogenic, and an AAPG Hedberg Conference set next June in London, England, may go far in providing some answers.

Cover photo, by Ilka von Dalwigk, shows a limestone outcrop that is part of the down-faulted Paleozoic sequence within the Siljan Ring impact structure in Sweden -- an important site in the ongoing debate .

The cover design is by Rusty Johnson.

STANDING ARTICLES:

Geophysical Corner:
Simple Seismic, Complex Fractures

Business Side of Geology:
Incentives Had Better Be in Sync

International Bulletin Board:
APPEX London Fast Aproraching