David C. Blanchard

When I assumed the office of Africa Region president two years ago the price of oil was $97/barrel and there was a sense in the industry that the world had learned to live with this oil price. How different the world is today.

As I prepare to hand over the office keys to Bill Bosworth it is worth taking a breather to look back on the past two years and ask what your leadership team has accomplished and what business remains unfinished and ongoing. Two years should be long enough to accomplish many things, but the reality is it is sometimes difficult to find the time to do everything we envisioned.

That said, my tenure has had both wonderful accomplishments and some frustrating disappointments. Building on past leadership accomplishments has made my job easier and I thank previous leaders such as Gilbert, Nosa, Kunle and Sam for building a strong foundation for those who follow.

For me personally, there are experiences that have stood out during my two years as being special.

• First was my trip to Lagos to attend the 21st NAPE and experience the enthusiasm, camaraderie and excellent talks, dinners and making new friends.
• Second was getting to know and working with the leadership team for whom I have a lot of respect and look forward to continuing our relationship as I take on the role of immediate past-president.
• Third, the Africa Energy & Technology Conference in Nairobi, held Dec. 5-7, 2016. One of my goals when taking office was to hold an ICE or major regional event in Africa and I am happy to say we accomplished that goal.

One of the best aspects of being president is working with a great team including Femi, Bill, Ajibola, Tunbosun, Wasiu, Antonio, Akin, Gilbert and of course Delia, without whom we would all be lost like little lambs.

With the reductions of staff at the AAPG headquarters, and subsequent reorganization, Abeer Al Zubaidi, program director for the Middle East, now has an expanded role that includes oversight of the Africa Region. Her experience and skills complement Delia's solid skills, knowledge of Africa and her extensive list of contacts.

So, what has your leadership team accomplished during the past two years?

• Increased the AAPG Africa Region student chapter count to 46.
• Affiliated a new society and renewed ties with the GSSA.
• Held a successful Geosciences Technology Workshop (GTW) in Cairo.
• Facilitated a large book distribution to Nigerian universities courtesy of the Pipeline Publications Committee.
• Held two successful Imperial Barrel Award programs, in Lagos and Cairo.
• Hosted a regional lecture in 2015 and five Distinguished Lecturer events in 2016.
• Inaugurated the VPG program in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 20 talks for universities.
• Held successful discussions with our affiliates on joint events and programs.
• Convened an Africa conference in Nairobi, Kenya, jointly operated by AAPG and SPE.

And while I do not wish to dwell on the disappointments it is important to acknowledge these and learn how to turn them into a success in the future. So, based on my experience, I offer my advice:

• Membership — It is down in our Region.

While this definitely relates to the downturn in the industry we need to tap into neglected countries such as Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Sudan, Senegal, Namibia and, yes, even the tiny Comoros Islands. This is part of the reason why we are convening the Africa Energy and Technology Conference in Nairobi and not in Lagos, Cairo or Cape Town. We have focused our membership drives on the producing areas such as West and North Africa but with the huge discoveries made in East Africa it is time to welcome them as part of the family.

We, as AAPG, need to build our base more broadly and more inclusively. The bright spot is that over the past six years the trend in Young Professional membership in Africa is up. For more on this subject please see Peter Lloyd's article in the May 2016 Explorer.

• GTWs — We had a very successful GTW in Cairo chaired by Bill Bosworth that attracted participants from Africa, Middle East and Europe. Bill writes more on this in this newsletter.

However, there also were efforts made by your leadership team to hold other GTWs in Angola and Ghana that failed to launch for various reasons.

We need to think out of the box and provide GTWs that fill a void, a need for our members and the industry at large.

One of the reasons the Egypt GTW was a success was the concept of basins surrounding the Sinai micro-plate had wide appeal. Why not a GTW in Durban, Maputo, Dar es Salam or Windhoek?

And in our base membership countries like Nigeria topics relating to mature field management, enhanced recovery, advanced AVO modeling and the like are potential subjects.

• Distinguished Lectures and VPG – Yes, we had great success with our DLs and VPGs, but the feedback I have received from across our continent is our members and the industry and academia want more, more, more.

  While it is expensive for AAPG to fund DL tours the benefits to members and others is tremendous. These DL tours usually include side meetings with host universities, NOCs and IOCs thereby adding a big dose of goodwill in the community that we can build upon.
• Short Courses — There remains demand for short courses that offer what the customer needs. One of Nigeria's largest IOCs has engaged AAPG to teach courses internally and we are honored and happy that the company trusts us to fulfill that need. There are other IOCs that we can and should be assisting with such educational needs. On my visit to Kenya last month I heard many times from government officials, IOCs and academia that there is a dire need to build capacity in the country; and this is not unique to Kenya. AAPG is well positioned to offer courses on geoscience, business development, ethics, agreements and other industry topics.

In summary, I want to thank all the members who have continued their memberships through these difficult times.

Remember, AAPG has the graduated dues system so that no one has to suffer to make a dues payment. Also, for those who have been displaced in their careers, AAPG offers steep discounts on attending conferences and other educational activities. Please take advantage of these programs.

I will continue to work closely, as immediate past-president, with our incoming president, Dr. Bill Bosworth, and the leadership team to ensure a smooth transition and assist with ongoing projects and initiatives.

Thank you all for allowing me to serve as your president — and best of luck for a prosperous and rewarding future.