Forums and Special Sessions
Panel: Key Factors Shaping the Future — Opportunities and Challenges (AAPG)
Date: Monday, 11 April
Time: 8:00 a.m.–11:50 a.m.
Location: General Assembly C
Co-chairs: P. Yilmaz
Hydrocarbon is the world’s most efficient source of energy; however, the operational
challenges in oil and gas discovery and recovery are increasing. Operations have extended
to remote areas tapping new reservoirs and striving to increase recovery factors beyond
accepted limits while working to preserve the environment for future generations. The
industry is facing the challenge with adaptively intelligent technologies, out-of-the-box
business models and exceptional human skills. Innovation in E&P is a definite must, and
one company’s success is rather defined in its preparedness to question the status quo to
break set records for improvement. The executive plenary session explores innovation in
E&P. It examines the standards for fostering new and innovative ideas across the industry
and challenges these standards for innovating beyond limits.
The following major industry players will participate in this panel to discuss their views:
- Abdulla Al Naim, Vice President Exploration, Saudi Aramco
- Johnny Hall, Executive Vice President, ExxonMobil Exploration
- Sami Al Rushaid, CEO, Kuwait Oil Company (replaced by Captain Ahmad Al-Rasheed, Deputy Managing Director, Kuwait Oil Company)
- Bill Drennen, Senior Vice President, Hess
- Bob Fryklund, Vice President, IHS
- Rod Nelson, Vice President Communications, Schlumberger
- Mello, Marcio, CEO, HRT
- Colin Murdoch, Executive Vice President, Processing, Imaging & Reservoir, CGG Veritas
Forum: Discovery Thinking (AAPG/DPA)
Date: Monday, 11 April
Time: 1:15 p.m.– 5:05 p.m.
Location: General Assembly C
Co-chairs: C. Sternbach and E. Dolly
The “Discovery Thinking” forum will be the fourth presentation of the AAPG 100th Anniversary Committee’s program recognizing “100 Who Made a Difference.”
Each is a veteran of the petroleum industry renowned for their success exploring for and finding hydrocarbon reserves. Each speaker overcame great challenges and thrived in both business and geological aspects of our profession. Topics to be discussed will include philosophy of exploration, lessons learned from remarkable careers, professional insights and colorful anecdotes. As technology advances and a new wave of young geoscientists enter our profession, we see continued interest in forums such as this to discuss the personal side of success and what has been called the “art of exploration.” This year’s program focuses on insights derived from hard-won experience in 1) play opening Gulf Coast discoveries and 2) discovery thinking behind the hottest international plays. These talks are of particular interest to the Houston venue, which is a gateway to offshore and global exploration technology.
Speakers include:
- James Cearley, General Manager, Exploration — DWEP, Chevron
- Susan Cunningham, Sr. Vice President, Exploration, Noble Energy, Inc.
- Stuart Burley, Head of Geosciences, Cairn
- Paul Dailly, Senior Vice President, Exploration, Kosmos Energy
- Carol Law, Exploration Manager, Anadarko
Forum: Transforming Global E&P: Unconventional Resource Plays as Strategic Drivers. The Next Giant Leap in Geoscience?
Date: Tuesday, 12 April
Time: 8:00 a.m.–11:50 a.m.
Location: General Assembly A
Co-chairs: J. Lund and J. Adamick
This forum will offer company-specific presentations from top executives who, to varying
degrees, are embracing unconventional resource plays and implementing significant
strategic change. All have been industry leaders in successful worldwide conventional
exploration.
What are the drivers of this strategic change? We will hear a diversity of stories.
Technology application, scientific creativity, portfolio balancing, risk tolerance, the world
economic context and other factors shape the decisions being made. Equally fascinating
is the approach taken to implement strategic change including corporate acquisition, asset
divestiture, deal-taking, re-alignment of staff, application of technology and G&G research.
Are we witnessing a paradigm shift, portfolio adjustment or an industry fad driven by risk
adverse capital providers?
The implications are profound for industry and geoscientists in particular. Technical training,
manpower requirements and decision-making processes are all affected. For many,
this represents a mind-boggling shift from the traditional “prospecting” that we and our
predecessors have practiced for nearly a century.
Speakers include:
- Art Smith, President, Triple Double Advisors
- Dave Hager, Executive Vice President, Devon Energy
- John Schopp, Vice President, Encana Oil & Gas (USA)
- Lee Boothsby, President, Newfield Exploration Company
- Chandler Wilhelm, Manager Unconventional Exploration, Shell
- Mark Pospisil, Senior Vice Preisdent Geology & Geophysics, XTO Energy
SEPM Research Symposium: Source to Sink: Evaluating the Significance of
Interdependence of Depositional Systems
Date: Tuesday, 12 April
Time: 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:15 p.m.–5:05 p.m.
Location: Room 342
Co-chairs: C. Paola, O. Martinsen, H. Posamentier and B. Romans
The interdependence of depositional systems has been the subject of much research
in recent years. The notion of the interconnectedness of disparate depositional environments requires an integrated approach to the analysis of geologic processes. For example, what happens in upstream, continental settings can have significant impact on what happens within coeval deltaic and associated deep-water settings downstream.
The role of plate tectonics with respect to the organization and distribution of land masses can play a significant role both with respect to the configuration of ocean basin margins. Tied to this, the effects of land mass location and relief can have a significant effect on climate and resulting geologic processes. Numerous analytical techniques, including those associated with biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, sedimentology, geophysics, numerical modeling and geomorphology, can be brought to bear on the understanding of basin-wide stratigraphic relationships. This symposium will bring together a wide range of disciplines to highlight the state of the art with respect to source-to-sink relationships and demonstrate the integrated nature of this field of study. From a petroleum exploration perspective, this approach has great potential to improve the understanding of uncertainty in frontier as well as mature basins and
lead explorationists to better manage risk elements. Consequently, this session will
emphasize the pragmatic aspects of source-to-sink analyses.
Forum: Taking Natural Gas Seriously: Opportunities and Challenges (AAPG)
Date: Tuesday, 12 April
Time: 1:15 p.m. – 5:05 p.m.
Location: General Assembly A
Co-chairs: S. Tinker, W. Fisher and S. Ikonnikova
Natural gas is an available, affordable, reasonably reliable, versatile and relatively clean
energy source. As such, it has great potential to become a prominent part of the U.S.
and global energy mix.
The forum includes academic and industry leaders and is designed as a holistic overview
of developments in the natural gas industry. The presentations will concentrate on North
America, but include global insights regarding key natural gas demand and supply
drivers and issues.
Varying perspectives on “below ground” reserves and production of conventional and
unconventional natural gas will be followed by a global outlook of the LNG market and
complemented by a discussion of energy security issues.
On the demand side, presentations will cover “above ground” economic issues on an
individual sector level as well as problems relevant for the broader economy, including
energy and environmental policy and regulations.
Speakers include:
- William Fisher, Professor, Jackson School of Geosciences, BEG, University of Texas
at Austin - John B. Curtis, Professor, Colorado School of Mines
- Arthur Berman, Director & Geological Consultant, Labyrinth Consulting Services Inc.
- Porter Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bentek Energy LLC
- Ruud Weijermars, Director of Education, Department of Geotechnology, Delft University of Technology
- Kenneth B. Medlock III, Adjunct Professor of Economics, Rice University
- Gurcan Gulen, Research Associate, BEG, University of Texas at Austin
- John Browning, Consultant, BEG, University of Texas at Austin
- Svetlana Ikonnikova, Postdoctoral Fellow, BEG, University of Texas at Austin
Panel: You’ve Come a Long Way Baby — Evolution of the Work Environment in the Oil & Gas Industry (PROWESS)
Date: Tuesday, 12 April
Time: 1:15 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Location: Room 320
Moderators: E. Medvin and S. Shepherd
Gillian Apps will kick off this panel discussion with a talk entitled “Reservoirs and Sand
Castles: One Woman’s Perspective on Managing Complexity.”
Apps will be joined by a panel of women of varying years of experience, from more than
30 to less than 10, who will share experiences from their early days and observations
on industry careers. What challenges did these women face? What benefits exist today
that did not exist 30 years ago? How has technology benefited working women, working
mothers and dual-career couples? How have company cultures changed? Has anything
gotten harder for women over time? We will explore these and other topics in the panel
discussion. The PROWESS seminar will celebrate pioneering women in our industry,
address opportunities for further evolution, and guide new generations of earth scientists
in the challenging and rewarding (technical/leadership/managerial) career paths available
to them today.
Panelists:
- Susan Longacre, Chevron Fellow Emeritus, retired
- Gill Apps, Sedimentologist-stratigrapher in Global Technology R&D team, Unconventional Gas Resources, BP
- Joyce Thomas, Vice President Operations, US Land, Baker Hughes
- Thuy Rocque, Chief Petrophysicist, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
- Andrea Reynolds, Staff Geologist, Shell
- Michelle Warner, Senior Geologist, ENI U.S. Operating Co., Inc.
Forum: Shale Plays: Technical Examination of Today’s Reality and Tomorrow’s Future (EMD)
Date: Wednesday, 13 April
Time: 1:15 p.m.– 5:05 p.m.
Location: General Assembly B
Co-chairs: P. Basinski and K. Shanley
Shale plays now dominate the North American exploration and production arena and,
according to many, may alter the global energy balance. As a result, there is growing
interest in similar types of plays throughout the world, especially in Europe. While many
see oil and gas plays associated with shales as having the capacity to truly “change the
way the game is played,” there are others who suggest that, while there may be a large
resource, realizing economic success may be far more challenging and elusive.
Join us at this interactive forum where we have assembled a highly renowned panel of
experts who span the full spectrum of views. In addition to a status update, the panelists
will share their insights into what the future might hold in shale resource plays.
Each panel member will give a short presentation summarizing his perspective. These
presentations will be followed by a Q&A session between the members. The forum will
conclude with questions to the panel from participants like you.
Panelists include:
- Art Berman, Director & Geological Consultant, Labyrinth Consulting
- Robert Clarke, Manager, Unconventional Gas Service, Wood Mackenzie
- Steven Dixon, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Chesapeake
Energy Group - Melvyn Giles, Global Theme Leader Unconventional Gas, Shell Exploration &
Development - William Von Gonten Jr., Founder & President, W. D. Von Gonten & Company
Forum: The Deepwater Horizon/Macondo Well Oil Spill — Understanding the Impact (DEG)
Date: Wednesday, 13 April
Time: 1:15 p.m.– 5:05 p.m.
Location: Room 342
Co-chairs: D. Van Nieuwenhuise and M. Foss
The AAPG Division of Environmental Geosciences (DEG) will hold a special afternoon session concerning the Macondo well oil spill. The session brings together scientists from various fields to present topics that have arisen since the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Join us in hearing from front-line researchers involved with spill monitoring; oil transport and degradation in various marine and coastal environments; and the associated government, industry, and economic issues. A panel discussion will follow the presentations.
The Macondo oil spill will have major impacts on oil and gas industry operations in the
Gulf of Mexico for years. Yet, in the aftermath there are also successes. The best science
will be required to comprehend this event and to establish a better understanding of
both the fate and the effects of the pollution. The oil spill is a cross-disciplinary problem
in which the Earth sciences play a key role in finding solutions related to impacts on the
coastal and marine environment, the shoreline communities, and the economy.
Panelists include:
- Donald Van Nieuwenhuise, Ph.D., Director, Petroleum Geoscience Programs,Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston
- Peter Brickley, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Horizon Marine, Inc.
- Nan D. Walker, Ph.D., Director, Earth Scan Laboratory and Associate Professor,Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University
- Kevin M. Yeager, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Marine Science,
University of Southern Mississippi - Jeffrey R. Wozniak, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies, Sam Houston State University
- Robert S. Young, Ph.D., Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines and Professor, Department of Geology and Natural Resources, Western Carolina University
- Michelle Michot Foss, Ph.D., Chief Energy Economist and Head, Center for Energy
Economics, BEG, University of Texas at Austin
