This month's column was written by Peter Lloyd, regional president of the AAPG Asia-Pacific Region.

AAPG in the Asia-Pacific

Editor's note: This column is devoted to international items of note to the AAPG.

News items, press releases and other information should be submitted to the EXPLORER/International Bulletin Board, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Okla. 74101; telephone – 918-560-2616; fax – 918-560-2685; or e-mail – vstefan@aapg.org.

AAPG in mid-1999 launched an initiative to "regionalize" its international efforts – a move designed to ensure overseas membership with better representation and a wider range of member services.

Last year's Bali 2000 international meeting and exhibition, with 1,900 attendees, demonstrated the technical prowess that this region shares with the rest of the organization – and was a springboard to several initiatives on which we have started work.

In the vast Asia-Pacific Region we have now set up a regional infrastructure with a steering committee and a representative in almost every country – from New Zealand to Pakistan and from Australia to East Siberia. We now have over 1,000 active members, and 13 members elected to the House of Delegates.

All 13, or their alternates, managed to attend the AAPG annual meeting in New Orleans last year – think of the air miles!

The Asia-Pacific Region also gained a vote on the AAPG Advisory Council.

The goals for the Asia-Pacific Region are five-fold:

1. To assure maximum exposure to AAPG's Distinguished Lecturer program.

   In the last two years we hosted Ron Nelson (fractured reservoirs), Ken McClay (rift basins) and Henry Posamentier (sequence stratigraphic applications). In 2000-2001, we have lecture tours by Paul Crevello ("Carbonate Reservoir Simulation Models" and "Turbidite and Deep-Water Depositional Systems"), as well as Stan Paxton, who will be speaking on "Defining Sweet Spots in Sedimentary Basins."

   We also are hosting a grand "presidential tour"; Robbie Gries will spend seven weeks visiting the complete region during her tenure, presenting her ideas on "Thinking Outside the Box, Innovative Exploration Plays."

2. To set up Student Chapters, bringing "new blood" into the Association.

   During 2000 we added six new chapters in the region; one in Kuala Lumpur and five in Indonesia, sponsored by the Ex-Presidents' Spouses, Gulf Canada, Schlumberger and Christiane Lloyd.

   We also are encouraging students to apply for the Grants-in-Aid program to help support their field work, and we are distributing collections of the BULLETIN, going back over many years, which have been donated by retiring members to these faculties.

   Note that for US$ 260 you can sponsor your own Chapter (one professor and 10 students)! And by volunteering as a "Visiting Geologist" you can come and lecture at these and other universities across the region.

3. To involve AAPG as a co-sponsor of conventions and workshops.

   Bali 2000 was a great example of this initiative, demonstrating how we can cooperate with other international organizations, like the SEG (Society Exploration Geophysicists), SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) and the SPWLA (Society of Professional Well Log Analysts). We hope to maintain this close level of inter-society cooperation in future conferences and workshops planned for the area.

   The next joint meeting will be on "Deep Water Sedimentation of Southeast Asia," May 14-16, in Jakarta, hosted by FOSI (Forum for Indonesia's Sedimentologists).

4. To bring technical courses developed by the AAPG's education department out to the Asia-Pacific.

   This technology transfer will encourage professional development, and the flow of ideas into and across the region will stand us all in good stead as we look to the future.

   This year we also plan to source courses within Asia-Pacific, leveraging off the expertise we have in organizations and institutes such as NCPGG (Australia's National Center for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics) and NExT (Network for Excellence in Training).

5. To assure that innovation, and professional and technical achievements in the international sphere are recognized and honored by the AAPG awards committees.

   Chuck Caughey and Ian Collins will receive Distinguished Service Awards at this year's AAPG annual meeting in Denver.

   It is only through volunteer efforts that our various societies and initiatives will prosper, and we need to formally recognize those who have contributed so much over the years.

Finally, I hope that all those members in the region who have not been mentioned in this article (directly or otherwise), or who are not currently active in their local societies, will feel moved to volunteer their services and energies to AAPG.

Paying your subscription gets you the BULLETIN and the EXPLORER – and giving some quality time to push these and other initiatives assures even greater personal and professional satisfaction and reward.

And without sounding too much like one of those soppy, drippy, tear-flowing winners on Oscar night, we'd like to extend our thanks and appreciation to all those in AAPG headquarters in Tulsa, plus the International Liaison, Distinguished Lecturer and Membership committees; the Executive Committee; the HOD executives; and the Advisory Council.

Their support for the regionalization process will help expand the ideas, drive and vision of AAPG around the globe.

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