October 2006

In August I attended the North American Prospect Expo in Houston, also known as Summer NAPE. The show was a success with over 500 booths and 5,000 attendees, and it provided a great opportunity as president of AAPG and vice president of Abraxas Petroleum to visit with a wide variety of geologists.

Earlier this summer I traveled through Europe with then President-elect Lee Billingsley and European Region President John Brooks. We were taking a tour that started in Oslo, Norway, then headed to Moscow and ended in Vienna for the EAGE annual meeting.

This month’s comments are a reminder for AAPG members of rights (and responsibilities) with regard to getting involved in issues that impact your professional lives, the longevity of the profession and quite possibly our financial future.

As a volunteer for AAPG and the Dallas Geological Society it has been clear to me that the “90/10” rule holds with geologists as with all other organizations and professions. That is, 90 percent of people simply want to be left alone to do their jobs and 10 percent volunteer to get involved in professional societies, mentoring, politics or other pursuits.

Most rocks are anisotropic, meaning that their elastic properties are different when measured in different directions.

A major thrust of the Africa Region in recent years has been the membership drive to encourage geoscientists in Africa to become AAPG Active members and fully utilize the many benefits provided by the Association for the enhancement of their professional skills and development of the petroleum industry in Africa.