The
Asia Pacific Region spans the largest area of any in the AAPG global
community — it comprises 18 countries that stretch across three continents,
two hemispheres, 10 time zones and is home to two-thirds of the world's
population.
Asia Pacific
is, by far, the largest potential growth area (in terms of membership
catchment) of any AAPG region.
Obviously,
it is unrealistic to consider this geographically enormous region, with
its myriad of languages, cultures, religions and range of social and
political perspectives as one entity. Thus, finding a unified voice
or opinion is a challenge.
Thanks to e-mail,
it has become somewhat easier to communicate words — but the attitudes
and views to AAPG issues are as diverse as the number of backgrounds
represented.
Some examples
of the diversity, recent activities and items of note include:
Distinguished Lecture program.
Three AAPG DL's spoke at a total of 41 locations over the region in
2002-03.
Hedberg Conference.
A successful Hedberg Conference, on the theme of "Seals," was held in
the Barossa Valley of South Australia in December 2002. The meeting
attracted 85 delegates, of whom more than half were from outside the
region.
Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG) Conference (India).
APG's inaugural meeting was held in September 2002, in the lovely hill
station of Mussoorie, India. The meeting was attended by more than 200
delegates, and several keynote talks were presented by distinguished
ONGC senior staff as well as overseas visitors (including Bilal Haq).
Membership.
The three top winners of the AAPG Membership Enhancement and Development
Drive came from Asia Pacific Region. They are grand prize winner Yusak
Setiawan, Indonesia; first prize winner Kalyanbrata Datta, India, and
second prize winner Kumar V. Ajay, India.
Student Chapters.
Several Student Chapters were inaugurated. These include the University
of Brunei; three universities in Jogyakarta (Indonesia); Institute of
Technology, Bandung (Indonesia); Curtin University (Perth, Australia).
Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, now has over 20 new student
members — and there are several new members at Massey University in
Palmerston North. A Chapter is likely.
Visiting Geologist Program.
A dedicated group of "have slides, will travel" Asia Pacific members
did just that, visiting, between them, over 50 universities around the
region. Many thanks to Chuck Caughey (Indonesia); Peter Lloyd (Malaysia);
Hasan Sidi (Indonesia); Herman Darman (Brunei); Joe Lambiase (Brunei);
John Kaldi (Australia); and Sanggam Hutabarat (Indonesia).
Grants-in-Aid.
Asia Pacific Region students received eight of 22 (36 percent) of GIAs
awarded to non-US institutions, or 11 percent of the total 76 GIAs awarded.
Khazakstan joins the Region.
At the AAPG Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Malik Musagaliev, of the
Khazakstan Association of Geologists, formally accepted the invitation
to become an AAPG affiliate.
Perth 2006.
The 2006 AAPG International Meeting is planned for October 2006 in Perth,
Australia. The host organization will be PESA and an organizing committee
has been established.
Asia Pacific "team" meeting at Salt Lake City.
The purpose of the meeting was to develop strategies whereby maximum
benefits could be seen by the membership, for minimum cost investment.
The Asia Pacific
Region is undoubtedly an area with significant growth potential in the
next decade — and it is a strong supporter of students.
As AAPG demographics
demonstrate, our industry is graying, and there are not the student
numbers within the traditional Western universities to fill the ranks
of those who have or will be leaving the industry. The most likely source
of petroleum company staffing will be from outside North America and
Europe.
It is of utmost
importance therefore, that:
- Asia
Pacific students become aware of our industry and the opportunities
for careers therein.
- These
students be provided the quality of learning that that is second to
none — and one that will meet industry's needs.
The challenge
is there and, admittedly, it is massive.
The best hope
may lay with the societies, and in this light the AAPG and its student
chapters are key.
It is therefore
imperative that AAPG as an organization, and all AAPG members working
in the Region, recognize the significance to the society and the industry
of the Asia Pacific. It is critical that business relationships with
this part of the world are handled in a professional and culturally
sensitive manner.
This means
that awareness of regional issues and understanding of the social and
political underpinnings of professional activities needs to be part
of the AAPG ethos.