Table of Contents

 

This year’s Harrison J. Schmitt Award Winner is Gary Barchfeld, a photographer for the oil industry. He has been taking photographs of those inside the profession for more than 40 years.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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One of AAPG’s newest volumes was released just in time for the 2016 Annual Convention and Exhibition. “The Eagle Ford Shale: A Renaissance in U.S. Oil Production” continues the memoir series as Memoir 110. The volume describes the evolution in geologic understanding that quickly transformed a world-class source rock into a world-class reservoir, which produced 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Emphasis: Unconventionals

 

Basins around the world hold identified potential for unconventional resource development and a combination of exploration, assessment and evaluation seems certain to uncover other favorable plays.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Given the high profile of U.S. shale production, it’s easy to forget this phenomenon kicked off a mere decade ago, give or take. As the number of shale oil and gas plays proliferated, so did the naysayers. The negative predictions focused on the well-known rapid decline in production that occurs once these wells go online. Instead of an early death, the ensuing boom upset the world order in oil production.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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The key to effectiveness in horizontal drilling is geosteering, or guiding the bit along what have become continually extending laterals within precisely defined and generally narrow windows.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Standing Columns

As we approach our 100th year as an association, the obstacles we face threaten to overshadow the mission. The struggle to adapt to the changing industry environment has dominated the landscape and AAPG is coming off a second consecutive year of declining revenues, with an outcome of restructuring and continued austerity. Despite these challenges, AAPG is leveling-off with a nearly balanced budget, and I remain focused on the primary missions of the Association.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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There are points in life when circumstances are changing and disrupting the norm. And these changes require us to respond, to change. It’s a time to reassess, reevaluate and start anew.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Geoscientists working in all types of organizations and roles, including multinationals, small startups, consulting firms and government or academic institutions, become leaders when they have attained the technical and business competence and standard of professional conduct to cause other people to value their contributions, act upon their recommendations and place trust in their judgment.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Interpolation of seismic data is an important application in exploration seismic signal processing. The need for interpolation on incomplete data may be due to acquisition limitations, economic constraints or regularizing of merged data with a variety of shooting parameters from different vintages.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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In 1953, a subsidiary of British Petroleum obtained an oil concession of 31,000 square kilometers off the coast of Abu Dhabi. It would later become an important discovery, revealing the potential of Cretaceous carbonate reservoirs in the region.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Even though oil prices are up from their January lows, many people are focused on the current economic hardships, business bankruptcies and layoffs, and the question naturally arises – was the boom worth it?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Stephen Bend, professor of petroleum geology at the University of Regina, Canada, has been named the recipient of this year’s AAPG Foundation Professorial Award. Bend has trained geologists and engineers within industry and academia for more than 35 years.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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Conditions may presently be far from ideal in our industry, but they will get better. Downturns are always followed by recovery and growth. We take these times to learn, develop and improve, while at the same time, hanging on for dear life. Every now and then though, we need to stop, take a breath, forget our troubles and have a good time.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
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