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Join AAPG Past President Scott W. Tinker for this dynamic presentation on The Global Energy Transition: What Will it Take to Make the Switch?

Energy impacts every aspect of our lives — yet energy remains a vast and complex subject. Based on personal visits to many of the world’s leading energy sites and conversations with top industry, academic and government leaders, Tinker looks inside the complex world of energy and provides a realistic and balanced view of energy supply, demand, efficiency, infrastructure, and scale.

All major forms of energy will be considered. We will make several discoveries together, some anticipated and others unexpected, and in so doing attempt to simplify and unravel the global energy transition.

• Energy, the economy and the environment are intimately linked. Energy choices are based largely on cost.
• Oil and coal are abundant at the right price, and difficult to replace as transportation and electricity fuels.
• Renewables are regional supplements, but will remain such until major advances are made in energy storage.
• Natural gas and nuclear are the foundational energies of this century.
• Energy efficiency is underappreciated; individual behavior matters!
• Energy security should be the goal of energy policy.
• The scale of energy demand is difficult to comprehend; energy supply transitions take many decades.

Conference participants will also have the opportunity to see the new feature-length movie Switch, where Tinker serves as the onscreen guide at the center of the film.

Tinker is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, the director of the Advanced Energy Consortium, a Professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair and acting Associate Dean of Research in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Scott spent 17 years in the upstream oil and gas industry prior to coming to UT in 2000. Scott is past President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (2008–2009) and the Association of American State Geologists (2006–2007) and current president of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.

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John V. Fontana is a professional geologist and licensed water well driller with over 25 years of experience in environmental investigation and remediation services, and resource exploration geochemistry. Fontana has pioneered and successfully integrated unique sampling methods and tools that support the various environmental business services provided by Vista GeoScience, including technologies designed for 1) specialized soil gas and ground water sampling and 2) in situ bio and chemical remediation.

He has supervised environmental characterizations and remediation projects at major governmental and industrial sites across the U.S. as well as in other countries.

Because of the growing concerns about water well-related issues in areas of unconventional petroleum development, this talk is indeed timely. Although hydrogeologists generally believe that some of the hysteria regarding water supplies and water quality are unwarranted, given the existence of naturally occurring ‘contamination’ and other documented water well problems, public outcries continue, especially where drilling and hydrofracturing is in or near population centers.

Fontana will discuss some of the issues that are front and center in the development of unconventional resources. He will also present some proven methods designed to assist resource developers in documenting pre-existing conditions so that complaints can be effectively addressed, as well as outline how operators can protect themselves from potential legal actions.

These best practices can be applied to all types of unconventional plays including shale (gas and oil), tight sands, coal bed methane, and in situ uranium mining.

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Attendees are invited to lunch — courtesy of the exhibitors. Complimentary lunch for all attendees and registered guests will be available in the Exhibition Hall on Wednesday. Take advantage of this opportunity to converse with exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere while enjoying an informal lunch. AAPG wishes to thank the exhibitors for their generous sponsorship of this event.