Every year the associate editors of the AAPG Bulletin convene to decide the most influential article of the year. The authors of that article receive the prominent Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award, named after one of the founders and a past president of the AAPG.

The tradition is to award the paper two years after its publication to ensure the real impact and citation scores. Therefore, this year, the Pratt award goes to the authors of the best paper published in 2024: Daniel Minisini and Patricio Desjardins

Minisini, D., and Desjardins, P. (2024). Application of a deep-water stratigraphic framework to the production of the Wolfcampian units in the Permian Basin. AAPG Bulletin, 108(1), 179-212. https://doi.org/10.1306/08252322163

The article focuses on the Wolfcampian units of the Permian Basin, one of the most prospective unconventional plays in the world, and reminds us of the importance of fundamental skills needed to map the distribution of rock properties at basin scale along the entire stratigraphic area of interest.

The authors demonstrate their expertise by generating a series of maps derived from the full integration of the disciplines required to understand major unconventional plays (stratigraphy, structural geology, sedimentology, paleoecology, petrography, geochemistry, geomechanics, petrophysics), with the capacity to cover multiple scales (from thin sections to regional stratigraphic framework)

Beyond the excellent science and real applicability of the content is the tenacity of the authors advocating the release of the necessary data (an effort that took several years of internal diplomacy and persuasion).

Furthermore, it is a pleasure to see among the winners our current editor of the AAPG Bulletin, Daniel Minisini, when at the time of the selection of the article he was not involved in the journal, yet.

Sproule Award Winners

Also, during the same selection process, the associate editors indicated the recipient of J. C. “Cam” Sproule Memorial Award, named after the Canadian explorer passionate about mentoring, and dedicated to the best article written by an author younger than 35 years old.

This year, the Sproule award goes to: Elizabeth Horne and her coauthors.

Horne, E. A., Hennings, P., Smye, K. M., Calle, A. Z., Morris, A. P., and Huang, G. C. D. (2024). Interpretation, characterization, and slip hazard assessment of faults in the Midland Basin, west Texas, United States. AAPG Bulletin, 108(12), 2313-2346. https://doi.org/10.1306/01242423080

The article provides insights to understand the elevated rates of seismicity linked to oil-field wastewater disposal, demonstrating that the geological community cares about all aspects of subsurface geology and that AAPG sits indeed at the intersection of academia and industry.

The authors provide the understanding of the causal factors of earthquakes and how to tackle the evolving hazard by presenting a regional fault interpretation and fault slip hazard assessment.

The AAPG, along with providing the best ideas and technology to explore for and develop hydrocarbons, must also provide the answers to resolve the hazards that come with significant production.

Lastly, one of the reasons I got involved with the AAPG years ago is because I wanted to know the best geoscientists. And years later, here I am honoring my friends.

Thank you all for caring about our profession and submitting to the AAPG Bulletin.

You are a part of the AAPG’s legacy.

Congratulations to the winners.

Cheers!

John Casiano

AAPG President