Events Blog

We are pleased to announce that AAPG has scheduled this research conference to be held June 18-20, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Convenors for this conference are Dr. Dietmar (Deet) Schumacher (GeoField Services, Paris) and Dr. Gary K. Rice (GeoFrontiers Corp., Dallas). The past two decades have seen not only a continued interest in the topic of hydrocarbon microseepage, but have resulted in ongoing development of new and novel exploration technologies and applications. These have led to improved integration of geochemistry with geology, geophysics, and remote sensing, and have resulted in more efficient exploration and development strategies. We hope to bring together 70-90 international experts from industry, academia, and government to review the state of knowledge of hydrocarbon microseepage in light of the new body of data and insights gained in the past two decades and current research directions.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

The challenges of the Mina El Carmen Formation can be overcome by evaluating the application of various interpretation tools and special processes, so that the reservoir sands can be detected and visualized in terms of their geometry, orientation, extension, thickness and position in the stratigraphic column.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

A strategy gaining force to reduce risk and improve decision-making in recent years is “integration,” the practice of combining disparate teams to complete single projects. Integrated teams are increasingly common in the energy sector, where single business units include geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists, engineers and other professionals who work on a common project.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

We are pleased to announce that AAPG has scheduled this research conference to be held June 18-20, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Convenors for this conference are Dr. Dietmar (Deet) Schumacher and Dr. Gary K. Rice.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Director’s Corner

The continent of Africa has beguiled geologists for centuries. Its varied and beautiful landforms and geological features, its mineral and energy resources, its cultural heritage – it’s the birthplace of our species – all combine to form a rich experience of sights and sounds, aromas and flavors. Once you’ve been to Africa, you want to go back. And that’s why, after 10 years, we’re heading back to Africa next month – back to Cape Town, for the 2018 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Advances in deep learning and artificial intelligence promise to not only drive our cars but also taste our beer. Specifically, recent advances in the architecture of deep-learning convolutional neural networks have brought the field of image classification and computer vision to a new level.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Saudi Aramco hopes to push the boundaries of exploration by creating and encouraging new technologies. The company said it is pursuing the promise of “the fourth industrial revolution” through Big Data and supercomputing and investigations into nanotechnology applications.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

All interpreters have been annoyed when a clear through- going fault seen on a vertical slice through the seismic amplitude volume appears to have holes in the discontinuity on a vertical slice through the corresponding coherence volume.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Exploration and development drilling along the upper region of the Middle Pennsylvanian Red Fork Sandstone has been going on since 1979 in the western part of the Anadarko basin of Oklahoma. Fangyu Li, a postdoctoral research associate in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia, said the latest technology in multispectral coherence is developing to a point where scientists can see more of what’s down there and they can see it more clearly.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

“Big data” and “data analytics” are the buzzwords these days. In the last decade, our industry grappled not only with ever-larger volumes of data, but also with increased data heterogeneity. Recent developments in data analytic capabilities applied to other industries hold significant promise for those of working in the hydrocarbon exploration and development.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Palermo, Italy
Thursday, 25 April 2024, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

This one-day field trip will provide an introduction to a Miocene-Pliocene succession of southern Sicily, which includes outcrops of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), as well as the Messinian-Zanclean GSSP (Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Point) and Zanclean stratotype. The MSC sedimentary record consists of an evaporitic-carbonate unit at the base (the Basal Limestone), overlain the Lower Gypsum unit, in turn overlain by the Upper Gypsum unit, and sealed by transgressive chalk deposits of the Trubi Fm. The Lower Gypsum unit (massive gypsum with cm-sized selenite crystals) will be visited along the beach of Siculiana Marina (about 15 km NW of Agrigento). Next, we will visit near Capo Rossello (about 10 km NW of Agrigento) an outcrop of the Upper Gypsum unit consisting of clay-gypsum cycles and overlain by the Trubi Fm. The latter, at Scala dei Turchi beach, consists of chalk deposits arranged in a spectacular thick succession (~120 m thick) interpreted as astronomically-controlled depositional cycles. The uppermost interval of the MSC sedimentary record, including the Messinian-Zanclean GSSP, will be observed along the beach of Eraclea Minoa located about 20 km NW of Capo Rossello. Pricing Fee: €50 Attendee Limit: Min 15 - Max 50 People Registration Deadline: 11 April 2024 Field Trip Rendezvous Point Hotel nH Palermo Field Trip Leaders Antonio Caruso University of Palermo Attilio Sulli University of Palermo

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Palermo, Italy
Sunday, 21 April 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This one-day field trip will focus on Mesozoic (Jurassic to Cretaceous) carbonates outcropping in the fold and thrust belt of western Sicily and equivalent to the aquifer complex of the Sciacca Geothermal Field located in the southwestern part of the island. Participants will have the opportunity to visit in the first stop a spectacular “drowned” carbonate-platform succession at Mt. Maranfusa located in an inactive quarry about 50 km SW of Palermo. The succession consists of Lower Jurassic peritidal cycles overlain by Middle Jurassic to Cretaceous pelagic limestone (e.g. ammonitic limestone, “chalk”) and marked by an unconformity with locally hardground. Syn-depositional Mesozoic tectonic is characterized by neptunian dykes and normal faults, whereas reverse faults, strike-slip faults, and joints are related to subsequent Cenozoic deformation. In the second stop, at Mt. San Calogero, adjacent to the picturesque coastal town of Sciacca (about 100 km south of Palermo), we will visit the surface expression of an extensive karst system linked to uprising geothermal fluids. Furthermore, we will discuss main characteristics of the Sciacca Geothermal Field and its connection to deep mantle-derived fluids. Outcrop data will be integrated with both 2D seismic lines and exploration well logs showing the stratigraphy and structure of the deep aquifer. Given the presence of faults and joints in the outcrops, this field trip can provide the participants with valuable insights into naturally fractured reservoirs at the sub-seismic scale. Pricing Fee: €50 Attendee Limit: Min15 - Max 45 People Registration Deadline: 11 April 2024 Field Trip Leaders Gianni Mallarino MOL Group Attilio Sulli University of Palermo

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Banff, Canada
Saturday, 11 May 2024, 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.

Time: 8:00am - 5:00pm Fee: $300 AAPG members $350 Nonmembers $200 Academic/AAPG Emeritus Members $50 discount for workshop registrants Fee Includes: Transportation Insurance Field guide Entrance fee to Banff National Park Registration available during workshop registration This field trip will focus on the structural geology of the foothills and Front Ranges of Banff. Participants will be able to view excellent field examples of structures very similar to the producing oil and gas fields in the foothills to the west of Calgary and to learn about the complexities of sub-seismic-scale deformation. The field trip starts with an introduction to the interaction between thrust front with foreland basins and the interaction of basement trends with thrust belt geometries and (conventional) hydrocarbon fields. During the 1-day trip participants will follow a dip transect from the undeformed foreland basin, the eastern edge of the foothills marked by the triangle zone, the Front Ranges boundary and end at the Main Ranges west of Banff. Field Trip Itinerary Depart from Calgary – 8:00 a.m. Stop 1: Cochrane Retreat Road Overlook Trip overview and introduction; safety and logistics comments; interaction of thrust front with foreland basin; interaction of basement trends with thrust belt geometry and (conventional) hydrocarbon field distribution; appreciation of scale for subsurface play fairway. Stop 2: Scott Lake Stop 3: The Stony Nakoda Tim’s Classic stop, with historical importance for understanding the thrust belt and thrust geometry. Part 1 of displacement gradient on a large thrust. Most importantly, toilet stop after all the Tim’s coffee and driving. Review of Mt Yamnuska from a different perspective; preview of drive through McConnell damage zone and change in HW stratigraphy.. Stop 4: Lac des Arcs Imbricate thrust sheets in the Front Ranges and Banff Formation. Stop 5: Canmore T-junction Observe complexities of sub-seismic-scale deformation in mechanically layered rocks in the footwall of a large thrust Stop 6: Canmore strike view of the Rundle thrust Exposed strike view analogous to a cut-away of a giant conventional Foothills hydrocarbon field such as Turner Valley. Cross faults within the thrust sheet offset potential reservoir units at sub-seismic scale. Cross faults are arguably part of a regional trend associated with deeper, basement-rooted NE-SW structures. Stop 7: Mt Norquay Overlook Stop 8: Bow Falls Fracture systems in the Vega Siltstone Mbr of the Triassic Sulphur Mtn Fm. This outcrop of Vega Member siltstone of the Sulphur Mtn Fm is considered equivalent to upper Montney Fm. We will focus on the outcrop adjacent to the steps up to the Falls overlook.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Palermo, Italy
Monday, 22 April Wednesday, 24 April 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This Symposium marks a collaborative event that brings together AAPG Europe and AAPG Middle East, with a central focus on carbonates and mixed carbonate systems worldwide, while highlighting their significance within these two regions. The primary objectives are an overview of controls that govern the evolution of these systems in time and space and the characterization and prediction of their properties across scales.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Monday, 27 May Wednesday, 29 May 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

In order to support the energy transition, optimizing exploration and production from complex stratigraphic-diagenetic conventional and unconventional plays remains highly important. At the same time, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) poses new technological challenges that will impact both the industry and academia for decades to come. This 2nd edition will present reviews and discuss technology developments in geological process-based forward modeling achieved during the last 2 years. New perspectives for future technology developments and implementation in industry workflows will be discussed and with the additional focus on CO₂ storage and other sustainability-related applications, the scope of the workshop will be considerably extended.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Physics is an essential component of geophysics but there is much that physics cannot know or address. 

Request a visit from John Castagna!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Around 170 million years ago, the Gulf of Mexico basin flooded catastrophically, and the pre-existing landscape, which had been a very rugged, arid, semi-desert world, was drowned beneath an inland sea of salt water. The drowned landscape was then buried under kilometers of salt, perfectly preserving the older topography. Now, with high-quality 3D seismic data, the salt appears as a transparent layer, and the details of the drowned world can be seen in exquisite detail, providing a unique snapshot of the world on the eve of the flooding event. We can map out hills and valleys, and a system of river gullies and a large, meandering river system. These rivers in turn fed into a deep central lake, whose surface was about 750m below global sea level. This new knowledge also reveals how the Louann Salt was deposited. In contrast to published models, the salt was deposited in a deep water, hypersaline sea. We can estimate the rate of deposition, and it was very fast; we believe that the entire thickness of several kilometers of salt was laid down in a few tens of thousands of years, making it possibly the fastest sustained deposition seen so far in the geological record.

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Request a visit from Frank Peel!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

In comparison with the known boundary conditions that promote salt deformation and flow in sedimentary basins, the processes involved with the mobilization of clay-rich detrital sediments are far less well established. This talk will use seismic examples in different tectonic settings to document the variety of shale geometries that can be formed under brittle and ductile deformations.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) seismic-reflection surveys provide one of the most important data types for understanding subsurface depositional systems. Quantitative analysis is commonly restricted to geophysical interpretation of elastic properties of rocks in the subsurface. Wide availability of 3D seismic-reflection data and integration provide opportunities for quantitative analysis of subsurface stratigraphic sequences. Here, we integrate traditional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation with quantitative geomorphologic analysis and numerical modeling to explore new insights into submarine-channel evolution.

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Request a visit from Jacob Covault!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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