Explorer Article
By David Brown
Are years of upstream oil and gas underinvestment and under-exploration finally catching up with the world? Is the hope of avoiding a climate catastrophe now a lost cause? Can the global energy industry deliver adequate, affordable energy to meet the world’s future needs? Is the word in an energy crisis? Annually at midyear, a number of organizations publish overviews of the global energy picture. Based on those reports, there is good news. And bad news.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2022
Explorer Article
By David Brown
Mention energy from the Middle East and most people automatically think of crude oil production. But today, geopolitics and supply challenges have put an increased focus on global natural gas resources. Consequently, energy developments in the Middle East are shifting toward natural gas production and export, driven by an increasing international appetite for gas supply and questions about longer-term oil demand. Right now, the bottom line is that natural gas looks like a long-term growth industry and crude oil doesn’t.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2022
Explorer Article
By Doug Cook
NASA’s Perseverance rover is currently exploring the delta front of Jezero Crater on Mars. It has traveled 7.4 miles and drilled twelve core samples. For Katie Stack Morgan, geologist and deputy project scientist for the Perseverance Mars rover, the first close-up image of layered rocks at the base of Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta grabbed her imagination. “These are the layered rocks that we came for!” she said.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2022
Explorer Article
By Barry Friedman
Question: If the science of predicting the risks and mitigation of induced seismicity, figuratively speaking, was a glass of hydraulic fracturing injection fluid, would it be half full or half empty? The answer is . . . yes. One on hand, geoscientists are getting better about predicting the when and where of seismicity; on the other, there is a lot more seismicity in a lot more places that have to be predicted.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2022
Explorer Article
By Heather Saucier
As geoscientists try to determine their future roles in the oil and gas industry as well as in the energy transition, some discover that there is a solid bridge between the two in a doctoral research and training program in the United Kingdom. GeoNetZero is part of the UK’s Centre for Doctoral Training program, led by professor John Underhill and established in 2014 to help train geoscientists through a partnership of universities and industry for today’s energy challenges.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2022
Explorer Historical Highlights
By Rasoul Sorkhabi
Peter Odell was a pioneer figure in petroleum economics. His ideas and analyses were highly influential in his own time and are still worth studying today. Many people came to know of Odell through his best-selling “Oil and World Power: A Geographical Interpretation.” What strikes the reader of this and other works by Odell is the author’s cross-disciplinary approach to the oil and gas industry, integrating economic analyses with geopolitics, history, maps and geography. His publications were relatable to geologists as well. The issues he addressed, in different forms, are still with us.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 August, 2022
Explorer Emphasis Article
By Emily Llinás
The 2022 Imperial Barrel Award competition included several important changes this year – combining the U.S. sections and Canada Region into a single group, adding a sustainability component to the scoring, and holding the entire competition virtually. Though the online contest limited valuable in-person interaction, connecting virtually provided new opportunities for participants, including participation in the IBA Video Spotlight Series. Sudeep Kanungo, the IBA Committee’s social media chair, said he was impressed by the quality of the participants who competed in 2022.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 August, 2022
Explorer Article
By Ken Milam
India plans to reopen more than 100 coal mines and restart some idled coal-fired power plants. India is the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, but the recent power crunch caused so much disruption to the country’s industries that the government was pressured to ramp up the coal industry in an effort to help meet demand.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 July, 2022
Explorer Historical Highlights
By Jorge Navarro Comet
Not wishing to split hairs over which is the world’s first oil well, the majority of oil historians recognize the drilling of the Drake Well as the birth of the modern petroleum industry. What is not so well known is that some seven miles southeast of the Drake Well, in Pithole Creek, lie the remains of a city that came out of nowhere as a new town, enjoyed great splendor, then disappeared in a few years. It is the legendary Pithole City in Venango County of northwestern Pennsylvania.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 July, 2022
Explorer Article
By Emily Llinás
Global events of recent years have driven the oil and gas industry to make major changes to its workforce and operations, and the professional and scientific associations that serve the industry have had to evolve and adapt to accommodate those changes, particularly with regard to the programs they offer. The Imperial Barrel Award competition is no exception. An AAPG staple since 2007 and one of the Association’s most prestigious and visible programs, the IBA has undergone multiple changes during the past two years.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 July, 2022