Explorer Article

The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is one of the largest, in area, in the world. Practically the size of all North American basins combined, it boasts the third largest reserves in the world, five major source rocks, numerous reservoirs, a broad range of structural and stratigraphic traps and a host of conventional and unconventional plays.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Researchers generally say they are scrambling to keep up with the changing needs of the oil industry combined with the emerging, broader concerns of society. Amazingly, technology research for oil and gas continues to flourish even now, despite some recent problematic headwinds. And even though computing-related technology gets most of the attention these days, today’s energy research extends far beyond Big Data and its applications.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

One of the cooler energy projects in development today addresses CO₂, methane, climate change and clean fuels, all at the same time. That’s “cooler” in the sense of using less heat, as well as being highly innovative in combining natural gas and carbon dioxide to generate fuel. The gas-to-liquids process is a research project of GTI in metropolitan Chicago, where it’s known as Cool GTL.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

In the business of oil and gas exploration, it’s all about managing risk. Companies are more likely to drill where there are strong indications of hydrocarbons from field and seismic data, nearby wells and discoveries – and preferably, all of the above. So, when the federal government officially opens the doors in the near future to the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for commercial drilling, it could be like watching a game of poker.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Do super basins have a role in sustainable development? The short answer is, Yes. Super basins can be part of a sustainable energy and environmental future for the planet. A more complex answer is: It depends on how you define “sustainable.” In the view of the oil and gas industry, sustainability has an economic component and an environmental component. Hydrocarbon-based energy is essential for a sustainable world economy in that view, and it will be for a long time to come.

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

I know I’m not alone. Each day, as part of my morning routine, just as reliably as I brush my teeth and brew strong coffee, I check the price that oil is trading for on global markets. How do I know I’m not alone? Because my first calls of the day – usually with AAPG leaders – usually begin or end with a reference to oil prices. We all know that watching the price of oil does nothing to boost demand, but still we watch, ever hopeful that today will be a good day in the markets.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

History is repeating itself today as low oil prices force collaboration between OPEC and non-OPEC producers. An historical analysis of the real global price of oil shows that OPEC will push up prices when the value of oil drops, as in 1995, or work with non-OPEC countries to defend a value floor, as in 1999 and in 2016 until the present. This value floor is defined by times when OPEC advocated abandoning the U.S. dollar as a basis for pricing oil, or when OPEC and non-OPEC countries collaborated.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

In a world that has seen rock-bottom oil prices, a sharp decline in energy demand, constrained funding for oil and gas and a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the future for unconventional resources looks – Challenging. Although, not too bad. That might seem counter-intuitive, but many analysts say the outlook for unconventionals remains positive even as the oil industry goes through a period of struggle and woe.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Energy sustainability and environmental responsibility are major pillars for the future of the energy industry. They will also be important themes for the upcoming Pacific Section Annual Meeting April 4-8 in Oxnard, Calif. The meeting’s overall theme is “2020 Vision: Producing the Future.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column DEG

In order to support our modern society in an ever- growing global population, energy supplies must converge to meet that growing demand.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Climate change is not only happening in the atmosphere but also in the anthroposphere; in some ways the former could drive or exacerbate the latter, with extreme weather excursions and extreme excursions from societal norms occurring all over the earth. Accomplishing geoscience for a common goal – whether that is for successful business activities, resource assessment for public planning, mitigating the impacts of geological hazards, or for the sheer love of furthering knowledge and understanding – can and should be done by a workforce that is equitably developed and supported. Difficulty arises when the value of institutional programs to increase equity and diversity is not realized.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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