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Explorer Article By David Brown

Coronavirus: How Will it Affect the U.S. Oil Industry?

The worldwide spread of the coronavirus demonstrates how disruptive a medical pandemic can be for the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry. In addition to presenting a huge health challenge, the crisis also means a substantial decline in world oil demand. The expectation of reduced consumption has already resulted in a sharp drop in crude prices. But for the U.S. exploration and production sector, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic might not be completely negative, according to at least one analyst.

Added on 01 April, 2020

Explorer President’s Column By Mike Party

Righting the Ship in Stormy Waters

This Executive Committee and the past five EC have been working hard on your behalf. AAPG had a couple black swan events in 2014 and 2015. The Executive Committees during these few years have been working very hard to cut costs and bring the budget into balance in this new commodity price environment. The bottom line to all this is that in five years we have righted the ship, bailed the water, and are sailing once again.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Article By Ken Milam

'Producing the Future' in California and Beyond

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.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Historical Highlights By JIm Felton,William Barrett

The Big One That Got Away

In 1994, while chairman and CEO of Barrett Resources, I got a call from my good friend Ray Thomasson, who said, “Bill I have a prospect Larry McPeek has worked up in the Wind River Basin that you might find interesting.” I’d worked every feature of geology in Wyoming’s Wind River Basin and was familiar with about every well drilled there during my career, so I frankly considered myself somewhat of an expert on the basin ... The Cave Gulch Prospect was located along the Owl Creek Thrust in a geologically complex area.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Article By Roger Slatt

Past, Present and Future of Petroleum Research Consortia in the Geosciences

AAPG Honorary Member and University of Oklahoma geoscience professor Roger Slatt speaks to the vital yet dwindling role of research consortia in advancing education and scientific advancement.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Article By David Brown

Lawmakers, Candidates Propose Nationwide Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing

Proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing in the United States have drawn a wide range of responses from analysts, with projected effects ranging from cataclysmic to trifling. Legislation to phase out fracturing was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives earlier this year. That turned up the heat on the controversy, as did the emergence of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders and Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced a bill titled the “Ban Fracking Act” in January.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Learn! Blog By Susan Nash

Interview with Matt Bell, Strategic Piece - Innovators in Technology Series

Welcome to an interview with Matt Bell, Co-Founder of Strategic Piece, who talks to us today about what it takes to take a new technology from the idea stage to successful launch and commercialization. Matt is involved in AAPG’s U-Pitch New Technology Showcase, where he provides support and guidance to companies needing to build markets as well as potentially obtaining capital.

Added on 13 February, 2020

Explorer Historical Highlights By Mike Nelson

The Hunt for California Oil

In the summer of 1865, Thomas Bard arrived in Ventura County, Calif., to begin exploration drilling on properties owned by his uncle, Thomas Scott, in the area of Sulphur Mountain. Scott had made a fortune investing in Pennsylvania railroads in the 1850s and in Titusville oil fields in the early 1860s. Scott undertook petroleum exploration in California on the basis of sensational reports of the oil potential there published by Yale professor Benjamin Silliman in 1864. Writing to Scott about the Sulphur Mountain area, Silliman said, 'Its great value is in its almost fabulous wealth in the best of oil.'

Added on 01 February, 2020

Explorer Emphasis Article By Barry Friedman

'New Paradigm Needed' for De-Risking Unconventionals

“As we are in the forefront of the oil boom associated with unconventional reservoirs, we are on a steep learning curve concerning related high-cost drilling and completion operations and we need to be aware of associated risks and do our best to minimize these risks and financial waste.” That’s Mamdouh A. Shebl, who has more than 34 years’ experience in unconventional reservoir development, and he has seen the protocols industry professionals take to assess the risks of such wells, both from an industry perspective as senior petrophysicist at Chevron’s MidContinent Business Unit, and from an academic one as petrophysics research professor at Texas A&M University. And he thinks the industry can do better.

Added on 01 February, 2020

Explorer Article By David Brown

Sanctions on Iranian Oil are 'Untenable'

Geopolitical tensions thrust Iran into an international spotlight in January, in a series of events that briefly unnerved oil markets. The aftermath could have serious, longer-term effects on the oil and gas industry, although those repercussions are difficult to predict. There is one certainty, though, according to one analyst: Iran’s situation under continued U.S.-enforced sanctions is untenable.

Added on 01 February, 2020

Hot Items

Explorer Article By Jhonny Casas

Angelo Pitoni, a Real-Life 'Indiana Jones' in Venezuelan Territory

Adventure enthusiasts should enjoy the story of Angelo Pitoni, a larger- than-life geologist whose story includes exploits rivaling any of those portrayed on the big screen. This article focuses specifically on a chapter of his life that took place in my country, Venezuela, and forms part of our country’s oil exploration history.

Added on 01 March, 2022

Explorer Director’s Corner By David Curtiss

Introducing the New EXPLORER, New Digital Newsletters

Perhaps you did a double take pulling the April issue of EXPLORER from the mailbox. What is this? If you joined AAPG in the last 40 years, you’ve only known EXPLORER in its long-standing tabloid format. It worked well for many years as our advertisers – particularly seismic companies – loved the large format and the ability to display their data on a sweeping canvas. For readers, it was a little more awkward.

Added on 01 April, 2024

Explorer Article By David Brown

Persistent Prospects of the Permian

An influx of recent mergers and acquisitions has brought even more operators to the Permian, and there are some regions where there is still much geoscience to be done.

Added on 26 March, 2024

Explorer Article By Emily Llinás,Sylvia Anjos

The ‘Father of the Pre-Salt’

Brazil’s famed “Father of the Pre-Salt,” Guilherme de Oliveira Estrella, is credited with several major oil discoveries and with advances in petroleum systems research.

Added on 01 April, 2024