Production and prospects continue to pour out of the greater Permian Basin-area of West Texas. One growing play echoes the very beginning of the U.S. shale revolution. More than 20 years ago, development of the Barnett Shale in the Fort Worth Basin introduced the world to the practice of combining hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling. That became a history-making shale gas play. Today, operators are targeting the Barnett more than 300 miles to the west, in the Midland Basin, where the formation is deeper and oilier.
The world’s top 20 super basins contain about 57 percent of the biggest oil fields in the world. Until recently, though, there wasn’t a comprehensive repository where industry professionals and scientists could access information about those fields, especially as it pertained to their commerciality, geoscience architecture, infrastructure and above-ground challenges. There is now. With the release of the fourth installment of the “Super Basin Special Issue Series” of the AAPG Bulletin, scheduled for this August and coinciding with the AAPG-SEG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience and Energy, the work is complete.
In February, AAPG partnered with the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists to conduct the Energy in Transition Symposium in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Embassy of Canada in the U.S. capital, and with the financial support of the AAPG Foundation and other sponsors, the focus of the symposium to communicate the important role of subsurface science and engineering as global energy systems continue to evolve.
The first-year results are in, and the results are good – in terms of immediate success, certainly, but also in what they mean for the future. Nearly 70 Ukrainian geoscientists – unexpected refugees due to war in their homeland – received a foothold in their professional transitions this past year, thanks largely to the AAPG Foundation. The Foundation’s support, in turn, was provided because one AAPG member saw not just a need but also a way to provide humanitarian and professional aid to these distressed geoscientists – a concept that meshed perfectly with the Foundation’s mission.
We have seen many changes in the oil and gas industry since AAPG’s founding more than 100 years ago. AAPG has also changed along with the industry in response to these changes. Our industry’s focus on various plays and areas constantly varies, while shifting product prices and sweeping changes in public opinion and governmental policy have a major impact upon companies of all sizes, as well as the geoscientists working for them.
Colorado’s hydrocarbon industry was built on the foundation of early explorers and field geologists venturing through rough and often dangerous terrain, surveying and mapping in a young nation at a time when geology was in its technological infancy. Without even the aid of a Brunton compass (patented 1894) early geologists, such as Ferdinand Hayden and John Powell, created the beginnings of Colorado’s geological knowledge through exceptional skill and work, upon which we continue to build today.
William E. “Bill” Gipson, an Honorary AAPG Member and a stalwart, award-winning supporter of the AAPG Foundation and Foundation Trustee Associates, died March 23. He was 98.
The processing of land seismic data entails a series of steps through which the data passes, including sorting, static correction, deconvolution, residual static correction, velocity analysis, migration, stacking, filtering and scaling. Some tasks, such as velocity analysis, are interactive, while others are automated. The processing of seismic data from the same area often follows the same proven series of steps or sequence, barring any unforeseen issues that need to be addressed. Such a sequence of tasks designed to process data from their initiation to completion is referred to as a “workflow.”
National and international energy companies today face enormous pressure from government, shareholders and society to meet increasing demand and deliver profits while meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and progressing toward a transition away from fossil fuels. The Energy Trilemma – the capacity to provide energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability simultaneously – is a term developed and measured by the World Energy Council since 2010. Whether they use “Energy Trilemma” or another term, industry leaders face daily decisions about how to provide reliable, sustainable energy for all while reducing CO2 emissions and developing cleaner energy sources.
Alaska’s North Slope is the best conventional onshore oil play in the world. That’s according to Bill Armstrong, CEO and president of Armstrong Oil and Gas, Inc. And, he will give no quarter on his belief about how robust the future is for the North Slope’s prospects. In short, Armstrong calls the area “incredible.”
Carbon capture and sequestration reduces emissions, but it cannot work past cost barriers without the revenue opportunities provided by utilization and storage.
Nihal Darraj, carbon capture and storage researcher at Imperial College, London shares barriers to CCUS commercialization, including costs, technology, permitting and more.
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.
The Paris Basin offers times of both discoveries and failures, from its first well drilled near Normandy in the 1920s to today.