Energy Policy Blog

The House Natural Resources Committee recently held a hearing to discuss energy development in the Mancos shale formation of the Piceance basin, which is a geographic area that spans Colorado and Utah and much of the resource is located on federal lands. The purpose of the hearing was to highlight the release of a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment which found that the Mancos shale has a large volume of recoverable energy resources.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Where is the oil? How much is there? and What is the best strategy for recovery? These are a few of the questions that we'll answer at the Making Money with Mature Fields - Geosciences Technology Workshop, October 5-6, 2016, Houston, TX. The goal of this workshop is to review mature fields and to identify the amount and nature of oil that can be recovered, and to evaluate competing strategies for economically producing the remaining reserves. In addition to looking closely at fields, we will review new and improved technologies that may help revitalize reservoirs and overcome problems such as low pressure, paraffin, corrosion, and more.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

Even though oil prices are up from their January lows, many people are focused on the current economic hardships, business bankruptcies and layoffs, and the question naturally arises – was the boom worth it?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Registration is now open for the 4th annual Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) to be held Aug. 1-3 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

“Basins to Barrels” will be the theme of the annual meeting of the Eastern Section of AAPG, which will be held Sept. 25-27 at the Lexington Convention Center complex in Lexington, Ky.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Given the high profile of U.S. shale production, it’s easy to forget this phenomenon kicked off a mere decade ago, give or take. As the number of shale oil and gas plays proliferated, so did the naysayers. The negative predictions focused on the well-known rapid decline in production that occurs once these wells go online. Instead of an early death, the ensuing boom upset the world order in oil production.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Basins around the world hold identified potential for unconventional resource development and a combination of exploration, assessment and evaluation seems certain to uncover other favorable plays.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

One of AAPG’s newest volumes was released just in time for the 2016 Annual Convention and Exhibition. “The Eagle Ford Shale: A Renaissance in U.S. Oil Production” continues the memoir series as Memoir 110. The volume describes the evolution in geologic understanding that quickly transformed a world-class source rock into a world-class reservoir, which produced 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
wwwUpdate Blog

Do you know someone who is worthy of AAPG honors? The AAPG Honors and Awards Committee seeks nominations for 2017 awards to be presented at the 100th Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston, April 2-5, 2017.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Coiled tubing drilling is an area where geologists and engineers must work together very closely, because an understanding of the formation is absolutely vital when planning wells drilled in tight gas sands, unconventionals, and in re-entries.  New developments in coiled tubing have made it possible to economically drill and produce often overlooked zones and re-entry drilling. Welcome to an interview with Richard Stevens, an expert in the area of coiled tubing drilling, who discusses the drilling technique and the importance of teams that include engineers and geologists.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Hot Items

Explorer Geophysical Corner

Advancements in processing and imaging techniques have continued over the last several decades, which have gradually improved the quality of the processed surface seismic data. When the quality of the existing seismic data is not adequate to perform an interpretation task reasonably, then the interpreter looks for other options. Is it feasible to acquire a new survey? In the absence of an improved survey, will reprocessing of seismic data be a good option?

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The Casablanca oil field, discovered in 1975 and located on the Mediterranean shelf edge, has been greatly significant in the world’s offshore oil industry activity, besides being by far the biggest oil field in Spain.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

A new type of buoyancy model can be used to understand the source of residual oil zones, both thick and thin, to help determine the likelihood that economically viable recoverable oil resides in transition zones of imbibition reservoirs. Application of a buoyancy and breech model will fill a void in reservoir characterization. It will help distinguish between TZs and ROZs, the first of which allows application of primary and secondary (waterflooding) oil recovery methods and the second of which requires more difficult CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects.

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

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.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

It isn’t news to anyone that prediction is difficult, especially when it’s the future (as a great man once said). Uncertainty and unpredictability are just a part of the job of tracking and predicting the future supply and demand of energy. That being the case, when energy analysts say that the current level of uncertainty is particularly high, it might be easy to dismiss it as a “dog bites man” story. It isn’t.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Headquarters Contacts

Susan Nash
Susan Nash Director, Innovation and Emerging Science and Technology, AAPG +1 405 314 7730