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Explorer Emphasis Article

Put pressure on the United States to increase oil and natural gas production and the burden mainly falls on unconventional resources. Will operators be up to the challenge? Near-term projections call for U.S. oil output to grow by 1 million barrels per day. A difficult operating environment will make that increase a struggle, but the very nature of unconventionals offers cause for optimism.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, which AAPG celebrated with a live watch party. Perseverance has since explored the Séítah region and is currently at the delta front of Jezero Crater on Mars using an enhanced autonomous navigation system and under guidance from NASA/JPL controllers. As of May 13, 2022, Sol 436, Perseverance has traveled 11.4 kilometers and drilled eight core samples. The rover has returned more than 249,000 raw images that are publicly available in the mission multimedia catalog.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Wars and international conflicts often bring out the worst in humanity, but they also inspire acts of resilience, solidarity and generosity. The 2022 war between Russia and Ukraine is no exception. While images shared through news broadcasts and social media posts have shocked a global audience and led many to despair, they have also served to mobilize others to reach out and do their part to relieve the suffering. This article is the first in a two-part series about Ukrainian geologist refugees who fled the conflict in their homeland and received assistance from the geoscience community in Poland and abroad. Their stories provide a glimmer of hope and a call to action during a time of tremendous challenge and opportunity.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The AAPG Advisory Council is entrusted with matters involving ethics and discipline, long-range planning, constitutional review, nominations for officers and honors and awards and other special projects as requested by the Executive Committee. That long-range planning piece is very important, yet easily lost in the flurry of nominations and honors and awards. Fortunately, under the leadership of past presidents Rick Fritz, Mike Party and Denise Cox, the AC is examining the status of geoscientists and how they are viewed within the industry and by the public, the future of petroleum and energy, and the future for geoscientists.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The global shift from greenhouse gas-intense, carbon-based fuels toward alternative energy sources and technologies sometimes produces unintended negative impacts. Experts at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin are mounting a major study of these effects – the Comparing Electricity Options research consortium – with the intention of helping to identify and mitigate such unintended outcomes.

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

In February, TotalEnergies announced a significant light oil discovery in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia. Reuters reported a source suggesting that the Venus-X1 well may have found more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This was the second significant discovery announced in the basin that month. The offshore continues to deliver new oil and natural gas discoveries worldwide. And as this issue hits your inbox, the offshore is the primary topic of discussion in Houston as the 2022 Offshore Technology Conference returns to NRG Park from May 2-5.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Foundation Update

Geoscience education is essential to the AAPG Foundation. In fact, it’s promised right there in the Foundation’s mission statement, to “… support(ing) education and scientific activities in the field of geology.” Also crucial to the Foundation: engaging and informing the general public about the importance of energy, geology and the world in which we all reside. That’s why there are many, many Foundation programs supporting all those goals. But some Foundation-backed projects exist to do both at the same time – and one, in particular, is making a big impact on both students and the public by merging geology, geosciences and video production techniques into one informative, often timely and always accessible package.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer President’s Column

Listening to “King of the Mountain” by Midnight Oil, a song about a foot race up the wickedly steep Mount Cooroora in Australia, prompted me to think about whether it is good to be the king, or to be in a position to just help others get to the top of the mountain. We do not need royal powers or superhuman running ability to make a difference for people participating in AAPG activities. Making a difference can be much simpler and just requires the will to make the climb and help others along the way.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Readers Forum

Supposedly Walt Disney said, “I don’t know if it is art, but I know I like it.” I am reminded of this quote and feel the need to paraphrase it: “I don’t know if it is rude (or worse), but I know I don’t like it.” I think we’d all agree that we live in an amazing time – the Digital Age. With a few keystrokes we can communicate, almost instantly, with friends and colleagues next door or halfway around the world. I think we’d also agree that sometimes non-face-to-face discussions can lead to communication that is not always well thought out, complete and properly tempered. Also, non-face-to-face communications sometimes loses the nuances of facial and physical gestures.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Readers Forum

Upon acceptance into the membership of AAPG, all members are obliged to follow the AAPG Constitution and Bylaws in matters of Association business, professional conduct and personal decorum. The AAPG Ethics Committee is a standing committee composed of five members appointed by the Executive Committee. The committee is charged with evaluating and recommending improvements to matters of AAPG ethics and discipline, providing general advice on professional behaviors and receiving and evaluating ethics complaints submitted by members.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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