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Explorer Article

A hard winter combined with a natural gas supply shortage could mean some difficult choices for Europe over the coming months. The looming cold-weather crisis may cost European governments and industries a staggering amount of money to subsidize energy availability and household utility payments, while also derailing climate action commitments. And even then, there’s no guarantee that Europe will get to next spring without grim consequences.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Because petroleum figures so prominently in our lives today, petroleum geologists play a vital role in raising public awareness of the relationship between Earth science and sustainability. That’s why you are invited to bring your education, experience and expertise to the 25th annual Earth Science Week, which celebrates the theme of “Earth Science for a Sustainable World.” Earth Science Week 2022 is Oct. 10-16.

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

“You don’t look like that anymore,” a good friend recently observed in reference to the headshot that I use in EXPLORER and other professional spaces. “You need a new picture!” A quick glance in the mirror confirms her point and is a not-so-subtle reminder that time marches ever onward, and as it does both we and the world around us are in a state of change. The same is true for mission-driven organizations, like AAPG. We don’t often think about groups in this way, but associations also follow a predictable life cycle.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Foundation Update

Sometimes, challenging times call for dramatic objectives – and for a geoscience world still being redefined after years of upheaval, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. This year’s new slate of AAPG Distinguished Lecturers has been determined, and in doing so, AAPG announces its own version of the Magnificent Seven: a diverse group of experts with international experience, specific knowledge and a hint of geoscience star power who have been selected to inform, improve and inspire geoscientists around the world.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

In 1949 an historic oil field was discovered under the Caspian Sea. The field was named “Neft Dashlari, which in Azerbaijani means “Oil Rocks,” and it was a milestone in the development of the global oil industry. Oil Rocks, an iconic “city in the sea,” pointed the way to modern offshore drilling as we know it today.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Some aspects of seismic interpretation, such as picking horizons and well-imaged faults, can be easily explained to a new interpreter. Other aspects, such as recognizing carbonate buildups, karst collapse, mass transport processes or volcanic intrusions, require not only an understanding of the underlying geologic processes, but also an understanding of their 3-D seismic data response. Although an experienced interpreter might be adept in using seismic data to map each of these features, they might also be challenged in explaining to the novice interpreter in a quantitative manner how they constructed their map or geobody.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Readers Forum

We often see calls for the elimination of all petroleum products, including natural gas. As long as coal and biomass – which emit two-to-four-times more carbon than natural gas – are major components of electricity generation, it makes no sense to eliminate natural gas. Why would we blow up one of our cheapest, cleanest bridges toward the energy evolution when we are just starting to set foot on that bridge?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Depleted horizontal oil and gas wells could have a second life storing renewable energy, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Because renewable forms of electricity generation like solar and wind require low-cost energy storage, the NREL researchers propose using depleted hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells to store electrical energy in the form of compressed natural gas to be released to spin an expander/generator when electrical demand is high.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Are years of upstream oil and gas underinvestment and under-exploration finally catching up with the world? Is the hope of avoiding a climate catastrophe now a lost cause? Can the global energy industry deliver adequate, affordable energy to meet the world’s future needs? Is the word in an energy crisis? Annually at midyear, a number of organizations publish overviews of the global energy picture. Based on those reports, there is good news. And bad news.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Mention energy from the Middle East and most people automatically think of crude oil production. But today, geopolitics and supply challenges have put an increased focus on global natural gas resources. Consequently, energy developments in the Middle East are shifting toward natural gas production and export, driven by an increasing international appetite for gas supply and questions about longer-term oil demand. Right now, the bottom line is that natural gas looks like a long-term growth industry and crude oil doesn’t.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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