Explorer Article

Question: If the science of predicting the risks and mitigation of induced seismicity, figuratively speaking, was a glass of hydraulic fracturing injection fluid, would it be half full or half empty? The answer is . . . yes. One on hand, geoscientists are getting better about predicting the when and where of seismicity; on the other, there is a lot more seismicity in a lot more places that have to be predicted.

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

Four of every five people on the planet are in emerging and developing economies. These are people just beginning to move up the economic ladder, and they need energy to do so. Scott Tinker, a past president of AAPG, has been talking about energy systems for much more than a decade, and launched a non-profit organization, the Switch Energy Alliance, to elevate the public conversation about the value and realities of the energy choices we face. Earlier this year Tinker participated in a TEDx event at the University of Texas at Austin. His talk, “The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment” was released online last month. The choice, if you listen to policymakers and the media, is one of either energy or the environment. But this isn’t the choice at all.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

Many geologists have earned their field trip stripes in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas, but fewer have heard – and braved the dangers – of hiking the mysterious and mineral-rich Franklin Mountains north of El Paso. The Franklin Mountain region is a west-tilting series of horst blocks that became 5,000-7,200-foot tall mountains as a result of the Laramide orogeny. The sheer eastern escarpment exposes rocks dating from the Pennsylvanian down to 1.25-billion-year-old basement granite. It was a “field trip through time” focused on the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian formations, representing more than 100 million years of geologic history.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Regions and Sections

The AAPG Southwest Section Convention explored a four-dimensional multiverse of geology and reservoirs, combining regional overviews with multi-scale measurements of rocks and sediments, and analyzing rocks in the fourth dimension of geologic time. The result is “Resology,” which general chair Ben Davis defines as “the study of geology and rock reservoirs at big and small scales.” He told conference attendees, “The goal of Resology is effective and efficient hydrocarbon production.”

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

The September 2021 Geophysical Corner was an article entitled ‘3-D Visualization and Geobody Picking of Amplitude Anomalies in Deepwater Seismic Data,’ in which we reviewed the use of geobody tools to rapidly visualize the extent of geologic features that give rise to a strong seismic amplitude response. For seismically thin reservoirs, the response of a gas-saturated sandstone gives rise to a trough at the top and a peak at the base. In this case, we would need to select two separate geobodies to map the reservoir.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The small town of Cunningham, Kansas lies about 65 miles straight west of Wichita on U.S. Highway 54. It was incorporated in 1887 as a commercial center for farmers and ranchers in that part of south-central Kansas. Hard winter wheat was the main cash crop, while herds of beef and dairy cattle were a close second source of income. This activity characterized the culture of Cunningham into the early years of the 20th century. That is, until a new industry was introduced to Kansas when, in 1915, oil was discovered in the El Dorado field northeast of Wichita.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

And we’re back. With high oil and gas prices and strong demand driving renewed interest in production, the energy industry is returning to the unconventional resources business in a big way. The upcoming Unconventional Resources Technology Conference is once again an in-person meeting, back in Houston this month, June 20-22, with a major emphasis on practical ways to boost output and introduce efficiencies.

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 Article

These days, more uncertain than the price of gas, especially with the announcement last month from the administration to ban the import of Russian oil and gas, combined with the European Union’s decision to cut imports by 80 percent, is the question of whether the world will get the energy it needs – and who will provide it. To that end, it’s worth considering what conventional oil and gas reservoirs here in America can be drilled and placed online quickly to help fill that need.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 31 March 2021, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Pivoting 2021: Risk and Recovery in 2021'. Panelists discuss how they now approach risk assessment and opportunity evaluation after the dramatic changes due to economic stresses (crises) and a global pandemic. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 31 March 2021.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 22 July 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Sustainable Solutions for the Energy Transition'. Sustainable Solutions for the Energy Transition strategies for pivoting for new revenue and diversification in today's times. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT 22 July 2020.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 12 August 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Space Industry and Energy' where we will discuss a new model of using space and spacial data, analytics and satellite data: new applications, minerals exploration/development/rehab and space. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 12 August 2020.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 12 January 2022, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Using global examples and based on 40 years’ experience in mainstream geology and in Petroleum Systems Analysis, Andrew Pepper will discuss how re-thinking some of our paradigms can open up our minds to new Discovery Thinking in any old or new basin.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 10 September 2020, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

Due to Hurricane Laura’s landfall and severe weather conditions affecting panelists and attendees located on the US Gulf Coast, AAPG and EPF have postponed the Energy Opportunities Forum on Carbon Capture and Storage originally set for August 27. Please plan to join us to enjoy the same content at the same time on Thursday, 10 September. Experts from industry, government and academia discuss the environmental, economic and societal implications of Carbon Capture Use and Storage (CCUS), a technology designed to reduce CO2 emissions across the energy system. Panelists from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific share global best practices and discuss the benefits that CCUS brings both to the environment and to companies who include the technology in their portfolio.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 23 August 2023, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Join the Petroleum Systems Technical Interest Group (TIG) for the next session of the AAPG Petroleum Systems Webinar Series, Petroleum System Analysis from Exploration to Production: Solveig Field, on Wednesday, 23 August 2023, 8:00 AM (CST). Solveig Field, situated in the South Viking Graben offshore Norway, consists of three structural compartments and two reservoir sequences containing oil and gas. Here we show the impact of petroleum system analysis from the exploration stage, (identification of variable fluid properties, occurrence of tar mats), to field development which was based on the process understanding of tar mat formation as a function of the field charge history.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 9 February 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Projects in several shales will be discussed, including Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Fayetteville, Montney, and Barnett, as will several seismically-detectable drivers for success including lithofacies, stress, pre-existing fractures, and pore pressure.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Tuesday, 9 September 2014, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Water cut is a big factor in gauging the success of horizontal drilling in the Mississippi Lime Play (MLP). The contributing factors are related in part to the spectrum of producing lithofacies and reservoir quality encountered that varies laterally and vertically, sometimes dramatically. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 20 May 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Matching Capabilities and Capacity With Current and Emerging Demand Areas; Building a Business Plan That Reflects the Realities of Opportunities'. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 20 May 2020. During this webinar we will discuss: Matching technologies and companies Keys to Building a Resilient Early-Stage Business Multi-Industry Technology: Robotics as a Service

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 9 February 2022, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

 This talk will provide information to better understand the principles of surface geochemistry (SG), how best to use SG data in exploration or development programs, how to develop a cost effective sampling and analytical program, and will also explore best practices for the interpretation and integration of SG data.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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