Explorer Article

'ACE 2019 is gone but the memories will remain!” That’s Lorena Moscardelli of Equinor, who, along with Eddie Valek of EOG Resources, was general co-chair of the 2019 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in San Antonio, Texas in May.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Seismic data are usually contaminated with two common types of noise, namely random and coherence. Such noise, if not tackled appropriately, prevents their accurate imaging. Small-scale geologic features such as thin channels, or subtle faults, etc. might not be seen clearly in the presence of noise. Similarly, seismic attributes generated on noise-contaminated data are seen as compromised on their quality, and hence their interpretation. Noise reduction techniques have been developed for poststack and prestack seismic data and are implemented wherever appropriate for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio and achieving the goals set for reservoir characterization exercises.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

More than 20 years ago, Charles Sternbach found himself on the edge of his seat in a conference room where a handful of geologists were sharing fascinating stories about their discoveries, once thought to be out of reach. And, he walked away knowing one thing: These stories, and many more, must continue to be told. And so began his mission to keep them alive and to keep them coming in a forum he would eventually bring to AAPG called Discovery Thinking.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

During these times of global economic uncertainty, political turmoil and climate change discussions, some, both inside and outside the energy industry, question the value of investing in oil and gas exploration. At the same time, new discoveries, technological advances and collaborative partnerships make exploration more exciting than ever. ExxonMobil Exploration Company President Stephen Greenlee addressed these parallel perspectives during “The Future of Oil and Gas Exploration,” the annual Michel T. Halbouty Lecture he delivered at the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in San Antonio in May.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Over the past 10 years, tight oil boosted the United States back to world prominence in crude oil production. Today’s projections tie future U.S. production levels to continued strength in tight oil output, especially from the Permian Basin. Considering the importance of unconventional oil plays in the overall U.S. production picture, it’s useful to examine the outlook for tight oil. And in the Permian Basin, that outlook isn’t as bright as previously thought.

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

The title of this month’s column reflects my personal philosophy and framework to address issues that face AAPG. The philosophy embraces AAPG’s Mission by: preserving the past advancements in the science of geology, especially as it relates to petroleum, natural gas, other subsurface fluids, and mineral resources; promoting the present technology of exploring for, finding, and producing these materials in an economically and environmentally sound manner; and fostering the spirit of scientific research throughout its membership to meet the needs of the future.

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

The application of technology and analytical techniques has always been a hallmark of our profession, but this year ACE had special sessions dedicated to machine learning and AI in petroleum geoscience. The trend toward increased automation and greater efficiency in our workflows will affect how the petroleum explorationist works in the decades to come. Helping our members prepare for this future is something to which AAPG is committed.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Prestack simultaneous impedance inversion was introduced at the turn of this century with the objective of characterization of target rock intervals in terms of elastic properties, which in turn could be associated with petrophysical properties such as porosity, fluid saturation and volume of shale.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Digital transformation, including data management, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence are already at work in many industries, including retail and healthcare. And, many of these industries have learned that there is a commonality in the data collection, management, processing, manipulation and reporting they all do. It is a phenomenon the oil and gas sector has been slow to embrace, even though its needs are not all that different from those of these other fields.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

The concept of digital transformation in the oil and gas industry gets talked about a lot these days, even though the phrase seems to have little specific meaning. So, will there really be some kind of extensive cyber-transformation of the industry over the next decade? “No,” said Tom Smith, president and CEO of Geophysical Insights in Houston. Instead, it will happen “over the next three years,” he predicted.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Jerry Hickman Jerry L. Hickman President (2022-2023) JLH Geophysical Services (512) 751-7527
No Image Ron Stillwell President Elect(2022-2023) Stillwell Energy (325) 668-9562
No Image Sandra Elliott Vice President (2022-2023) SM Energy (432) 935-2075
Paul H. Pause Paul H. Pausé Past President(2022-2023) Independent (432) 664-4938
No Image Mark N. Varhaug Secretary (2022-2023) Beacon Hill Energy (214) 549-0456
No Image Stephen Denham Treasurer (2022-2023) Colgate Energy (405) 921-1587
Nicolas Brisette Nicolas Brissette Advisory Counselor (2022-2023) MDC Texas Energy (940) 256-3305

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