Energy Policy Blog

Russia, Denmark (through Greenland) and Canada all claim that their territories extend to the North Pole. This is despite the fact that the Pole is well over 400 miles from the shores of any Arctic country. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty provides a mechanism for recognizing national territorial claims beyond the traditional 200-nautical-mile limit if a country’s continental shelf extends further. The United States is not a party to the Convention so it will not be staking a claim.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Europe Blog

The AAPG has hosted conferences worldwide for many years, but one of its most successful over the last ten years, APPEX, the AAPG Prospect and Property Expo in London, UK, is possibly one many in North America will never have considered attending. So why should they and does it matter?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 3 in Oklahoma is increasing exponentially. There were 20 in 2009 and 427 through the first 10 ½ months of 2014. The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) has now documented a temporal connection between hydraulic fracturing and nearby felt earthquakes, although more research is needed to prove a causal relationship.

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

We all know January will arrive far too quickly, so now is the time to start planning to attend the annual Global APPEX Prospect and Property Expo, set March 3-5 at its traditional home in the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London, just a stones’ throw from the center of the city.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

The need for research to help understand the causes and mitigate induced seismicity was one of several topics at several recent Washington, D.C., workshops that explored what we know about the subsurface and its response to energy extraction technologies – and what research is needed for more efficient and safe energy development.

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

Troubled winds are blowing as this year comes to a close. And our industry is feeling their effects.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The call for abstracts is open for the next AAPG International Conference and Exhibition – a meeting that will be historic on many levels. The 2015 ICE will be held Sept. 13-16 in the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia– the first time ever AAPG has used that city as a setting for ICE. The meeting will be hosted by the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Like numerous other geologic formations, the allure of the Wilcox has waxed and waned owing to fluctuating commodity prices, among other issues. As hydrocarbon prices recovered and technology applications like hydraulic fracturing became commonplace, the Wilcox beckoned anew, attracting principally the mom-and-pop shops and the small to mid-size independents.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon announce the results of its review of the existing regulations and possibly announce tightening of ozone limits. The current limit—75 parts per billion (ppb) averaged over 8 hours—was set in March 2008. New limits are expected to be 60 to 70 ppb. Lower limits will certainly force many state and local governments to impose additional requirements to reduce emissions of the compounds that form ozone, oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

Although most political pundits predicted that Republicans would likely take the Senate, the election results exceeded expectations.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Hot Items

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)
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 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

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 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)

Headquarters Contacts

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