Energy Policy Blog

During the recent AAPG Congressional Visits Day, staff for the House Natural Resources Committee expressed interest in receiving input on issues and potential legislation from knowledgeable stakeholders. Here is an easy way to get involved in the process of informing Washington, D.C., decision makers: send a quick comment to the committee members in response to a particular hearing.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

The Environmental Protection Agency 2012 greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory shows that cows and other ruminants produce more 'anthropogenic' methane than natural gas systems.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Energy Policy Blog

BOEM has just issued its programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for comment--through April 7. In announcing the decision, BOEM stated, that its review of geological and geophysical surveys in the Mid- and South-Atlantic planning areas '...establishes multiple mitigation measures designed to minimize the impacts to marine life while setting a path forward for survey activities that will update nearly four-decade-old data on offshore energy resources in the region.'

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

The first seismic surveys of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) since 1988 could happen in the next two years – if the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) finalizes the required environmental impact statement (EIS) in the next few months.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column DEG

A look at three main environmental issues that must be considered in the utilization of natural gas as a primary fuel source for the next several decades.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Imagine the insight to be gained from showing every aspect of an already drilled prospect, whether good or bad, to an audience of your peers for scrutiny. We’re talking peers from a company other than your own. There’s an industry forum that exists for this purpose.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Winning Hearts and Minds: Colombia and Latin American prospects offer high promise and difficult hurdles in the form of local political and public resistance.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Seismic Outlook: After several years of plenty, 2014 is expected to be a comparatively lean year for the seismic industry, a few localized hot-spots around the world notwithstanding.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Amid the backdrop of a comparatively soft market for the seismic industry in the coming year or so, oil and gas producers are watching Mexico with considerable expectation after the country passed historic constitutional reforms late last year to end the 75-year-old state monopoly on Mexico’s abundant oil and gas resources.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

In 2007, as part of its long-term strategic energy plan, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador created Nalcor Energy, its arms-length crown corporation responsible for leading the development of the province’s energy resources.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Hot Items

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)
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 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 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)

Headquarters Contacts

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