Explorer Emphasis Article
By David Brown
Do super basins have a role in sustainable development? The short answer is, Yes. Super basins can be part of a sustainable energy and environmental future for the planet. A more complex answer is: It depends on how you define “sustainable.” In the view of the oil and gas industry, sustainability has an economic component and an environmental component. Hydrocarbon-based energy is essential for a sustainable world economy in that view, and it will be for a long time to come.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 November, 2020
Explorer Director’s Corner
By David Curtiss
The geosciences play a vital role – often a foundational role – in modern society, both in the developed and developing world. No matter where you live or work, your life is affected by the complex interplay of physical, chemical and biological processes active on land, in water and in the atmosphere. In its report entitled, “Geosciences Supporting a Thriving Society in a Changing World,” issued by the American Geosciences Institute last month ahead of the U.S. election, they highlight nine critical issues facing society where the geosciences play a pivotal role.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 October, 2020
Explorer Article
By David Brown
The North Sea Rift Basin ranks as one of the world’s most famous and indefatigable super basin areas. Like a pugnacious prize fighter, it’s been counted out again and again, only to rebound and punch back into contention. While some explorers consider the North Sea province highly mature, and even late life, it continues to produce plenty of oil and gas. And discoveries.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 October, 2020
Explorer Article
By Doug Cook
On July 30, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Perseverance is destined to land at Jezero crater on Feb. 18, 2021, with the most sophisticated kit of geology tools ever assembled for an astrogeology mission. AAPG, as an institution dedicated to exploring for resource commodities, looks to our future in space through the Astrogeology Committee and the Energy Minerals Division. We emphasize the use of geosciences in the development of off-world exploration energy and other natural resources for development in the foreseeable future. Water resources in space, on the moon and on Mars, will become the energy commodity analog of oil on Earth.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 October, 2020
Explorer Emphasis Article
By Barry Friedman
“The public view of the oil industry and geoscience in general is on the low at the moment,” said Mukul R. Bhatia, executive professor and director of the Berg-Hughes Center for Petroleum and Sedimentary Systems, who added that even some who want to enter the industry have this view. “Enrollment in the geosciences and petroleum engineering courses has declined in most education institutes. The oil and gas development industry is seen as shrinking rather than growing,” he said. Bhatia, a Dan A. Hughes ’51 chair at Texas A&M University, said the challenge of attracting students back to the geosciences is compounded by the challenge of attracting them to the industry’s new frontier, both internally and externally.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 September, 2020
Explorer Division Column EMD
By Ursula Hammes
Greetings from my home office in Austin during the perfect storm of pandemic and negative oil prices! This year has been a roller coaster of record production falling to lowest production and lowest oil prices in history, resulting in unprecedented layoffs, not only in the oil industry, but other industries as well. But, this lowest of lows too will pass, since our dependency on hydrocarbons will still last until renewable resources are better established.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 August, 2020
Explorer Article
By Joseph Moore
'Conventional geothermal reservoirs are characterized by a heat source, hydrothermal convection, and sufficient natural permeability to allow for fluid migration. Recognizing the geologically restricted occurrence of natural sites, additional opportunities have been sought. Enhanced geothermal systems are reservoirs in hot rock that lack the natural permeability required for fluid movement. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy initiated a program to test and develop new technologies for characterizing, creating and sustaining EGS reservoirs under natural field conditions. A site approximately 350 kilometers south of Salt Lake City Utah was selected for the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy, or “FORGE” laboratory.
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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 August, 2020
Explorer Article
By Ryan Lemiski
What is “brand”? The London-based Design Council notes that: “Brand is a set of associations that a person (or a group of people) makes with a company, product, service, individual or organization. These associations may be intentional – that is, they may be actively promoted by marketing and/or corporate identity – or they may be outside the control of the business.” For example, the growing belief among younger demographics that the fossil fuel industry represents the fuels of their parents.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 July, 2020
Explorer Director’s Corner
By David Curtiss
I know I’m not alone. Each day, as part of my morning routine, just as reliably as I brush my teeth and brew strong coffee, I check the price that oil is trading for on global markets. How do I know I’m not alone? Because my first calls of the day – usually with AAPG leaders – usually begin or end with a reference to oil prices. We all know that watching the price of oil does nothing to boost demand, but still we watch, ever hopeful that today will be a good day in the markets.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 July, 2020
Explorer Division Column DEG
By Francois Marechal
The DEG leadership unanimously endorsed EnergySource Minerals in San Diego to receive a DEG Corporate Award for their efforts to harness for lithium extraction the brine flow supplying the John L. Featherstone geothermal power plant in the Salton Sea region. EnergySource Chief Operating Officer Derek Benson shared with us that a proprietary process called “Integrated Lithium Adsorption Desorption,” or “ILiAD,” was demonstrated to be the key that unlocks Salton Sea lithium development. They have succeeded in producing battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide utilizing the brine flow as it exits the power generation.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Added on 01 June, 2020