Publications

Explorer Director’s Corner By David Curtiss

Think back to how you first decided to become a geoscientist. Odds are good that it was because of an interaction with someone who you admired and who encouraged you to consider it. That was certainly my experience as a freshman political science major, taking geology to satisfy my general education laboratory science requirement. “What are you going to do with a political science degree?” my professor asked when I finished that first semester. “You should take historical geology next semester.” And that, as they say, was that.

Added on 01 April, 2023

Explorer Article By Lee Krystinik

Some Simple Questions for New Net-Zero technologies

I have read with genuine excitement about new technologies for direct air capture of CO2, electrolytic conversion of water to hydrogen and then using the H2 to make ammonia and using CO2 from direct air capture and combining it through electrolysis to make jet fuel. These technological advances are truly impressive from a scientific perspective. However, you will need to forgive me for being rather simple-minded as I look at these impressive accomplishments.

Added on 01 April, 2023

Explorer President’s Column By David Curtiss

The ‘Integrated Evolution’ of the Geoscience Workforce

“When aspiration and reality collide, in my experience reality wins every time,” said Jeff Miller, chairman, president and CEO of Halliburton, last month at the inaugural Middle East Oil, Gas and Geosciences Show (MEOS GEO) in Bahrain. He made the remark in the context of a CEO discussion about the industry and its response to the energy transition. The truth of his observation is much broader. As AAPG identifies and prepares new ways to serve its members and attract new members for decades to come, it’s important for us to understand the facts, as best we can. If our strategy is to succeed, it must be based on reality. One reality we face in the United States and Europe is dwindling enrollments in the geosciences, and the jobs these graduates are getting are rapidly changing.

Added on 01 March, 2023

Explorer Historical Highlights By Dan Plazak

When Doodlebugs Ruled the Earth

The idea of an oil-finding instrument was not new. Water dowsers were common throughout the United States and among most people of European descent worldwide, and they were quickly adapted to looking for oil. Soon after the Drake well in 1859, people started working on inventions to detect oil by geophysical methods.

Added on 01 February, 2023

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

Clean Energy Opportunity Adds to Super Basins Appeal

Energy super basins grabbed the attention of the oil and gas industry during the past five years, with good reason. Now a period of re-evaluation has kicked in. Producers are looking beyond total resource potential to apply other criteria, including economic, environmental and regulatory considerations. Those yardsticks could help identify which basins will dominate energy production in the decades ahead.

Added on 01 February, 2023

Explorer Article By David Brown

Energy Investment in 2023 Tracks with Transition

Large institutions and asset managers are diversifying away from traditional oil and gas projects, sometimes driven by climate concerns, but their investments haven’t fallen far afield. Those organizations think in terms of billions of dollars when evaluating a potential investment sector. And so far, they haven’t hesitated to invest in energy. What has changed, and what keeps changing, is where they put those investment dollars. It’s an energy-investment transition that parallels today’s ongoing energy transition.

Added on 01 February, 2023

Explorer Article By Heather Saucier

Can Closed-Loop Geothermal Bridge the Transition?

As countries seek to transition to cleaner-burning fuel to address environmental concerns, it can also be argued that the need to eliminate energy poverty remains just as crucial. The future energy mix must be wide-ranging and diverse to meet the needs both of the environment and the people living on the planet. New companies have begun to bring geothermal energy to areas that aren’t adjacent to volcanoes or that don’t have access to tectonic settings, which allow for an easy harvesting of the Earth’s heat. Some are embracing the niche operation of repurposing traditional geothermal wells and non-producing oil and gas wells. Others are promoting widespread geothermal energy through deep vertical and multilateral wells that can bring heat and electricity to the masses.

Added on 01 December, 2022

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

Apollo to Artemis: An Epic of 50 Years

In December 1972, geoscientist Harrison Schmitt traveled more than a quarter-million miles, dropped 8.7 nautical miles out of lunar orbit and took a stroll on the moon. That was 50 years ago, and today, with Artemis, NASA envisions a multistage program to return humans to the moon and eventually create a sustainable manned lunar habitat. In Greek mythology, Artemis was a moon goddess and twin sister of Apollo. The Artemis I Space Launch System rocket launched on Nov. 16.

Added on 01 December, 2022

Explorer Article By Barry Friedman

3PL’s Lithium Find Is a Model for Oil Scientists

“We’re probably at least 10 times larger. I mean, it just dwarfs any other project in North America.” That’s Vincent Ramirez, CEO of 3PL Operating, Inc., talking about a large and valuable lithium discovery his company has made in Railroad Valley, Nev. As lithium will play a vital role in the world’s changing energy landscape, generally, and because much of the known lithium deposits are in Chile, Australia, Argentina and China, specifically, 3PL’s find in central Nevada is potentially a very big deal.

Added on 01 October, 2022

Explorer Historical Highlights By Mir-Yusif Mir-Babayev

Oil Rocks: Early Offshore Production from the Caspian City in the Sea

In 1949 an historic oil field was discovered under the Caspian Sea. The field was named “Neft Dashlari, which in Azerbaijani means “Oil Rocks,” and it was a milestone in the development of the global oil industry. Oil Rocks, an iconic “city in the sea,” pointed the way to modern offshore drilling as we know it today.

Added on 01 September, 2022

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