Growing up, my college-educated mother taught me an invaluable lesson: treat everyone and their work with respect. Around our dinner table, she shared stories of how her colleagues treated her, some with respect and professionalism, others not. Her position, generation and gender caused some of her workplace challenges, but rest assured, I quickly learned to value collaboration and appreciation in the workplace from her. I also learned: never cross your mother.
Gratitude for Geotechnicians
As a geoscientist, I have been blessed to work with geotechnicians who became my irreplaceable peers. They performed data management magic and helped create wonderful maps or displays that helped tell a play or prospect’s story. They assisted the team in overcoming software limitations and were virtuosos of geoscience information technology. These same geotechnicians programmed GIS applications that became competitive advantages for the company and a time-savings bonanza resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars being saved annually.
As geoscientists, we are often tasked with being productively creative. We seek to puzzle together the Earth’s history to inform our search for petroleum or subsurface energy. We crave time to think and to synthesize vast quantities of data: locating, organizing, cataloging, understanding how the data was acquired, identifying the data’s sampling errors or potential biases, and correcting flawed data are all critical first steps in our scientific journeys. And yet we often forget to say “thank you” to our geoscience technician partners for soldiering through all the data we pile on their desk or into their digital libraries. Time and time again they make geologists look good.
We should be careful not to overlook all the people involved in helping find and produce hydrocarbons. From pumpers, to surveyors, to roustabouts, to drillers, to division-order professionals, to landmen, to production, facilities, completion and reservoir engineers – it takes an orchestrated team to find, produce, transport and refine hydrocarbons.
Like this list of professionals, geotechnicians possess critical skill sets for today’s work environment. They have training in geoscience, geography and data analytics. They own deep software and technical knowledge. They are experienced in map projections, well-spacing calculations, artificial intelligence and programming in Python, R, JavaScript or SQL. And lastly, we need to acknowledge their legendary ArcGIS and Power BI skills.
A Shared Bond and Identity in AAPG
This EXPLORER issue’s editorial emphasis is on “Geoscience Information and Data,” but I also think it’s appropriate for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists to pause and recognize all the members of our organization. Our membership includes geotechnicians, geophysicists, geologists, engineers and other professions. Although different by job titles, all our members share a passion and curiosity for geology. The AAPG links us together and is dedicated to feeding this shared interest. Additionally, the AAPG enables our members to access both content and experiences that help grow their geoscience knowledge and to connect them with their peers from whom they can learn.
Alfred North Whitehead, an English mathematician and logician, once said. “No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” I personally want to acknowledge all the geotechnicans I have worked with in the past and say, thank you! I am humbled by your dedication and commitment to getting the geoscience information correct. I am grateful for all your collaboration and guiding wisdom. I also want to thank all the AAPG’s geotechnicians for being members and helping push the industry to do more with spatial data. You make us better stewards of science and we are grateful for your membership.