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July 2014

Randi Martinsen, principal with Hydrocarbon InSight in Laramie, Wyo., assumed the presidency of AAPG on July 1.

Student Chapters Breed Professional Success

AAPG student chapter program began modestly enough – more modestly and probably in fewer numbers than you think… It is a history that began in 1978 and has since grown to more than 320 institutions in more than 40 countries – and thanks in part to the AAPG/AAPG Foundation’s Imperial Barrel Award, it’s also a history that now stretches around the world.

Geology, Technology Mix In Geothermal Systems

The Department of Energy (DOE) envisions that recent advances in subsurface mapping, data collection, data dissemination and leveraging of oil and gas industry techniques can translate into widespread commercial adoption of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).

Emphasis: Unconventional Resources

Global Spotlight Shines On Emerging Shale Plays

This year, URTeC has added an enhanced preview of “Coming Attractions.” In addition to looking at established plays, URTeC will provide significant information about emerging unconventional resource possibilities in North America and around the world.

Unconventionals: Fuel for the Sustainable Switch?

The current, free-flowing supply of hydrocarbons has brought a sigh of relief to many who have been scrambling to find alternatives to dwindling supplies of conventional fossil fuels. But while some estimate the shale energy boom has handed the nation at least four decades of energy security, this is not a time to rest easy, said past AAPG president Scott Tinker, the director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and state geologist of Texas

Amid Boom, Shale Secrets Still Elusive

Given all the success stories, it’s intriguing to realize these plays are still far from being a known – variability is indigenous. The players talk about “cracking the code,” but the “code” can differ even between adjacent wells.

Bigger and Better: URTeC Aims High in Denver

Bigger, bolder and better is what organizers are planning for this year’s Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC).

Making Technology a Profitable Enterprise

The “Converting Technology Into Dollars” panel will explore how top-tier organizations lead the way by rapidly improving and deploying unconventional resource technologies and incorporating new learnings across their organizations.

Unconventional Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing has become so widely used, principally in shale well completions, the casual observer might be inclined to think it’s not only commonplace but a standard, one-size-fits-all technology application. Not so.

Surprise! Hot Spots Also Can Be Sweet (Spots)

At the start of the now-phenomenal shale play bonanza, the thinking in general was that the rocks were homogeneous across an area of interest. Then reality set in as the shale E&P players came to realize via the drill bit that heterogeneity rules, and homogeneity and uniformity are not even bit players in the big picture.

Finding Unconventional Success in Colombia

Shell worked to establish trust with the community, hiring a local non-governmental organization to help farmers commercialize products, and building houses in the village so farmers could sell them. In the end, Shell acquired the seismic, and made a sustainable social investment in the community that lasted beyond the time of acquisition.

Standing Columns

President’s Column

My Agenda: Doing What We Do Better

AAPG must be able to nimbly and efficiently anticipate as well as respond to this changing landscape, so that we are poised to take advantage of new opportunities that arise and discard outdated strategies, technologies, products and services.

Director’s Corner

Two-Way Street: Making a Connection That Counts

Volunteerism is at the heart of AAPG and permeates our organization. It includes those who volunteer to help us advance science by giving a talk or writing a journal article, those who work on committees to build specific programs or services, and those who serve in leadership and governance roles.

Division Column DPA

Season Premiere: A New Theme for DPA

During my term as DPA president this year our theme will be “Culture of Greatness.” This may sound arrogant, but I think it is important to recognize and promote the culture of professionalism and discovery that has provided cheap energy for mankind for more than 100 years.

Geophysical Corner

Quantifying Confidence in Horizon-Picking

Risk analysis is a crucial task in making drilling decisions and involves many factors, such as well logs, modeling results, production maps and interpretation quality. In his book on 3-D seismic interpretation, AAPG award-winning member Alistair Brown presents a workflow for the quantification of interpretation confidence.

Policy Watch

Export Questions Spark Diverse Passions

U.S. energy production, especially oil and natural gas from shale, is booming and expected to continue to grow. Consequently, this bounty is pushing up energy exports – including coal that is displaced by natural gas in power generation – and refined products that are not regulated.

Historical Highlights

The Debate II: What's On the Caribbean Plate?

Once we’ve completed a study most of us geologists feel that despite the incomplete data with which we started, our insight has overcome that basic limitation. Ours, however, is not an exact science– and the all-too-frequent dry wildcats return us to the level of fallible mortals.

Regions and Sections

GTW Draws Global Audience to Brazil

Preparation for the FIFA World Cup was not the only event attracting international audiences to Brazil in May. AAPG’s Geosciences Technology Workshop (GTW) Brasil, "Stratigraphic Traps and Play Concepts in Deep Water Settings," brought in 143 geoscientists representing 12 countries from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Foundation Update

Trustee Associates Make a Solid Foundation

The AAPG Foundation is rock solid, thanks largely to a special group of contributors known as the AAPG Foundation’s Trustee Associates. Since 1978, this group of geoscience professionals has supported the Foundation’s educational, charitable and scientific initiatives that bolster many fields of geoscience – while at the same time enjoying a special, one-of-a-kind camaraderie.

News & Features

YP Membership, Activities Are Booming

By Meredith Faber
Pipeline Initiative Hits Shipping Milestone
Member

By Courtney Chadney
Heart of the Matter: RMS’ Annual Meeting Will Be ‘Cracking the Source’
Basin Modeling and Geochemistry, Source Rock, Oil Shale, Shale Gas, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Structure

By Brian Ervin
Call for Abstracts Opens Online For Denver ACE
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Carbonates, Clastics, Evaporites, Structure, Tectonics (General), Geomechanics and Fracture Analysis, Environmental, Basin Modeling and Geochemistry, Basin Modeling, Petroleum Systems, Geophysics, Seismic, Alternative Resources, Petrophysics and Well Logs
New Addition Set for ICE
Alternative Resources, Shale Gas, Oil Shale, Structure, Tectonics (General), Geophysics, Seismic, Basin Modeling and Geochemistry, Petroleum Systems, Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Carbonates, Clastics, Environmental, Hydrology
Louisiana Geoscience Licensing Deadline Moved – Again – To End of Year
Business and Economics

By Louise Durham
AAPG and Gender
PROWESS, Business and Economics, Member, Student

By Katie McDonough

July 2014

Table of Contents

Emphasis: Unconventional Resources

Standing Columns

News & Features

Download July 2014 PDF

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