More
than 200 geologists, geophysicists and engineers attended the "International
Symposium on China Petroleum Exploration in the 21st Century: Second
Marine Forum on Marine Carbonate Reservoirs," held recently in Hangzhou,
China.
The conference's
co-chairs were Zhai Guanming of the China Association of Petroleum Geologists,
and Michel T. Halbouty of AAPG and the Circum-Pacific Council.
Held in the
beautiful setting of the Hangzhou State Hotel on the shores of the West
Lake, presenters came from China, Indonesia, Russia, Canada, Spain,
England and the United States. There were 13 technical sessions with
95 presentations.
Technical paper
topics were wide-ranging, and included:
- World energy reserves
assessment and demand.
- The importance of paleokarst
in hydrocarbon exploration.
- Use of fluid inclusions
in reservoir development.
- Comprehensive studies
of Chinese, American, Canadian and Russian carbonate reservoirs.
- Full field development
techniques.
- Future trends in portfolio
evaluation.
- The future of 3-D seismic
— geologic modeling.
Besides the
excellent quality of the papers presented, discussions indicated that
idea-sharing was almost continuous!
Most common
questions covered improved exploration and development of "buried carbonate
hills," stacked and fractured carbonate reservoir development and how
to improve the economics of these complex reservoirs.
A "proceedings
volume" consisting of selected outstanding papers is planned.
Sponsors and
hosts of the conference were AAPG, the Chinese Academy of Engineering,
Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Chinese
Petroleum Society.
Additional
sponsorship was provided by Shell, Kerr-McGee and BP.
AAPG was proud
to participate in the symposium, and plans already are beginning for
the next conference. With such wonderful facilities and planning, we
hope that the next meeting will be as successful. It was an honor to
attend and meet new friends.
In Mandarin,
"she-she" means "thank you." To me, "she-she" is not enough to express
my gratitude for this conference.
It's now official:
Next year's AAPG international conference and exhibition will be held
in September in Barcelona, Spain.
The meeting
will be based on the theme "Crossroads of Geology, Energy and Cultures,"
and the hosts will be the Institut Cartografic de Catalunya. The meeting
dates are Sept. 21-24.
Watch for more
details on the meeting in
the EXPLORER, at AAPG booths at various meetings and on the Web site
New officers
for some AAPG international regions have been announced.
They include:
Africa
International Region
- President — Bayo Akinpelu.
- Vice president — Yomi
Fisher.
- President-elect — Kunle
Adesida.
- Secretary/Treasurer —
Theo Duze
- AAPG Advisory Council
Observer — Deborah Ajakaiye.
Canada International
Region
- President — John Hogg.
- Vice president/Treasurer
— Warren Workman.
- Secretary/Foreman —
Paul English.
- Past-president — Debra
Nishida.
- Advisory Council Representative
— Marty Hewitt.
Latin America
International Region
- Advisory Council — Felipe
Audemard.
- President — Marcio Mello.
- President-elect — Alfredo
Guzman.
- Vice president — Cesar
Ardiles.
- Secretary/Treasurer —
Stanley R. Wharton.
Also, a proposal
to change the Latin American officer terms from one year to two years
passed.