The second annual Playmaker Forum, sponsored by AAPG’s education department and the Division of Professional Affairs, returns this month on Jan. 23 at the Norris Conference Center in Houston.
The one-day “Playmaker 2.0” will feature 16 speakers who are world-class oil finders and industry heavy hitters who will offer their insight and experiences to help empower and inspire budding geologists to emulate their success in the business.
The forum of experts and experienced playmakers will:
- Help geoscientists, landmen, engineers and explorers gain improved understanding of scientific and commercial requirements for successful prospect generation.
- Inspire explorers to see “the big picture” in terms of petroleum systems.
- Teach geoscientists how to cultivate exploration creativity.
- Demonstrate how geochemistry can “seal the deal” and support ideas.
- Show how data integration can identify bypassed pays and bypassed plays.
- Provide improved interaction with the public and landholders.
- Ensure the highest degree of professionalism and ethics in their professional activities.
The forum builds on last year’s highly successful event, which organizer, moderator and past DPA president Charles Sternbach described as a “gusher” for its high turnout, engaging lecture material and bustling networking opportunities.
“Many traveled far and wide to hear some of the best oil finders in our business talk about prospecting skills, the art of exploration, prospecting work flows, successful plays and emerging plays,” he said.
Sternbach, an AAPG Honorary member, said the idea for the forum grew out of the well-attended and popular “Discovery Thinking” forums put on at annual meetings and international conferences by DPA.
“I wanted to expand the conversation from discoveries to prospects,” he said. “Discovery Thinking is about discoveries, and Playmaker is about prospecting. The concept is that discoveries are the prospects that work.”
Success Breeds Success
Like last year’s forum, Playmaker 2.0 will focus on elements – commercial and scientific/technical – needed to successfully proceed from first sight to discovery.
This year’s forum will be organized around four sessions:
- The Art of Exploration.
- Prospecting Workflows and Marketing Approaches.
- Established Plays – Discovery of New Fields and Sweet Spots.
- Emerging Plays.
Specific plays that will be used for the topics include the Bakken, Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Barnett, Fayetteville and Haynesville shales, plus emerging plays in Canada and Mexico.
This year’s keynote luncheon speaker will be past AAPG president Scott Tinker, director of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, who will talk about shale plays, his vision for transforming U.S. energy reserves and what’s ahead for future oil finders.
Other headliners include Jim Bob Moffett and Bud Brigham, who will share lessons from their illustrious careers.
The event begins at 8 a.m. and will conclude with an evening “Wildcatter Corner” reception.
Participation in the forum includes: course notes, “Heritage of the Petroleum Geologist” DPA publication (free), continuing education credit, luncheon, two networking breaks, as well as the aforementioned reception.
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