This Month's Explorer Articles

Frontier oil and gas exploration today usually means expensive, difficult and risky drilling offshore, often in untested deep waters. And most deepwater frontier wildcats result in dry holes. Is frontier exploration still worth it? Still relevant?

Colombia made headlines in December when Petrobras and Ecopetrol announced results from Sirius-2, an appraisal well that confirmed the most significant gas discovery in the country’s history, a find projected to increase Colombia’s reserves by around 200 percent.

Ukraine, entering its fourth year of war with Russia, makes up only 0.4 percent of the Earth’s surface and is home to approximately 5 percent of all the world’s critical raw materials. Politicians aren’t alone in their fascination by the place. All that geology and resources have been in the news lately as an agreement is in the works between the United States and Ukraine.

Some perspective on energy would be a good thing right about now. With the industry moving into a time of transition and uncertainty, maintaining a proper perspective feels like an essential practice. The Offshore Technology Conference offers multiple perspectives on energy in its Executive Dialogue presentations – one-hour sessions with industry executives and other thought leaders.

How do you teach geology in a flat place where there are no rocks? Take them to a place where they can see erosion and deposition that have a direct impact on their lives! On a picture-perfect Saturday morning in February, AAPG continued its professional commitment to K-12 teachers with a reimagined Educators’ Program.

Talk about seeing the fruits of your labor – fast! Recent hard work by the AAPG Foundation produced tangible results in a very short time this spring, with students and geoscience professionals around the world benefiting from the efforts.

The U.S. Geological Survey recently released assessments detailing the estimated volumes of undiscovered, discovered and technically recoverable oil and gas resources in several basins across Wyoming, southern Montana and parts of western South Dakota and Nebraska. The overall picture looks promising.

As we navigate an increasingly interconnected world, the concept of globalization has become more than just a buzzword: it's a reality that shapes every facet of our lives, including the petroleum geosciences. As vice president for international regions, I believe it's crucial to examine how our society can harness the power of globalization to advance our field and benefit our members.

Once Europe’s most progressive major, BP has reset its strategy back to investing heavily in oil and gas. In February, BP CEO Murray Auchincloss announced the company would return its focus to its core business in oil and gas, an attempt to recover from poor performance and improve shareholder returns.

The first hour I spent scaling beginner routes at an indoor climbing gym, I realized that while I was on the wall, I could think about nothing else. It was the ultimate exercise in focus and mental clarity – no multitasking, no background thoughts about what might be for dinner. Otherwise, I would fall. Outside, the focus and scenery are even better.

When I last wrote, I was getting ready to go to the International Petroleum Technology Conference in Kuala Lumpur. The IPTC organization shares its conferences with AAPG, the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers as partners, and as such, each of the presidents were invited to participate in a panel session in the morning on the first day.

Wise explorers learn a lot from their dry holes. In the period of 1978 to 1982, Maraven S.A. drilled 15 wells offshore Venezuela, and none were economic. However, this exploration campaign allowed the company to collect a trove of invaluable geoscience data. Promising new ideas regarding the geology of the offshore region, as well as enhancements in future burial history and thermal maturation profiling can be anticipated as a result.

Robert Bertagne died peacefully in the presence of family in Houston on Feb. 4, 2025, one month after undergoing surgery.

Albert Hrubetz III, chairman and president of Dallas-based Hrubetz Oil Company, died on Feb. 26, 2025, after a brief illness.