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Explorer Emphasis Article

Natural disasters worldwide, public debate, policy decisions and shareholder pressure are just some of the factors motivating companies to seek alternatives to traditional oil and gas to fuel the ever-increasing demand for energy worldwide. One of those alternatives is hydrogen – a renewable energy source that proponents believe brings a wealth of opportunities and challenges. Argentina’s national energy company YPF is one such proponent. They are considering using natural gas from the massive Vaca Muerta play to produce “blue hydrogen,” which is produced by combining natural gas and steam.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

If the world had a comprehensive plan to address climate change, what would it look like? That’s an important question, even a crucial question for industry and businesses globally, especially the energy industry. Companies need to plan for significant climate-related action coming in the years and decades ahead. “The world does have a climate plan – or rather, a lot of plans. There’s a ton of economic and climate models that have been done around various pathways,” said Derek Pankratz, senior research manager with the Center for Integrated Research in Deloitte Services LP.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Growth through strategic acquisition and the disciplined and responsible stewardship of oil and gas assets, coupled with a pro-active plan to clean up orphaned wells is a unique business strategy which Diversified Energy has adopted, starting with Appalachia and then moving to the Midcontinent and beyond. Welcome to an interview with Brad Gray, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with Diversified Energy.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

Being able to use well data for multiple uses such as oil and gas exploration, energy storage, geothermal resource identification, and critical minerals exploration is only possible if the data itself is available in a flexible format. Welcome to an interview with Richard Tarver, of the Oklahoma Geological Survey, who describes the powerful new OGS Well Viewer application, which has the potential to transform the way that Oklahoma’s energy data can be viewed and analyzed.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column DPA

In my first column, I discussed some of the challenges facing our industry, AAPG, and DPA and introduced my theme for my term: “Renew and Engage.” I’m pleased to hear this resonated with so many of you and look forward to sharing the latest plans for the coming months. We are committed to deliver programs that appeal to our members, entice new members and reconnect our community.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Director’s Corner

Mapping the collapse of globalization. Seriously, that’s the subject of the book you’ve been reading?” I had a chance to connect with Vaughn Thompson, long-time friend and past president of the AAPG Pacific Section, at IMAGE’22. We have known each other since I was a youngish professional and he a graduate student at the University of Utah. And every time we catch up, one of us asks the question: What have you been reading lately? Vaughn’s recommendation to me this time was Peter Zeihan’s new book, “The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

People often associate Utah with spectacular canyons cut into the Colorado Plateau, the state’s five national parks, incredible skiing in the beautiful mountains, the opportunity to wade around in the briny water of Great Salt Lake or hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Visitors to the state, as well as most of its citizens, don’t think of Utah as a major producer of oil and gas. However, Utah has consistently ranked among the highest oil and gas producers in the United States.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Deepwater turbidite reservoirs hold some of the largest petroleum reservoirs and thus are important exploration targets. By identifying and mapping the diverse architectural elements of the turbidite system and placing them within the correct geologic framework, a skilled interpreter can predict which components of the system are more likely sand or shale prone. Seismic data and seismic attributes also provide insight into the connectivity or compartmentalization of different parts of the reservoir which can be used to estimate the number of wells needed to drain the reservoir.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

This debate began decades ago: How much of the planet's natural gas is abiotic – made up of methane with nonbiological origins? At times, the scientific back-and-forth argument has resembled a slow-motion tennis match, with a new volley coming every few years. Now, Daniel Xia thinks he has helped deliver a winning smash across the net. His findings were most clearly laid out in a recent article “Validity of geochemical signatures of abiotic hydrocarbon gases on Earth,” by Xia and coauthor Yongli Gao, published in the Journal of the Geological Society.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Embracing the exploration spirit so often embodied in the annual Halbouty Lecture, Cindy Yeilding, retired senior vice president of BP America, rallied and encouraged her audience at the August 2022 IMAGE conference to repurpose their geoscience knowledge and skillsets for the energy transition. As the world searches for viable ways to decarbonize, it will not be uncommon to hear people say, “That technology will never work at scale, or it might work but it’s never going to make any money,” Yeilding said. “Those are all parts of the energy transition conversation, which tells us that using our exploration mindset is right for new exploration opportunities.”

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Muscat, Oman
Monday, 6 April Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Experience the intrigue and complexity of the Middle East's structural styles at this highly anticipated workshop taking place from 6-8 April 2026 in Muscat, Oman. Join us for an immersive journey as we delve into the fascinating interplay of tectonic phases and other key factors shaping the region's geological formations. Don't miss this unparalleled opportunity to gain cutting-edge insights and network with industry professionals at the forefront of structural geology.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 19 November 2020, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Hear John Kaldi speak about Integrated Approaches to Determining Net Pay: Caveats & Lessons Learned. Webinar presented via Zoom on Thursday 19 November 2020 at 11:00 SGT (GMT+8) Singapore time.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 25 August 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium provides highlights of the hydraulic fracturing mechanics, analysis, and design, and is derived from a two and one-half (2-1/2) day course which is designed for drilling, completion, production engineers, engineering technicians, geologists, well-site and completion supervisors, and managers, who desire to possess a comprehensive and integral knowledge of Hydraulic Fracturing.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Tuesday, 2 December 2014, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

The gas transport in organic-rich shales involves different length-scales, from organic and inorganic pores to macro- and macrofractures. In order to upscale the fluid transport from nanoscale (flow through nanopores) to larger scales (to micro- and macrofractures), multicontinuum methodology is planned to be used.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 15 July 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'New Subsurface Tools and Techniques'. New Subsurface Tools and Techniques and strategies for pivoting for new revenue and diversification in today's times. This webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 15 July 2020.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 21 May 2020, 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.

Henry W. Posamentier discusses the application of 3-D seismic stratigraphic analyses to the mitigation of risk associated with lithology prediction prior to drilling – workflows and techniques. Principles and workflows of seismic stratigraphy and seismic geomorphology will be discussed and numerous examples will be shown from a variety of different depositional settings.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 10 June 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Smart Manufacturing  & 3D Printing' where we will discuss materials innovation and smart manufacturing, leveraging 3D printing to build resilient supply chains and women in 3D printing. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 10 June, 2020

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Tuesday, 1 January 2013, 12:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m.

The presenters will discuss effective management of wind farm operations and the challenges often encountered. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 22 July 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to describe geomechanics in shale reservoirs and discuss differences between plays.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Around 170 million years ago, the Gulf of Mexico basin flooded catastrophically, and the pre-existing landscape, which had been a very rugged, arid, semi-desert world, was drowned beneath an inland sea of salt water. The drowned landscape was then buried under kilometers of salt, perfectly preserving the older topography. Now, with high-quality 3D seismic data, the salt appears as a transparent layer, and the details of the drowned world can be seen in exquisite detail, providing a unique snapshot of the world on the eve of the flooding event. We can map out hills and valleys, and a system of river gullies and a large, meandering river system. These rivers in turn fed into a deep central lake, whose surface was about 750m below global sea level. This new knowledge also reveals how the Louann Salt was deposited. In contrast to published models, the salt was deposited in a deep water, hypersaline sea. We can estimate the rate of deposition, and it was very fast; we believe that the entire thickness of several kilometers of salt was laid down in a few tens of thousands of years, making it possibly the fastest sustained deposition seen so far in the geological record.

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Request a visit from Frank Peel!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Engineering of wind farms, development of carbon sequestration projects in shelfal waters, the proliferation of communication cables that connect the world, all of these things suggest that it is time to re-examine what we know about shelf processes both updip-to-downdip and along shoreline, and the influence of shelf processes on erosion and transport of sediments.

Request a visit from Lesli Wood!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

The Betic hinterland, in the westernmost Mediterranean, constitutes a unique example of a stack of metamorphic units. Using a three-dimensional model for the crustal structure of the Betics-Rif area this talk will address the role of crustal flow simultaneously to upper-crustal low-angle faulting in the origin and evolution of the topography.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

The Energy sector is a changing business environment. Throughout the 20th century fluctuations of oil supply and demand produced changes in the barrel price that pushed the growth or shrinkage of the industry. In this 21st century, new challenges such as diversification of the energy mix, boosting gas demand, require the exploration of critical minerals and development of new technologies as well.

Request a visit from Fernanda Raggio!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Local sea-level changes are not simply a function of global ocean volumes but also the interactions between the solid Earth, the Earth’s gravitational field and the loading and unloading of ice sheets. Contrasting behaviors between Antarctica and Scotland highlight how important the geologic structure beneath the former ice sheets is in determining the interactions between ice sheets and relative sea levels.

Request a visit from Alex Simms!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

For well over a century there have been conflicting indications of the strength of the crust and of faults and what controls them.  Much of our ignorance comes quite naturally from the general inaccessibility of the crust to measurement--in contrast with our understanding of the atmosphere, which is much more accessible to observation as well as more rapidly changing.  Crustal strength is best understood in deforming sedimentary basins where the petroleum industry has made great contributions, particularly in deforming petroleum basins because of the practical need to predict. In this talk we take a broad look at key issues in crustal strength and deformation and what we can learn from boreholes, earthquakes, active fault systems, and toy models.

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Request a visit from John Suppe!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

The carbonate sequences that were deposited in the now exhumed Tethyan Ocean influence many aspects of our lives today, either by supplying the energy that warms our homes and the fuel that powers our cars or providing the stunning landscapes for both winter and summer vacations. They also represent some of the most intensely studied rock formations in the world and have provided geoscientists with a fascinating insight into the turbulent nature of 250 Million years of Earth’s history. By combining studies from the full range of geoscience disciplines this presentation will trace the development of these carbonate sequences from their initial formation on the margins of large ancient continental masses to their present day locations in and around the Greater Mediterranean and Near East region. The first order control on growth patterns and carbonate platform development by the regional plate-tectonic setting, underlying basin architecture and fluctuations in sea level will be illustrated. The organisms that contribute to sequence development will be revealed to be treasure troves of forensic information. Finally, these rock sequences will be shown to contain all the ingredients necessary to form and retain hydrocarbons and the manner in which major post-depositional tectonic events led to the formation of some of the largest hydrocarbon accumulations in the world will be demonstrated.

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Request a visit from Keith Gerdes!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

In comparison with the known boundary conditions that promote salt deformation and flow in sedimentary basins, the processes involved with the mobilization of clay-rich detrital sediments are far less well established. This talk will use seismic examples in different tectonic settings to document the variety of shale geometries that can be formed under brittle and ductile deformations.

Request a visit from Juan I. Soto!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

President Biden has laid out a bold and ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the United States by 2050.  The pathway to that target includes cutting total greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and eliminating them entirely from the nation’s electricity sector by 2035. The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management will play an important role in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions by reducing the environmental impacts of fossil energy production and use – and helping decarbonize other hard-to abate sectors.

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Request a visit from Jennifer Wilcox!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Paleozoic North America has experienced multiple mountain building events, from Ordovician to Permian, on all margins of the continent. These have had a profound effect on the resulting complex basins and their associated petroleum systems. Subsequent uplift, erosion and overprinting of these ancient systems impedes the direct observation of their tectonic history. However, the basin sedimentary records are more complete, and provide additional insights into the timing and style of the mountain building events. In this study, we employ ~90 1D basin models, ~30 inverse flexural models, isopachs, and paleogeographic maps to better understand the Paleozoic history of North America.

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Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

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