Learn! Blog

Featuring Dr. Jarrett Wise, research engineer for the USDA, and petroleum engineer Les Skinner, this webinar addresses contamination and risks prevention, regulatory compliance, and research trends around orphan well integrity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

Colorado’s hydrocarbon industry was built on the foundation of early explorers and field geologists venturing through rough and often dangerous terrain, surveying and mapping in a young nation at a time when geology was in its technological infancy. Without even the aid of a Brunton compass (patented 1894) early geologists, such as Ferdinand Hayden and John Powell, created the beginnings of Colorado’s geological knowledge through exceptional skill and work, upon which we continue to build today.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Over the next two years, led by the Middle East and South America, a resurgent offshore sector is poised to reach its highest level of activity in more than a decade. That’s right: the Middle East. With so much happening around the world, the energy industry will need to play catch-up to prepare for future growth.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

Working in arduous desert conditions and leading a team of explorers in the 1930s and ‘40s from the company that would come to be Aramco, Max Steineke put Saudi Arabia on the world petroleum map. A definitive, book-length biography of Steineke is yet to be written, but what follows outlines his career and contributions to petroleum geology and exploration during a period and in places far from the comforts, facilities and technologies enjoyed today. And yet, his exploration output from a single basin remains unparalleled, and his story offers valuable insights.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The need for helium is growing and supplies in the United States are dwindling, creating an economic opportunity for geoscientists whose knowledge and skills are ideal for this niche industry. In Arizona, known for its helium-rich formations, a growing number of companies are leasing land and drilling for the gas.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The idea of an oil-finding instrument was not new. Water dowsers were common throughout the United States and among most people of European descent worldwide, and they were quickly adapted to looking for oil. Soon after the Drake well in 1859, people started working on inventions to detect oil by geophysical methods.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

On Jan. 9, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries concluded the 2022 Onshore and Nearshore Competitive Bid Round. This bid round featured a total of 11 blocks covering more than 115,000 hectares. Blocks offered included Aripero, Buenos Ayres, Charuma, Cipero, Cory D, Cory F, Guayaguayare, South West Peninsula Onshore, St. Mary’s and Tulsa, located in the central to southern onshore Trinidad; and the South West Peninsula Offshore, located off the southern coast of Trinidad. Xavier Moonan, president-elect of AAPG’s Latin America and Caribbean Region and exploration manager of Touchstone Exploration Inc., follows the bid rounds closely.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

A century ago, a gusher helped transform Venezuela from an agricultural country known as an exporter of coffee, cacao and cattle into one of the world’s largest oil producers. It was front-page news on the world’s most important newspapers. The country’s most significant 20th-century discoveries took place in the Maracaibo Basin between 1910 and 1925 and were based on surface geological exploration of concessions held by American and European companies. One of the strikes, the large La Rosa Field, was discovered in 1917 by Venezuelan Oil Concessions, a Royal Dutch Shell affiliate, on a 3,000-square-mile concession.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

As countries seek to transition to cleaner-burning fuel to address environmental concerns, it can also be argued that the need to eliminate energy poverty remains just as crucial. The future energy mix must be wide-ranging and diverse to meet the needs both of the environment and the people living on the planet. New companies have begun to bring geothermal energy to areas that aren’t adjacent to volcanoes or that don’t have access to tectonic settings, which allow for an easy harvesting of the Earth’s heat. Some are embracing the niche operation of repurposing traditional geothermal wells and non-producing oil and gas wells. Others are promoting widespread geothermal energy through deep vertical and multilateral wells that can bring heat and electricity to the masses.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

In the world of oil and gas, an increasing number of plays in stratigraphic traps are being made – in large part due to ever-evolving seismic technology. The Discovery Thinking forum at the annual IMAGE conference in August served to highlight some of these plays in offshore frontier basins and the role that geophysics played in their discovery. “We are seeing more giant stratigraphic fields, and seismic is the key,” said past AAPG President Charles A. Sternbach, chair of the Discovery Thinking forum. “And, we are seeing more oil found at greater depths. Unconventional plays are migrating outside of the Western Hemisphere.”

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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.

The AAPG Structural Styles of the Middle East is back! This exciting and highly anticipated Geoscience Technology Workshop will take place from 6 – 8 April 2026, in Muscat, Oman. This workshop aims to explore the diverse structural styles resulting from the different deformation phases on the tectonostratigraphic framework of the Arabian Plate and adjacent regions.  

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Muscat, Oman
Sunday, 5 April 2026, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

This one-day advanced course delivers a focused and highly practical framework for interpreting structural styles in the Middle East, combined with the unique advantage of applying Generative AI (GenAI) to elevate geological understanding and decision-making. Built for geoscientists working in exploration, development, or basin modeling, the course emphasizes practical techniques, hands-on interpretation, and modern tools that increase accuracy, speed, and confidence in structural workflows. We begin with a foundational module designed to unify all participants, regardless of background, around the principles of fault mechanics and structural style recognition. Participants will revisit faulting fundamentals, mechanical stratigraphy, and structural style classification. The goal is to align interpretation techniques with geological processes, and to establish a shared vocabulary for the day. An introduction to GenAI highlights its role in managing structural ambiguity and enhancing workflows, helping geoscientists clarify options when data is incomplete or conflicting. Normal Faulting Through a sequence of focused exercises, participants explore fault segmentation, growth history, and interpretation in extensional domains. This segment reinforces practical skills in identifying and validating fault geometries in map and section views. GenAI is introduced as a scenario-building tool: participants will use it to explore structural uncertainty, generate alternative models, and compare extensional interpretations, all using fragmented or incomplete datasets, not as a seismic interpreter but as a powerful thought partner. Strike-Slip and Transtension This module targets the complexity of strike-slip and transtensional systems. Participants learn to distinguish pure strike-slip geometries from transtensional overprints, assess compartmentalization, and model realistic deformation patterns. Interpretation exercises develop structural reasoning in map and cross-sectional views. GenAI is applied here to integrate multi-source inputs, such as field data, analogs, and internal reports, to support rapid synthesis and generate testable structural concepts. Salt Tectonics The final segment introduces key diagnostic features of salt-related deformation: welds, reactive and passive diapirs, and halokinetic sequences. Exercises train participants to recognize salt-influenced geometries and link them to broader structural evolution. GenAI then supports pattern recognition and memory mining, leveraging archived knowledge from prior studies, case histories, and analog reports to help geoscientists build and validate interpretations faster and with more confidence. What makes this course different? This is not a theoretical seminar. It’s a learning accelerator, where foundational concepts are applied in realistic interpretation settings, then extended with state-of-the-art GenAI capabilities. You’ll not only sharpen your structural reasoning, but learn how to delegate time-consuming tasks, like synthesizing legacy reports, generating alternative scenarios, or exploring interpretation options, to an intelligent AI partner. By the end of the day, participants will: Recognize and differentiate key fault styles with confidence Improve fault interpretation quality and geological risk assessment Use GenAI to test structural scenarios and extract insight from fragmented or incomplete datasets Accelerate their ability to interpret, communicate, and make decisions in structurally complex plays This course equips you with what matters most today: deep geological understanding, elevated by the best of modern AI. Who Should Attend and Why This course is ideal for both new hires and experienced geoscientists working across exploration, development, and reservoir modeling. Its exercise-driven format ensures that participants with diverse backgrounds, geologists, geophysicists, geomodelers, can engage, learn, and apply. While some familiarity with geosciences is beneficial, prior structural geology training is not required. What makes this course indispensable is its ability to bridge theory and practice: participants will gain a clear understanding of how rocks deform over time, how fault geometries evolve, and how these structures influence seismic interpretation, mapping, and static/dynamic modeling. By integrating real case studies and GenAI-enhanced workflows, the course delivers practical tools to improve subsurface outcomes and build models that match project maturity and business objectives. Main Objective This course delivers the structural geology foundations every geoscientist needs to confidently interpret faults and build or validate static models. Derived from decades of project reviews, interpretation support, and applied field experience, these “must-know” concepts include fault mechanics, growth, segmentation, and structural style recognition, relevant to both exploration and production settings. Participants will strengthen their ability to recognize deformation styles, interpret fault geometries in map and section view, assess mechanical stratigraphy and reactivation risk, and QC interpretations with confidence. Throughout the course, GenAI is introduced not as a software tool, but as a workflow enhancer, used to reduce ambiguity, test structural hypotheses, and extract insight from fragmented datasets or legacy documentation. This empowers geoscientists to think more clearly, work more efficiently, and improve the geological soundness of their models. Key Points Date: 5th April,2026 Venue: Crowne Plaza Hotel, OCEC Registration Fee: $590 Registration Deadline: 22nd February,2026 *Registration will be opening shortly Instructors Pascal Richard PRgeology Jan Witte Falcon-Geoconsulting

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Muscat, Oman
Thursday, 9 April Friday, 10 April 2026, 7:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

The Jabal Akhdar in the Central Oman Mountains forms a ~90 km × 60 km dome. The core of this dome consists of Cryogenian to Ediacaran siliciclastics and carbonates, including source rocks. These rocks are separated from the overlying rocks by a spectacularly exposed angular unconformity. The rocks above this unconformity are Permo-Mesozoic shelf carbonates of the Arabian passive margin. The rocks below the unconformity are folded twice, while those above show no such folding. During the Late Cretaceous, Arabia was overthrust by the Samail Ophiolite and Hawasina deep-sea sedimentary rocks. Final doming occurred during the late Eocene to early Miocene. The Jabal Akhdar Dome is a textbook example of stratigraphy and structural geology development from the Cryogenian to the present. Furthermore, findings from the dome can be used as a natural laboratory and serve as an analogue for the hydrocarbon-bearing sequences in interior Oman. The two-day field trip will start at the Saiq Plateau where we will examine Cryogenian Snowball-Earth diamictites with cap carbonates, blended within the scenic landscape of Jabal Akhdar. The second day will start at a breath-taking vista point at Wadi Bani Awf. From there we will descend into the core of the Jabal Akhdar and explore the structural style of the Cryogenian and younger succession. Field Trip Information: Date: 9th – 10th April 2026 Time: 7:30am – 7pm Field Trip fee: $550 Registration Deadline: 5th March 2026 (*registration will be opening shortly) Fees Include: 1 night accommodation in a hotel Guided hiking tour through rose farms and ancient villages in Jebel Akhdar (2–3 hours) Traditional Omani lunch hosted at a local home BBQ dinner in a scenic open area at Jebel Akhdar All transportation (4x4s) Field Trip Leaders Ivan Callegari GUtech Oman Wilfried Bauer GUtech Oman Andreas Scharf Sultan Qaboos University

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 9 September 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The presentation will focus on hydraulic fracture geometry in shales, the materials used in the fracturing process, and treatment monitoring via microseismic.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 7 June 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Unger Field, discovered in1955, has produced 8.6 million barrels of oil from a thinly (several ft) bedded, locally cherty dolomite containing vuggy and intercrystalline porosity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 28 October 2021, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.

As an industry we’re constantly challenged to improve our business on a worldwide stage. How do we continue improving the safe delivery of high quality, economical wells and production where understanding of social requirements and the license to operate are rapidly changing? Join us for a conversation with a panel of drilling engineers to gain insight to their understanding of how we can meet these challenges and impact well delivery planning processes and outcomes - from clarity on deliverables, process improvements, advances in technology, to building better business models for modern decision making.

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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)
Online e-Symposium
Tuesday, 10 September 2013, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The goal of this e-symposium is to review an important dimension in the ways geologist can build and update geological models using information from performance data.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 10 November 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This work investigates how heterogeneity can be defined and how we can quantify this term by describing a range of statistical heterogeneity (e.g. coefficient of variation and the Lorenz coefficient).

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 22 October 2009, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This course can help you gain the ability to describe the complex and highly variable reservoirs, which are typified by complex internal heterogeneity.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 21 October 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium covers how to conduct an interdisciplinary evaluation of mature fields to determine the best approach to recover remaining reserves.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 25 June 2020, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Panelists will discuss current unconventional resource activities in North America, including key plays that remain competitive and potential for future growth. They also will address the key challenges for unconventional resources to stay competitive in the global market: maintaining cashflow, reducing expenditures, improving capital and production efficiencies and managing resources. Virtual Forum to be presented via Zoom.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Wednesday, 31 October 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium will focus on how surface geochemical surveys and Downhole Geochemical Imaging technologies can be utilized jointly to directly characterize the composition of hydrocarbons vertically through the prospect section.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) seismic-reflection surveys provide one of the most important data types for understanding subsurface depositional systems. Quantitative analysis is commonly restricted to geophysical interpretation of elastic properties of rocks in the subsurface. Wide availability of 3D seismic-reflection data and integration provide opportunities for quantitative analysis of subsurface stratigraphic sequences. Here, we integrate traditional seismic-stratigraphic interpretation with quantitative geomorphologic analysis and numerical modeling to explore new insights into submarine-channel evolution.

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Request a visit from Jacob Covault!

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)
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

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

Subsurface risk and uncertainty are recognized as very important considerations in petroleum geoscience. And even when volume estimates are relatively accurate, the reservoir characteristics that determine well placement and performance can remain highly uncertain. In analyzing results and work practices, three aspects of uncertainty are reviewed here.

Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

As oil and gas exploration and production occur in deeper basins and more complex geologic settings, accurate characterization and modeling of reservoirs to improve estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) prediction, optimize well placement and maximize recovery become paramount. Existing technologies for reservoir characterization and modeling have proven inadequate for delivering detailed 3D predictions of reservoir architecture, connectivity and rock quality at scales that impact subsurface flow patterns and reservoir performance. Because of the gap between the geophysical and geologic data available (seismic, well logs, cores) and the data needed to model rock heterogeneities at the reservoir scale, constraints from external analog systems are needed. Existing stratigraphic concepts and deposition models are mostly empirical and seldom provide quantitative constraints on fine-scale reservoir heterogeneity. Current reservoir modeling tools are challenged to accurately replicate complex, nonstationary, rock heterogeneity patterns that control connectivity, such as shale layers that serve as flow baffles and barriers.

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Request a visit from Tao Sun!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Physics is an essential component of geophysics but there is much that physics cannot know or address. 

Request a visit from John Castagna!

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)
DL Abstract

Climate change is not only happening in the atmosphere but also in the anthroposphere; in some ways the former could drive or exacerbate the latter, with extreme weather excursions and extreme excursions from societal norms occurring all over the earth. Accomplishing geoscience for a common goal – whether that is for successful business activities, resource assessment for public planning, mitigating the impacts of geological hazards, or for the sheer love of furthering knowledge and understanding – can and should be done by a workforce that is equitably developed and supported. Difficulty arises when the value of institutional programs to increase equity and diversity is not realized.

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Request a visit from Sherilyn Williams-Stroud!

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)

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