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Explorer President’s Column By Mike Party

We have been through a month of lockdown due to the coronavirus, and in that time, we have seen oil prices go into negative numbers. This is paper barrels! The commodity market has a place in our business and it’s helpful to understand the history and how the commodity market has changed our industry.

Added on 01 May, 2020

Explorer Article By Lyn George

Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG Announces Presentation Awards

The Rocky Mountain Section of AAPG is pleased to announce the winners of its Presentation Awards for the section’s 2019 Annual Conference which was held in Cheyenne, Wyo. The Presentation Awards are given to those who present the best technical papers at the annual meeting. Authors gave more than 125 oral and poster presentations on the geology of the Rocky Mountain region at the Cheyenne meeting. Judging on technical merit and presentation determined the winners.

Added on 01 April, 2020

Explorer Geophysical Corner By Ritesh Sharma,Satinder Chopra

The Importance of Fracture Toughness

Shale resource plays are associated with low permeability, so hydraulic fracturing is required for their stimulation and production. In order to enhance the flow of fluids with hydraulic fracturing, it is vital to understand the stress field distribution. The efficiency and effectiveness of a hydraulic fracture stimulation are predicated on adequate horizontal well placement in the subsurface. For that purpose, the horizontal wells are usually drilled in the direction of minimal horizontal stress so that hydraulic fracturing takes place in the direction of maximal stress that ensures better reservoir contact and production, which also depends on how a complex fracture network is created by induced fractures.

Added on 01 April, 2020

Explorer Article By Autumn Haagsma

Petroleum Geologists and DEG Can Pave the Way for CCUS

The maturing carbon market is a major driver for carbon capture, utilization and storage projects. Both the subsurface technical knowledge and related data sets of the petroleum industry are major inputs required for the world to successfully move toward a carbon-neutral and sustainable energy future. To that end, one of the goals of the Division of Environmental Geosciences in representing AAPG is to promote what petroleum geologists can offer during an evolving energy future.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Historical Highlights By JIm Felton,William Barrett

The Big One That Got Away

In 1994, while chairman and CEO of Barrett Resources, I got a call from my good friend Ray Thomasson, who said, “Bill I have a prospect Larry McPeek has worked up in the Wind River Basin that you might find interesting.” I’d worked every feature of geology in Wyoming’s Wind River Basin and was familiar with about every well drilled there during my career, so I frankly considered myself somewhat of an expert on the basin ... The Cave Gulch Prospect was located along the Owl Creek Thrust in a geologically complex area.

Added on 01 March, 2020

Explorer Article By David Brown

Lawmakers, Candidates Propose Nationwide Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing

Proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing in the United States have drawn a wide range of responses from analysts, with projected effects ranging from cataclysmic to trifling. Legislation to phase out fracturing was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives earlier this year. That turned up the heat on the controversy, as did the emergence of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders and Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced a bill titled the “Ban Fracking Act” in January.

Added on 01 March, 2020

wwwUpdate Blog By Karin Alyea

The deadline for AAPG’s 2021 Honors and Awards’ nominations has been extended to February 18, 2020

The Honors and Awards programs provide a means for recognizing outstanding achievements and contributions by professional geologists, especially in the area of exploration for petroleum and energy mineral resources, and by other professionals who further the goals and objectives of the industry's science, profession, and this Association. The motivation toward scientific and professional achievement which such recognition stimulates is much to be desired.

Added on 07 February, 2020

Explorer Historical Highlights By Michael S. Johnson

An Oil Trap Unlike Any Other

I was involved in the 2006 discovery of Parshall Oil Field in the Bakken reservoir of North Dakota, one of the largest oil fields in North America. My prospect idea was based on meager geologic data that included two key wells and used the potential of new horizontal drilling technology.

Added on 01 January, 2020

Explorer Emphasis Article By Heather Saucier

Basin and Super Basin

As basins such as the Permian have crushed the concept of “peak oil” by doubling past production rates using new ideas and technology, their newly dubbed “super basin” status is inspiring operators on practically every continent to do the same.

Added on 01 January, 2020

Explorer Emphasis Article By Heather Saucier

Technological Evolution Creates Super Basin Renaissance

Now referred to as a “super basin,” the Gulf of Mexico Basin has joined other top super basins in the world that, despite their maturity, have the potential or have proven to be significant new plays all over again. The driving force behind this renaissance is, for a large part, the evolution of technology over the last two decades that has jumpstarted both offshore and onshore basins.

Added on 01 January, 2020

Field Seminar

Houston, Texas

Saturday, 1 February 2025, 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Buffalo Bayou K-12 Educators Hurricane Hike

Everyone in Houston lives within a few miles of a bayou. Some people think of them as permanent, but the bayous are constantly changing, especially during high water events like Hurricane Harvey. This trip is a 2.5 mile walk down a section of Buffalo Bayou where we will look at the archives of past storms and discuss what to do for future storms.

Added on 05 December, 2023

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 28 April 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The Niobrara Petroleum System, a Major Tight Resource Play in the Rocky Mountain Region

The Niobrara Petroleum System of the U.S. Rocky Mountain Region is a major tight petroleum resource play.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Webinar By Chris Jackson

Virtual Webinar

Thursday, 4 June 2020, 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

When Salt Disappears: Why Should We Care About Welds?

Salt welds form due to salt thinning by mechanical (e.g., salt-flow) and/or chemical (e.g., salt-dissolution) processes. This webinar explores how we use 3-D seismic reflection, borehole, and biostratigraphic data to constrain the thickness and composition of salt welds, and to test the predictions of analytical models for salt welding.

Added on 24 June, 2020

Webinar

Thursday, 18 January 2024, 11:00 a.m.–12:49 p.m.

Geochemistry of the Anadarko Basin

This webinar provides new insights around hydrocarbon migration and an overview from U.S. unconventional perspectives through produced oil geochemistry. Director of Geoscience at Impac Exploration Services in Houston, Texas, Wahid Rahman, uses a case study in the Anadarko Basin to forecast the extent of self-sourced petroleum, its migration, areal extent, hydrocarbon phase behavior and key reservoir engineering properties evaluations for reservoir geochemistry-based exploration.

Added on 18 January, 2024

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 10 November 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Heterogeneity in Carbonate Reservoirs

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).

Added on 11 December, 2013

Webinar By Juan Pablo Lovecchio

Virtual Webinar

Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.

Rifting: How Breaking Continents Can Create Exploration Opportunities

Visiting Geoscientist Juan Pablo Lovecchio reviews general aspects of rifting, rifts and passive margin formation and evolution through time, as well as elements of petroleum system development.

Added on 30 June, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 10 May 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Genetic Sequences in Eagle Ford-Austin: Their Significance in Exploration and Development

Recognition and Correlation of the Eagle Ford, Austin Formations in South Texas can be enhanced with High Resolution Biostratigraphy, fossil abundance peaks and Maximum Flooding Surfaces correlated to Upper Cretaceous sequence stratigraphic cycle chart after Gradstein, 2010.

Added on 11 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 8 November 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Proppant Selection Drivers in Unconventional Resources

This talk will present a brief overview of proppants followed by a comprehensive discussion of the major considerations that are driving proppant selection in these plays.

Added on 11 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 16 February 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Seismically Driven Characterization of Unconventional Shale Plays

This presentation describes a proven workflow that uses a standard narrow azimuth 3D seismic, conventional logs, image logs and core data to build five key reservoir properties required for an optimal development of shale plays.

Added on 11 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 9 February 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Seismic Reservoir Characterization of U.S. Shales: An Update

Projects in several shales will be discussed, including Marcellus, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Fayetteville, Montney, and Barnett, as will several seismically-detectable drivers for success including lithofacies, stress, pre-existing fractures, and pore pressure.

Added on 11 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 30 October 2014, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

Kerogen Maturity Determinations: New Techniques and Technologies

Cross disciplinary workflows play an important part of successful characterization of shale reservoirs. This course discusses how the artificial kerogen maturity of organic-rich Green River shale affects the petrophysical, micro-structural, geochemical and elastic properties.

Added on 05 August, 2014

DL Abstract By Kurt W. Rudolph

The Assembly of Pangea, a View from Laurentia: Paleozoic Orogenies and their Impact on Basin Evolution and Petroleum Systems

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.

Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

Added on 14 September, 2023

VG Abstract By Keith Gerdes

Tethyan Carbonates - Linking Tropical Seas and Crashing Plates to Some of the Largest Oil and Gas Fields in the World

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.

Request a visit from Keith Gerdes!

Added on 24 August, 2015

DL Abstract By Jennifer Wilcox

The Role of Carbon Capture in Meeting Net-Zero Carbon Goals

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.

Request a visit from Jennifer Wilcox!

Added on 20 July, 2022

VG Abstract By Juan I. Soto

Salt versus Shales in Continental Margins and Orogens

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!

Added on 26 June, 2019

DL Abstract By Sherilyn Williams-Stroud

Atmospheric and Social Climate Change: Implications for the Future Geoscience Workforce

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.

Request a visit from Sherilyn Williams-Stroud!

Added on 14 September, 2023

DL Abstract By Kurt W. Rudolph

Tectonic Controls on Source Rock Deposition

While there are many habitats that are associated with the deposition of organic-rich marine and lacustrine source rocks, one important pathway is linked to the onset of increased basin subsidence associated with major tectonic events. A key aspect is that this subsidence is spatially variable, with the uplift of basin flanks contemporaneous with the foundering of the basin center, resulting in a steeper basin profile.

Request a visit from Kurt W. Rudolph!

Added on 14 September, 2023

DL Abstract By Tao Sun

Integrated Reservoir Characterization and Modeling with Computational Stratigraphy

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.

Request a visit from Tao Sun!

Added on 20 July, 2022

DL Abstract By Frank Peel

A Lost World Rediscovered: 3D Seismic Data Reveal Spectacular Images of a Jurassic Landscape on the Eve of Louann Salt Deposition in the Gulf of Mexico, with Implications for Salt Deposition

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.

Request a visit from Frank Peel!

Added on 16 November, 2022

DL Abstract By John Suppe

Probing What Makes the Crust Strong (or Weak): Insight from Boreholes, Earthquakes, Active Fault Systems, and Toy Models

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.

Request a visit from John Suppe!

Added on 14 September, 2023

VG Abstract By Juan I. Soto

How Orogens Could Collapse Forming Sedimentary Basins: The Case of the Betic-Rif Orogen

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!

Added on 26 June, 2019

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