Explorer President’s Column

AAPG functions because of you, the members, and there are many different ways for you to get involved in your organization. Some choose to start in their local affiliated society, working on committees and holding offices within them. Others get involved through leadership and organizing events within the sections and regions. These are the grassroots of our membership, and AAPG leadership is working to strengthen these roots.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Today’s world runs on technology and its rapid advances affect every aspect of human life. Science plays a pivotal role in developing technologies that change the way we live, work and play. The field of geosciences is no exception, and each day new technologies like big data, deep learning and robotics are changing geoscientists’ role in society.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

While Blockchain technology is most known for its initial association with the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, it has since made its way into the fields of banking, technology and healthcare. Now, it is on the verge of being adopted by the oil and gas industry. Although convoluted in concept and often mired in Bitcoin’s tumultuous history, Blockchain technology may be key to tackling the industry’s big data problem, increasing efficiency in operations and transactions, and ultimately lowering costs across the board.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

When new technology enters the oil and gas scene, talk of layoffs can creep into water-cooler conversations. Will better software and computers replace people, or will they push the industry forward, creating the need for additional staff? These questions are especially pertinent for geophysicists today, as artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are processing and interpreting seismic data at record speeds, often delivering results that rival, if not surpass, that of humans. With some software companies calling their platforms a “seismic revolution” by offering real-time data interpretation, geophysicists might question how they will fit into this new, seemingly supersonic world.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Pity the Permian Basin. Investors complain about disappointing returns from Permian production. Stockholders worry about the financial outlook for operators in the play. Lenders have started to cast a skeptical eye at the basin’s profit potential. So it’s surprising to find that a data-derived solution for addressing the Permian Basin’s current challenges might be readily available. And it’s somewhat startling to hear that, someday, unconventional resource plays in the United States could fly higher than ever.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Middle East Blog

For the first time in the Middle East region, AAPG is hosting a Geosciences Technology Workshop (GTW) dedicated to the Shuaiba Formation. This exciting and innovative event will take place at the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa on 6–7 April 2020 and will feature a compelling lineup of technical speakers and poster presenters.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

New processes and technologies are coaxing oil and gas from difficult unconventionals and re-establishing flow and improving the oil cut in the produced fluids in mature fields. One of the most effective approaches involves wettability alteration. Welcome to an interview with Salem Thyne, E-Sal, who speaks with us here and will be at AAPG's Success with Difficult Unconventionals in Houston, Nov 12-13.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer ProTracks

The Unconventional Resources Technology Conference was held this year in Denver, Colo., and once again, it did not disappoint. It was packed with technical presentations and exhibits and it continued to push boundaries and remain as the premier industry event focused on the latest science and technology in exploration and development of unconventional resources.

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

Producers are feeling the pinch: they’ve got to drill ever more wells to stay ahead of their production declines. Increased production is weighing on crude oil prices – you get the benefit of this supply in resilient markets, but it is shrinking margins and available cashflow to fund this drilling. And at the same time, the financial community is pulling back, restricting access to capital. The industry is reshaping itself yet again in response to new market realities, looking for new ideas and better approaches and operating models.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

How can operators increase the stimulated reservoir volume in multi-stage horizontal well completions? That is the key to increasing ultimate recovery and taking an edge off decline curves. Welcome to an interview with Jenna Robertson, ThruTubing. In addition to this interview, she will also be explaining how the technologies work at AAPG's Success with Difficult Unconventionals, Nov 12-13, in Houston.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Monday, 27 May Wednesday, 29 May 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

In order to support the energy transition, optimizing exploration and production from complex stratigraphic-diagenetic conventional and unconventional plays remains highly important. At the same time, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) poses new technological challenges that will impact both the industry and academia for decades to come. This 2nd edition will present reviews and discuss technology developments in geological process-based forward modeling achieved during the last 2 years. New perspectives for future technology developments and implementation in industry workflows will be discussed and with the additional focus on CO₂ storage and other sustainability-related applications, the scope of the workshop will be considerably extended.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tuesday, 30 January Wednesday, 31 January 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

AAPG and EAGE have teamed up to deliver the upcoming New Discoveries in Mature Basins workshop to be held from 30-31 January, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Save the date! Registration to open soon.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Monday, 4 December Wednesday, 6 December 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The fifth annual AAPG Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East Workshop will take place in Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia from 4-6 December 2023. This workshop will bring together professionals from the region to share their knowledge and experience related to siliciclastic reservoirs and showcase the best success stories in the industry on understanding and utilizing oil and gas siliciclastic reservoirs in the region.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Monday, 4 March Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Join us for the 4th Edition of: "Stratigraphic Traps of the Middle East" workshop. The workshop will be hosted by AAPG in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia 4-6 March 2024.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Paramaribo, Suriname
Wednesday, 17 January Thursday, 18 January 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Plan now to attend an interactive in-person workshop with industry leaders, government representatives and technical experts working in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 9 June 2021, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Pivoting 2021: The New Way to Work'. Panelists will discuss the way that work is done, both in operations and support roles, and discuss specific examples of technologies being used, and how they contribute to a safer, more efficient and profitable endeavor. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 9 June 2021.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 14 July 2020, 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

A Bacia de Santos é um excelente exemplo de quanto petróleo é mantido em locais remotos, apenas esperando ser encontrado por exploradores ousados com a vontade e os recursos necessários para encontrá-los. Junte-se a Flávio Feijó para uma apresentação da história e do potencial para futuras descobertas na Bacia de Santos O webinar será apresentado via Zoom na terça-feira, 14 de julho de 2020, às 15:00 CDT (UMT-6). Register Now at Zoom

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 30 July 2020, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

Hear panelists’ views on how COVID-19 has affected the legal, financial and technological sectors of the energy industry and what they expect for the future. Topics include energy markets, public policy, infrastructure, transportation, corporate culture, digitalization and the energy transition. Send questions and comments for speakers, then make your voice heard in virtual roundtables opening 10 minutes after the panel discussion. Forum registration is free of charge thanks to support from our sponsors. Forum Registration

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

Geothermal Energy Basics is an online course that enables participants to review, analyze, and evaluate opportunities in the rapidly expanding market for geothermal energy.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 13 December 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The course will review core data, petrophysical comparisons, rock physics modeling (including pseudo logs and mechanical properties).

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 23 July 2009, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

As commodity prices have dropped, many shale plays have become uneconomical as statistical plays and have increasingly become recognized as geological plays demanding new insights from data.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 24 September 2020, 8:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

In the past 3 decades the sequence stratigraphy jargon has proliferated, resulting in multiple definitions of the same surface or new surfaces and units based on drawings of deposition in response to relative changes in sea level. The close association between base-level changes, the formation of surfaces, and specific stratal stacking that define systems tracts are at the heart of the confusion. This webinar is proposed a back-to-basics approach, emphasizing key observations that can be made from any geologic data: lithofacies, lithofacies association, vertical stacking, stratal geometries, and stratal terminations.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 14 April 2020, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.

La Formación Smackover del Jurásico Superior (Oxfordiano) es una de las productoras de petróleo y gas más prolíficas de la llanura costera del noreste del Golfo de México, depositada en una rampa de carbonato proximal. Este estudio es una caracterización integral del ambiente de depositación de la Formación Smackover basada en datos sísmicos 3D y de pozos en los campos Vocation y Appleton situados en las subcuencas de Conecuh y Manila, en el suroeste de Alabama.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 10 May 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

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.

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)
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

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)
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)
VG Abstract

Production from unconventional petroleum reservoirs includes petroleum from shale, coal, tight-sand and oil-sand. These reservoirs contain enormous quantities of oil and natural gas but pose a technology challenge to both geoscientists and engineers to produce economically on a commercial scale. These reservoirs store large volumes and are widely distributed at different stratigraphic levels and basin types, offering long-term potential for energy supply. Most of these reservoirs are low permeability and porosity that need enhancement with hydraulic fracture stimulation to maximize fluid drainage. Production from these reservoirs is increasing with continued advancement in geological characterization techniques and technology for well drilling, logging, and completion with drainage enhancement. Currently, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Egypt, USA, and Venezuela are producing natural gas from low permeability reservoirs: tight-sand, shale, and coal (CBM). Canada, Russia, USA, and Venezuela are producing heavy oil from oilsand. USA is leading the development of techniques for exploring, and technology for exploiting unconventional gas resources, which can help to develop potential gas-bearing shales of Thailand. The main focus is on source-reservoir-seal shale petroleum plays. In these tight rocks petroleum resides in the micro-pores as well as adsorbed on and in the organics. Shale has very low matrix permeability (nano-darcies) and has highly layered formations with differences in vertical and horizontal properties, vertically non-homogeneous and horizontally anisotropic with complicate natural fractures. Understanding the rocks is critical in selecting fluid drainage enhancement mechanisms; rock properties such as where shale is clay or silica rich, clay types and maturation , kerogen type and maturation, permeability, porosity, and saturation. Most of these plays require horizontal development with large numbers of wells that require an understanding of formation structure, setting and reservoir character and its lateral extension. The quality of shale-gas resources depend on thickness of net pay (>100 m), adequate porosity (>2%), high reservoir pressure (ideally overpressure), high thermal maturity (>1.5% Ro), high organic richness (>2% TOC), low in clay (<50%), high in brittle minerals (quartz, carbonates, feldspars), and favourable in-situ stress. During the past decade, unconventional shale and tight-sand gas plays have become an important supply of natural gas in the US, and now in shale oil as well. As a consequence, interest to assess and explore these plays is rapidly spreading worldwide. The high production potential of shale petroleum resources has contributed to a comparably favourable outlook for increased future petroleum supplies globally. Application of 2D and 3D seismic for defining reservoirs and micro seismic for monitoring fracturing, measuring rock properties downhole (borehole imaging) and in laboratory (mineralogy, porosity, permeability), horizontal drilling (downhole GPS), and hydraulic fracture stimulation (cross-linked gel, slick-water, nitrogen or nitrogen foam) is key in improving production from these huge resources with low productivity factors.

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Request a visit from Ameed Ghori!

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

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!

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)

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