Explorer Article

When the Biden administration effectively canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline as a first order of business in January, environmentalists all over North America celebrated a major victory. “There was no magic to how we beat the Keystone XL Pipeline – it was grit, shared leadership and never forgetting who and what we were fighting for,” said the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. But did they really know what they were fighting for?

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

New ground-breaking advances are currently being made at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy using methods borrowed from the oil and gas industry for unconventional hydrocarbon development. Recently, geothermal history was made when Utah FORGE successfully completed the first of two highly deviated deep wells in the hot, hard granite that will form the geothermal reservoir.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Salt tectonics may be “an outlier in this country’s university training in structural geology,” but geologists entering the petroleum industry will almost certainly find themselves dealing with the topic, explained Mark G. Rowan of Rowan Consulting in Boulder, Colo. A growing understanding of how they form – especially since the 1980s – has been helpful in increasing their importance to exploration and production. Rowan discussed “Salt Diapirs – What Are They, How Do They Form and What is Their Role in Hydrocarbon Exploration?” at the recent Visiting Geoscientist Program Super Session organized by AAPG and the AAPG Foundation.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Add the offshore sector to the much-improved outlook for oil and gas. If current projections are correct, offshore activity should be getting a major boost, starting later this year. This expected rebound has more to do with sharply lower drilling and production costs than with higher oil prices.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Events Blog

The AAPG Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Conference, “An Emerging Field for Petroleum Geologists,' will be held online 23–25 March 2021. Be one of the first 250 paid registrants and receive a FREE copy of our keynote speaker, Daniel Yergin's newest book, 'The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations.'

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

President Joe Biden, upon taking the reins of leadership, made it very clear that he is going to focus on clean energy and preserving the environment. On day one, he cancelled the permits for the Keystone XL Pipeline cross-border oil transportation project. The president forgot that pipelines are cheaper and safer than rail and trucks. Canada may as well ship their oil to Asia. We are and will remain in need of hydrocarbons for transportation well into the future. A healthy oil industry will be needed as we transition to clean energy sources.

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

Later this month here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’ll enjoy the spring equinox and with it the passing of winter to spring. For those of us here in North America, particularly our members in Texas who recently experienced a polar vortex accompanied by snow, ice and freezing temperatures, this transition is welcome. With spring comes new beginnings and that, too, is welcome. The concerns of COVID have not vanished, but as vaccinations roll out across the globe, we glimpse the possibility of recovery. I am hopeful.

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

Happy new year to all Energy Minerals Division and AAPG members! T.S. Eliot wrote, “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” Therefore, I am focusing on the exciting future outlook in energy minerals and not dwelling on the past year that has been painful to many of us on a personal and professional level.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

In February 2011, the court in the small Ecuadorian town of Lago Agrio sentenced Chevron Corporation to pay $9.3 billion to a group of about 30,000 Ecuadorian residents of the Amazonian region where Texaco, later acquired by Chevron, had been producing oil for 26 years. The trial was the stuff of which Hollywood movies are made. This legal saga combined fundamental environmental issues, political intrigue, judicial corruption, corporate greed and cliff-hanging courtroom drama. Above all it unveiled the tragedy of a young and brilliant U.S. lawyer who felt he could obtain big money from a giant oil corporation while becoming a hero for the underdogs of this world.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer President’s Column

I went to a talk years ago by a speaker who was introduced as a “futurist” for his ability to predict. I’ve always wanted the title of “futurist,” but I’ve not earned it. I’ve been reading a lot of predictions for 2021 from various magazines, papers and blogs. Now I’m as close to a futurist as I will ever get, so here are a few predictions from the experts (I agree with) and how they may impact AAPG.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Houston, Texas
Friday, 28 April 2023, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

To go through the different stages of a CCS project and discuss which geophysical data/methods are pertinent: workshop format with short presentation and lots of discussion/Q&A

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Houston, Texas
Friday, 28 April 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

As part of the international effort to combat global warming, significant attention is being given to ways to sequester (store for the long-term) carbon dioxide, which is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. This one-day course will look at some of the ways in which carbon dioxide can be stored and provide a detailed review of the SRMS framework prepared by the Society of Petroleum Engineers to classify and categorize the storage volumes.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Lviv, Ukraine
Thursday, 21 September Friday, 22 September 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Join us for a workshop where experts will  explore the Carpathian foreland and the Dnieper-Donetsk rift basins with a focus not only on hydrocarbons, but the utilization of geothermal resources, hydrogen exploration and CCUS.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Friday, 27 March 2009, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Join two GIS/geoscience experts Scott Sires and Gerry Bartz as they use information from the Teapot Dome Field in Wyoming (DOE/RMOTC program).

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)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 3 June 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Analytics-Based Opportunities in Double Black Swan Times' where we will discuss the steps companies are taking, business considerations in cross-industry analytics -start-ups to majors, analytics agility in a double black swan world, enabling the workforce to utilize and exploit data remotely using the cloud and machine learning. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 3 June 2020.

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

This seminar focuses on the role geoscience leaders and mentors play in retaining top talent.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 12 January 2022, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Using global examples and based on 40 years’ experience in mainstream geology and in Petroleum Systems Analysis, Andrew Pepper will discuss how re-thinking some of our paradigms can open up our minds to new Discovery Thinking in any old or new basin.

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)
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)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Wednesday, 17 June 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join us for 'Sustainability-Focused Opportunities'. A webinar to explore investment trends, new opportunities, and strategies for pivoting for new revenue and diversification in today's times. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7:00pm - 8:30pm CDT 17 June 2020.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 21 May 2009, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium introduces you to the practical benefits of thermal profiling for a variety of unconventional oil and gas projects, including tight gas sands, oil shale, low-gravity oil.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 14 April 2020, 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

The Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) Smackover Formation is one of the most prolific oil and gas producers in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain, where it deposited in a proximal carbonate ramp. This study is a comprehensive characterization of the depositional environment of the Smackover based on 3D seismic and well data from wells in the Vocation and Appleton oil fields located in the Conecuh and Manila Sub-basins in southwest Alabama.

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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

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)

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