Explorer Article

The debut of high-resolution aeromagnetic surveys in the early 1990s was received with great interest by the oil industry for exploration of both mature and frontier basins. In less than a decade, many of the active sedimentary basins in North America were covered by spec HRAM surveys. The interest in the application of these HRAM surveys slowly subsided as the basins became more mature and were covered by high-quality 3-D seismic surveys. However, after a nearly 30-year hiatus, there has been a renewal of interest.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

In February 2023, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, together with the AAPG and the Society for Exploration Geophysicists, conducted a one-day symposium on the energy transition. The invitation-only event, hosted by the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., was designed to inform and engage policymakers and the policy community in the U.S. capital from the perspective of the engineers and geoscientists who currently work to supply 60 percent of the world’s energy.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

The processing of land seismic data entails a series of steps through which the data passes, including sorting, static correction, deconvolution, residual static correction, velocity analysis, migration, stacking, filtering and scaling. Some tasks, such as velocity analysis, are interactive, while others are automated. The processing of seismic data from the same area often follows the same proven series of steps or sequence, barring any unforeseen issues that need to be addressed. Such a sequence of tasks designed to process data from their initiation to completion is referred to as a “workflow.”

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Alaska’s North Slope is the best conventional onshore oil play in the world. That’s according to Bill Armstrong, CEO and president of Armstrong Oil and Gas, Inc. And, he will give no quarter on his belief about how robust the future is for the North Slope’s prospects. In short, Armstrong calls the area “incredible.”

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

In the early days of analogue recording, geophysicists used seismic data primarily to map structure. However, improvements in data quality by the late 1960s led to the identification of lateral changes in amplitude as well. When the drill bit revealed that some of the higher amplitude events correlated to gas-bearing zones, interpreters started taking them seriously. These streaks of high amplitudes seen on seismic sections were christened “bright spots.” The initial excitement was tempered by the realization that not all bright spots correspond to gas.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Foundation Update

Being an AAPG Distinguished Lecturer, from the very first speaking tour in 1941, was always a prestigious achievement and a source of honor and pride for those selected as speakers. It was always recognized and praised as an important vehicle for the profession’s top geoscientists to share the latest in industry insights and advances. It always showcased geologists who truly were distinguished. What it wasn’t always, was easy.

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 Geophysical Corner

To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the demand for renewable energy is increasing exponentially, with offshore wind farms as one potential area of investment. Offshore wind farm development requires effective mapping of near subsurface for turbine foundation design and construction, which faces many challenges related to seafloor topography mapping, shallow geohazard detection, structure interpretation and modeling, soil type analysis and geotechnical property estimation, among other considerations.

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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 Article

The successful Mars InSight mission employed a NASA/European Space Agency robotic lander designed to study the interior of Mars. The mission recently ended with last contact as its dust-choked solar panels failed to deliver enough electricity to keep InSight going. InSight had two science goals: Seek to determine the interior structure and composition of Mars and to reveal how a rocky planet forms, and to study the rate of Martian tectonic activity and meteorite impacts.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tuesday, 18 February Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Join us for AAPG Orphan, Abandoned, Idle and Marginal Wells Conference 2025. This workshop will focus on orphan, abandoned, idle, and marginal wells and the business opportunities and technology associated with plugging and repurposing wells, reducing methane emissions, protecting water supplies, and extending the lives of marginal wells.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Houston, Texas
Saturday, 1 February 2025, 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

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.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Thursday, 20 February 2025, 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

This introduction to methane monitoring, measurement, and quantification is for all those who would like to understand the requirements and regulations regarding methane emissions and to be able to design a measurement and monitoring solution, complete with the appropriate types of technologies, techniques, and safety protocols.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Tuesday, 14 December 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Recent interest in unconventional gas resources has attracted several oil and gas explorers to sedimentary basins in Southern Quebec.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 2 June 2020, 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

Visiting Geoscientist Xavier Moonan provides an overview of the destruction in the Los Iros area following the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Trinidad and Tobago in 2018. His talk focuses on understanding the results from various post-earthquake studies conducted on the Los Iros, reviewing the theories developed to explain the origin and integrating datasets to provide an understanding of what transpired.

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)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 2 October 2014, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

This course is ideal for individuals involved in Midland Basin exploration and development. Successful development of Wolfcamp shale oil relies on complex inter-relationships (ultimately interdependencies) within and between a wide variety of scientific disciplines, financial entities, and company partnerships. 

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 17 March 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium will provide information on which tools, processes, and procedures all geoscientists, engineers, and technical professionals working in shale plays need to understand and implement.

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

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.

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)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 2 July 2020, 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Presented by Kevin C. Hill, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne Gravity modelling of Australia's southern margin reveals that the initial rift with Antarctica was beneath the current Ceduna Delta. A regional, high-quality seismic traverse from the coast to oceanic crust across the Bight Basin has been assembled and interpreted in detail, then balanced, restored, decompacted, and replaced at paleo-water depths. The Late Cretaceous Ceduna Delta developed above a Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rift basin in three stages punctuated by significant pulses of uplift and erosion across areas >100 km wide and with up to 1 km of erosion. The Cenomanian White Pointer delta prograded into deepening water and hence underwent gravitational collapse. This was terminated in the Santonian when the Antarctic margin was pulled out from below, thus supplying heat to a remnant thicker outer margin crust, causing doming and erosion. Importantly, this established the saucer-shaped geometry of the Ceduna Delta that persisted throughout its development, so that any hydrocarbons generated in the southern half of the basin would have migrated towards this outer margin high. The Tiger Formation was deposited in shallow water in a full rift basin prior to breakup, which was followed by regional thermal subsidence. The Hammerhead delta developed on the newly formed passive margin but was terminated by another pulse of uplift and erosion, perhaps associated with a change in plate motion at the end of the Cretaceous. The finite element modelling of this proposed tectonic evolution will test its validity and predict hydrocarbon generation and migration through time.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 30 October 2014, 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

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.

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

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

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)
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)

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