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

We joined the Houston Geological Society shortly after arriving in Houston as new-hire geologists in 1984. We met thousands of fellow geoscientists by attending, and organizing, hundreds of technical talks for 39 years. We learned about exciting discoveries, plays and technology from those who made them happen. Along the way, we became friends with a few legends. We are grateful for the deep friendships that arose while serving as HGS volunteers. With a grateful heart, we are happy to share our committee’s plans to celebrate the centennial year.

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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 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 Article

It’s been two years since NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully landed on Mars, where its exploration of Jezero Crater continues. Perseverance rover’s primary surface mission was designed to last one Mars year, or 687 Earth days, beginning with its Feb. 18, 2021 landing. It reached that milestone on Jan. 6. As of Jan. 7, the rover has entered its extended mission phase.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Why deepwater? In addition to expanding our knowledge on sedimentary systems that cover 70 percent of our planet, deepwater systems host promising resources and energy potential for the future. Their characteristic high-rate productivity also means fewer wells, which is good news for lower carbon emissions. Deepwater systems also benefit from the highest quality offshore 3-D and 4-D seismic. Thus, we see more clearly with ever-improving technology. Deepwater concepts and paradigms are rapidly evolving. The 2022 book “Deepwater Sedimentary Systems” sets a firm and comprehensive foundation.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Human exploration of the Earth and our universe is pushing ever-expanding boundaries. Along with renewed exploration of the moon and ongoing exploration of Mars, we have also probed the outer reaches of the solar system, and beyond. Beginning in 1972, NASA has executed many successful missions to the outer solar system that have exponentially increased our knowledge of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and their myriad of intriguing moons, such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini, New Horizons and Juno. These missions have also kindled questions that we did not even know to ask a few decades ago.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

With the increasing size of the seismic data volumes, machine learning applications have been found to accelerate the discrimination of seismic facies used in the identification of geologic patterns, defining stratigraphy and the direct indication of hydrocarbons. Many practitioners have demonstrated the application of dimensionality reduction tools such as principal component analysis and independent component analysis, or clustering techniques. Some of these are available in several commercial interpretation software packages.

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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)
Explorer Historical Highlights

People often associate Utah with spectacular canyons cut into the Colorado Plateau, the state’s five national parks, incredible skiing in the beautiful mountains, the opportunity to wade around in the briny water of Great Salt Lake or hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Visitors to the state, as well as most of its citizens, don’t think of Utah as a major producer of oil and gas. However, Utah has consistently ranked among the highest oil and gas producers in the United States.

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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)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 8 December 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium focuses on methods for predicting connectivity within clastic fluvial systems.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 12 November 2020, 5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

Contourites have come of age – both scientifically and economically. These deepwater sedimentary systems, driven by long-slope bottom-current processes, are a fundamental component of many continental margin successions. They are inter-bedded with and interact with down-slope systems, pelagic systems, and deep tidal processes. The contourite play clearly works – now we need to make it a primary target in future deepwater exploration.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 9 June 2020, 4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visiting Geoscientist Susan Morrice shares her personal experience and insight in this talk about opportunities for geoscientists. “Geoscientists have advantages ... They are Time Travellers and have open minds. Bringing this creativity and innovation to your company or starting your own! Challenging times bring silver linings!”

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 17 February 2011, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

This presentation is designed for exploration/production geologists and geological managers or reservoir engineers.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.

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.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Tuesday, 23 June 2020, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Visiting Geoscientist Mauricio Guizada provides an overview of general structural geology of the Andes, with a focus on the Central Andes. His talk covers topics related to onshore exploration, G&G methods in exploration and risk analysis. Join Mauricio Guizada via Zoom on June 23 at 4pm CDT.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 28 April 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

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

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Webinar
Virtual Webinar
Thursday, 19 November 2020, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

Another in a series of AAPG Visiting Geoscientist Presentations organized by the Manchester University AAPG Student Chapter. Sponsored by BP. Presented by Visiting Geoscientist Elda Miramontes, University of Bermen, Germany Webinar presented via Zoom on 19 November at 5:00pm (GMT-0)

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Online e-Symposium
Thursday, 24 October 2013, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

This e-symposium will be introducing signal processing techniques as a means to maximize extracting geomechanical data from petrophysical logs.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
DL Abstract

Engineering of wind farms, development of carbon sequestration projects in shelfal waters, the proliferation of communication cables that connect the world, all of these things suggest that it is time to re-examine what we know about shelf processes both updip-to-downdip and along shoreline, and the influence of shelf processes on erosion and transport of sediments.

Request a visit from Lesli Wood!

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
VG Abstract

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.

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Request a visit from Keith Gerdes!

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)

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