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Explorer Article

While it is evident that the world will rely on oil and gas for years to come, some industry geoscientists are paving a path toward a future in alternative energy and other geoscience-related careers. Geoscientists are needed for research and development in areas of geothermal science, minerals and mining, and carbon and energy storage. They also are needed for projects that require knowledge of geology, subsurface imaging, reservoir development, satellite mapping, geotraining, multiphysics and smart data solutions.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

What seemed like excellent news for the oil and gas jobs outlook turned into something less positive for companies in the first months of 2022. Hiring increased, but a few areas saw more openings than applicants. However, job hunters and even those already employed in oil and gas got some welcome security and relief, as recent cycles of industry layoffs finally turned into a round of rehires and new hires. Analysts expect this job growth to continue for the foreseeable future.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Located in the Orange Basin, along the passive west coast of the continental margin that straddles the borders of South Africa, there has been a discovery of an oil province in Namibia – the offshore Graf and Venus fields – that likely contains billions of barrels of oil resources. That’s according to Robin Sutherland, an exploration manager for Monitor Exploration, a UK-based private exploration company involved in oil and gas exploration in Africa. Of equal importance, he said, is the recent drilling by ReconAfrica, which “clearly proves” that the Ovambo Basin, a large pre-Cambrian basin in the far north of Namibia, is oil bearing with very significant potential. “Both of these events represent major changes to our understanding of the potential of Namibia,” said Sutherland.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

This is the story of two tragedies – one in Nepal, one in India – but more importantly, how humanitarian projects by Geoscientists without Borders may help prevent the devastation of the next two. And the tragedies after that. In 2015, an earthquake struck near Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, which is in the central part of the country. Almost 10,000 people were killed, many thousands more injured and more than 600,000 structures in Kathmandu and other nearby towns were either damaged or destroyed. Václav Kuna, a postdoctoral geophysics researcher was moved to do something about it.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Foundation Update

An innovative animated series aimed at young children that tells the story of the Indian subcontinent’s epic tectonic history in creative and even entertaining ways is now closer to reality, thanks to the AAPG Foundation. Trustees have approved initial support for “The Ocean on the Top of Our Mountain,” which graphically tells the story of the region’s 5,000-mile migration northward from Gondwana to its collision with Asia.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

There are times when national and local forces combine in such a way that the entire hydrocarbon value chain is realized in a frontier area over the course of only a few years. Such was the case for the natural gas fields in southwestern Wyoming over the decades of the 1920s to the ‘40s.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Geophysical Corner

Phase decomposition is an interesting technique that can decompose a composite seismic signal into different phase components, and which in turn can help with the characterization of thin target sandstone or carbonate reservoirs. Here we discuss the application of phase decomposition as a reservoir management tool, with the odd phase component (sum of plus 90 degrees and minus 90 degrees phase components) showing better correlation with the wells that control the injection and withdrawal of a natural gas storage reservoir in Denmark.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

These days, more uncertain than the price of gas, especially with the announcement last month from the administration to ban the import of Russian oil and gas, combined with the European Union’s decision to cut imports by 80 percent, is the question of whether the world will get the energy it needs – and who will provide it. To that end, it’s worth considering what conventional oil and gas reservoirs here in America can be drilled and placed online quickly to help fill that need.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Here’s one sign of change in university- level geoscience education: This year, for the first time, both recipients of AAPG’s Grover E. Murray Memorial Distinguished Educator Award are female geology professors. Their careers have followed different paths and include contrasting professional interests, but the stories of their respective educational histories share several common links. That story starts with James Taylor. And chocolate chip cookies.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Geoscientists and industry leaders throughout the world are preparing for the International Conference and Exhibition Cartagena 2022, AAPG’s flagship international event taking place in Cartagena, Colombia, April 19-22. Held for the last time in Buenos Aires in August 2019, ICE returns to Latin America after a three-year break imposed in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Workshop
Muscat, Oman
Monday, 6 April Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Experience the intrigue and complexity of the Middle East's structural styles at this highly anticipated workshop taking place from 6-8 April 2026 in Muscat, Oman. Join us for an immersive journey as we delve into the fascinating interplay of tectonic phases and other key factors shaping the region's geological formations. Don't miss this unparalleled opportunity to gain cutting-edge insights and network with industry professionals at the forefront of structural geology.

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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

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)
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

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

This presentation is a survey of subsurface machine learning concepts that have been formulated for unconventional asset development, described in the literature, and subsequently patented. Operators that utilize similar subsurface machine learning workflows and other data modelling techniques enjoy a competitive advantage at optimizing the development of unconventional plays.

Request a visit from Shane Prochnow!

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

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.

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Request a visit from John Suppe!

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

The Earth is not a fragile place, but our place on the Earth is very fragile. Geoscience offers a pathway to understand how the Earth has evolved and the role of biological life forms in that evolution.

Request a visit from Lesli Wood!

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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