Explorer Historical Highlights

It all started in 2002, when Unocal revealed that its Trident-1 well had found 400 meters of 70-percent net Lower Wilcox Formation sand in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, about 400 kilometers beyond the contemporaneous shelf break offshore south Texas. Art Berman and I gazed at a GOM activity map and pondered how that amount of sand could have been deposited so far out into the basin. Our working hypothesis was that this sand deposit was due to a drop in base level, but we also knew that the worldwide sea level was not in decline at that time. A log of the nearby Shell Great White well shows that this sand deposition began suddenly and ended suddenly. This was also puzzling, since we were trained to expect gradational coarsening-upward bedding during regression and fining-upward during transgression, rather than the sharp contacts we were seeing. Sudden avulsion of a major river in a deltaic environment could produce something like this, but how could it happen far beyond the shelf edge?

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico often receives attention for its hydrocarbon potential in the Upper Jurassic and younger rocks in deep and shallow water. Increasingly more people are looking to another potential habitat for hydrocarbons, the syn-rift and associated sections, also known as the Gulf of Mexico pre-salt.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Some of the world’s largest oil companies have pumped up their shale investments recently, targeting increased future production from shale oil plays. At the same time, some independents have been cutting back on shale spending, in part because of lower oil and gas prices and shareholder demands for improved returns. The result is a not-so-subtle shift toward shale dominance by Big Oil.

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

In early August, we learned that a Texas Sunset Review Board had recommended the elimination of the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists. Our local AAPG-affiliated societies quickly organized an information campaign and defense for the TBPG. This shows the importance of strong, well organized local affiliates. This situation also raises several questions about the professional status of geologists in our society and how we view ourselves.

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The coastal region of the Mississippi River Delta is rapidly deteriorating, but the Louisiana State University Coastal Studies Institute is working to reverse the trend.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

Expect a boom in upstream oil and gas mergers and acquisitions activity in the coming months. More than $50 billion in deals are now in play in the upstream sector in the United States alone.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Described as a “hidden gem,” Guyana’s deepwater potential is a winning “lottery ticket” that could transform the nation.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

If offshore drilling is depressed right now, why is so much of it going on? The offshore sector took a serious hit during the industry downturn as spending cuts limited project sanctions. But international research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie expects 30 major offshore projects to win approval in 2018, and that’s only part of the story.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Learn! Blog

The Tuscaloosa Marine Shale has been a tantalizing target for many years. It's an important source rock, but it has been difficult to successfully complete and produce. Now there is new hope as researchers and their work is receiving support. Welcome to an interview with Mehdi Mokhtari at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. His Tuscaloosa Marine Shale consortium has recently received support from the United States Department of Energy to explore new technologies for economically drilling and completing the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale.

Show more
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.

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Houston, Texas
Monday, 24 April 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This course provides an introduction to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) utilizing concepts related to oil and gas geoscience and reservoir engineering.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Short Course
Houston, Texas
Monday, 24 April 2023, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

There is growing recognition that a new energy paradigm is needed to curb the buildup of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. This course is designed to help subsurface geoscience and engineering professionals position themselves for the impending energy transition.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Field Seminar
Houston, Texas
Monday, 24 April 2023, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This course will explore the best techniques and workflows when approaching a whole core analysis program where the end goal is to mitigate risk associated with any carbon monoxide/dioxide injection project. The program will be broken up into the following categories all focused specifically on CCUS injection and confining zones.

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

This course will explore the best techniques and workflows when approaching a whole core analysis program where the end goal is to mitigate risk associated with any carbon monoxide/dioxide injection project. The program will be broken up into the following categories all focused specifically on CCUS injection and confining zones.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

States in the Section

Regions

Sections