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Rocky Mountain Section

Explorer Article By Ken Milam

How to Store Renewable Energy in Depleted Gas Wells

Depleted horizontal oil and gas wells could have a second life storing renewable energy, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Because renewable forms of electricity generation like solar and wind require low-cost energy storage, the NREL researchers propose using depleted hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells to store electrical energy in the form of compressed natural gas to be released to spin an expander/generator when electrical demand is high.

Added on 01 September, 2022

Explorer Division Column DPA By Andrea Reynolds

A Time to Renew and Engage

Hello Division of Professional Affairs and AAPG members, I’d like to welcome you to the first DPA column in my term as DPA president 2022-23. As I begin this appointment, I’ve been reflecting on the events of recent years and considering the challenges and changes we’ve faced through the pandemic – personally and professionally, as an industry and as members of a global community.

Added on 01 July, 2022

Learn! Blog By Susan Nash

Helium Associated With Natural Gas – A Frank Look at Exploration, Production, and the Business: Interview with Steven Tedesco

Helium and natural gas are hitting record high prices, triggered in part by a severe shortage caused by recent events. In some parts of the world, helium is associated with natural gas. Welcome to an interview with Steve Tedesco, Ph.D., who provides insights into the current situation and opportunities based on his more than 40 years of experience.

Added on 23 June, 2022

Explorer Regions and Sections By Linda Sternbach

Franklin Mountains Field Trip Offers Clues to Unlocking Oil and Mineral Resources of West Texas

Many geologists have earned their field trip stripes in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas, but fewer have heard – and braved the dangers – of hiking the mysterious and mineral-rich Franklin Mountains north of El Paso. The Franklin Mountain region is a west-tilting series of horst blocks that became 5,000-7,200-foot tall mountains as a result of the Laramide orogeny. The sheer eastern escarpment exposes rocks dating from the Pennsylvanian down to 1.25-billion-year-old basement granite. It was a “field trip through time” focused on the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian formations, representing more than 100 million years of geologic history.

Added on 01 June, 2022

Explorer Regions and Sections By Linda Sternbach

Southwest Section Explores ‘Resology’ at Midland Convention

The AAPG Southwest Section Convention explored a four-dimensional multiverse of geology and reservoirs, combining regional overviews with multi-scale measurements of rocks and sediments, and analyzing rocks in the fourth dimension of geologic time. The result is “Resology,” which general chair Ben Davis defines as “the study of geology and rock reservoirs at big and small scales.” He told conference attendees, “The goal of Resology is effective and efficient hydrocarbon production.”

Added on 01 June, 2022

Explorer President’s Column By Gretchen Gillis

Seeking Informed Dissonance

Listening to “Marcia Funebre” from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 as I write prompted me to think about what I have been hearing. Certainly, a wide range of emotions, from triumph and happiness to the misery of loss, along with beautiful dissonance. That’s why people listen to Beethoven again and again. Leaders are reminded repeatedly to publicly support decisions made by boards, even when they disagree. However, when decisions are made in an environment of misinformation, that best practice of publicly supporting decisions becomes insupportable.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Historical Highlights By Brent Greenhalgh

Frontier Exploration in the Rocky Mountain West

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.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Article By Nicole Wagoner

AAPG Women’s Network Accepting 2022-24 Officer Nominations

I have had the privilege of serving as one of the AAPG Women’s Network co-chairs since 2020 and it has been a pleasure to watch the network grow over these last two years. In that time, our membership has grown from fewer than 100 to nearly 800 members. This growth can be attributed to the numerous opportunities our team has developed for the AAPG community, including technical training, career development, mentoring, networking and much more.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

A Bond Forged in Road Trips and Geoscience

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.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Explorer Emphasis Article By David Brown

Geoscience Education Is in Transition, in More Ways Than One

“Transition” dominates geoscience education at the university level today, especially petroleum geoscience education, as classrooms transition out of the COVID pandemic and the energy transition plays a larger role in college curricula.

Added on 01 April, 2022

Workshop

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tuesday, 18 February – Wednesday, 19 February 2025, 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

AAPG Orphan, Abandoned, Idle, and Marginal Wells Conference

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.

Added on 16 October, 2024

Workshop

Houston, Texas

Tuesday, 10 December 2024, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Generative AI, Machine Learning and Analytics for Subsurface Energy

Join us for an AI and analytics workshop that focuses specifically on subsurface energy, and provides the needed knowledge, tools, and insights. Opportunities are emerging, and those who have the tools, skills, and knowledge will be at the forefront. Specifically, the conference will bring together AI and Machine Learning and a wide range of data issues in the form of technical presentations, probing panel discussions and poster sessions.

Added on 05 September, 2024

Field Seminar

Houston, Texas

Saturday, 1 February 2025, 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Buffalo Bayou K-12 Educators Hurricane Hike

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.

Added on 05 December, 2023

Short Course

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Thursday, 20 February 2025, 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Methane Monitoring Associated with Well Plugging & Abandonment for Active, Marginal, Idle, and Orphan Wells

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.

Added on 05 December, 2023

Webinar By Arash Nazhad,Larry R. Davis,Sudhir Pai,Sunil Garg,Susan Nash

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 14 April 2021, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Energy Industry Supply Chains

Join us for 'Pivoting 2021: Energy Industry Supply Chains'. Panelists will discuss some of the most prominent advances in supply chain practice, including provenance, authenticity assurance, blockchain, automation, multiple sourcing, and 3D printing. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT, 14 April 2021.

Added on 03 June, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 2 October 2014, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.

Concepts of Scale: Horizontal Development of Wolfcamp Shale Oil of the Southern Midland Basin

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.

Added on 20 June, 2014

Webinar

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 9 March 2022, 8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Expanding the Application of Subsurface DNA Diagnostics into Integrated Petroleum Systems Analysis for Deeper Insights

Join the Petroleum Systems Technical Interest Group (TIG) for the next session of the AAPG Petroleum Systems Webinar Series, Expanding the Application of Subsurface DNA Diagnostics into Integrated Petroleum Systems Analysis for Deeper Insights, on Wednesday, 9 March 2022, 8:00 AM (CST).

Added on 22 February, 2022

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 23 July 2009, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

3D Seismic Profiles of U.S. Shale Plays

As commodity prices have dropped, many shale plays have become uneconomical as statistical plays and have increasingly become recognized as geological plays demanding new insights from data.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Online e-Symposium

Friday, 20 January 2012, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Eagle Ford Shale Prospecting with 3D Seismic Data within a Tectonic and Depositional System Framework

The Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas is one of the more exciting shale plays in the United States at the current time.

Added on 11 December, 2013

Webinar By Cynthia Dacre,Joey Sanchez,John Hofmeister,Rekha Patel

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 1 July 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Pivoting Week 9: Industry Cross-Overs

Join us for 'Pivoting During the Pandemic: Industry Cross-Overs'. Integrating Satellite and Drone Data for Utility Corridor Monitoring. Solutions Development for a Cross-Industry Platform. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7:00pm - 8:30pm CDT, 1 July 2020.

Added on 15 June, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 11 February 2010, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Predicting Gas Hydrates using Pre-stack Seismic data in Deepwater GOM

Gas hydrates, ice-like substances composed of water and gas molecules (methane, ethane, propane, etc.), occur in permafrost areas and in deep water marine environments.

Added on 02 December, 2013

Webinar By Chad Hammond,David Fosberg,Hugh Winkler,Larry R. Davis,Susan Nash

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 24 June 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Pivoting Week 8: New Directions in Automation

Join us for the 'New Directions in Automation' webminar. Where the opportunities are now, and how to pivot and take advantage of them. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7:00pm to 8:30pm CDT, 24 June 2020.

Added on 15 June, 2020

Online e-Symposium

Thursday, 28 April 2011, 12:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

The Niobrara Petroleum System, a Major Tight Resource Play in the Rocky Mountain Region

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

Added on 02 December, 2013

Webinar By Cynthia Dacre,Edith Newton Wilson,Larry R. Davis,Miriam Winsten,Nora Toure,Susan Nash

Virtual Webinar

Wednesday, 22 July 2020, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Pivoting Week 12: Sustainable Solutions for the Energy Transition

Join us for 'Sustainable Solutions for the Energy Transition'. Sustainable Solutions for the Energy Transition strategies for pivoting for new revenue and diversification in today's times. Webinar will be presented via Zoom 7pm - 8:30pm CDT 22 July 2020.

Added on 15 June, 2020

Clayton Schultz President (2024-2025) SM Energy

Alonzo Riley Brinkerhoff Past President (2024-2025) Duchesne River Resources 14068391375

The House of Delegates of the AAPG is made up of delegates from affiliated societies and international regions throughout the world. They are selected by popular vote from within their respective areas and serve a three year term.

Who Is My Delegate?

NOTE: Membership in an affiliated society does not necessarily constitute membership in the AAPG and vice versa.

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