November 2017

In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving on Nov. 23. No matter where you are in the world, it is always good to give thanks. I am thankful to organizers of this year’s highly successful International Conference and Exhibition (ICE) in London and I am personally thankful for a profession that allows each of us to work in teams to solve challenging problems while we create energy abundance, prosperity and a better way of life for the world.

The sun shone on London in mid-October as AAPG continued its centennial celebration with our final major event of the year at the 2017 International Conference and Exhibition (ICE). And that shining sun was a harbinger of a great conference, as more than 2,000 attendees from across the globe gathered to teach and learn about the science, the industry trends, and catch a glimpse of the future of the next 100 years of oil and natural gas exploration.

The Energy Minerals Division was organized in 1977 as an international forum for those working in the exploration, development and production of energy sources other than conventional oil and natural gas. Our purpose then, as now, is to serve the AAPG by advancing the science, energy economics, technology and geology as it relates to energy resources other than conventional oil and gas.

One of the first questions a seismic interpreter must ask is how to recognize and characterize the reservoir. Understanding the geology and the depositional history of the area is a good start.

Since the ‘40s, the stated objective of the Venezuelan government was to use oil revenues to diversify the economy and reduce poverty. The opposite occurred, which set the stage for the so-called “Bolivarian Revolution” in the late 1990s, the principal achievement of which was to reduce income disparities by making everyone equally poor. In contrast, a rather unique socioeconomic development emerged within the oil industry itself during the 1980s.

Amid one of the worst oil busts in decades, drilling has increased and the Permian Basin is busier than ever. Young professionals are slowly starting to trickle back into the area as job opportunities open up and companies prepare for a comeback. And what better way to get Young Professionals involved in a new community than America’s favorite pastime?

The AAPG Foundation Trustee Associates gathered in September at the beautiful Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine to celebrate both the Foundation’s 50th anniversary and the 40th annual meeting of the Trustee Associates.