HGSBulletin Volume 52 Number 5 Houston Geological Soc iety
January 2010
Clues to Depositional Processes of Ancient Mudrocks – Comparison of the Quaternary Shallow Marine Amazon Dispersal System with the Barnett, Haynesville, and Mancos Shales Page 24
TheBulletin Houston Geological Soc iety
Volume 52, Number 5 January 2010 In Every Issue Technical Meetings 5 From the President 15 HGS General Dinner Meeting by Gary Coburn What’s New in Seismic Imaging? From the Editor 17 HGS Joint International and North American 7 Dinner Meeting by Barry Katz Sand-Prone Submarine Mass-Transport Deposits: page 17 36 GeoEvents Calendar Reservoir Characteristics and Classification of an Underappreciated Deepwater Facies 67 HGS Membership Application 24 HGS Northsiders Luncheon Meeting Clues to Depositional Processes of Ancient Mudrocks – 68 HPAC Comparison of the Quaternary Shallow Marine 69 Professional Amazon Dispersal System with the Barnett, Directory Haynesville, and Mancos Shales 29 HGS Environmental & Engineering Dinner Meeting Municipal Setting Designations in Houston Houston Geological Society OFFICERS 31 HGS General Luncheon Meeting page 24 Gary Coburn President The Influence of High-Frequency Climate Variability John Tubb President-elect on Paleoclimate Interpretation Art Donovan Vice President Matt Boyd Treasurer David Meaux Treasurer-elect Other Features Amy E. Sullivan Secretary Barry Katz Bulletin Editor 9 Constitution and Bylaws Amendments Explained DIRECTORS Steve Earle Ianthe Sarrazin 41 HGS Earth Science Week 2009 Walter Light page 31 Robert Pledger Martha McRae, Jennifer Burton and Inda Immega Tarek Ghazi 49 SIPES Luncheon Meeting HGS OFFICE STAFF Update on Implementation of the Modernization Sandra Babcock Office Manager Lilly Hargrave Webmaster of SEC Oil & Gas Reporting Requirements Ken Nemeth Office Committee Chairman 51 Galveston Island Field Trip: One Year After Ike Dr. Michelle J. McMahon EDITORIAL BOARD Barry Katz Editor 55 November General Meeting – A Member’s View Fang Lin Advisory Editor Linda Sternbach James Ragsdale Advisory Editor Charles Revilla Advisory Editor 57 Government Update Lilly Hargrave Advertising Editor Henry M. Wise and Arlin Howles Lisa Krueger Design Editor 62 Countdown to AAPG The Houston Geological Society Bulletin (ISSN-018-6686) is page 41 published monthly except for July and August by the Houston 64 January Crossword of Geologic Terms Geological Society, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, Texas 77079-2916. Phone: 713-463-9476; fax: 281-679-5504 65 December Crossword Answers Editorial correspondence and material submitted for publication should be addressed to the Editor, Houston Geological Society Bulletin , 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, Texas 77079-2916 or to [email protected] Subscriptions: Subscription to this publication is included in the membership dues ($24.00 annually). Subscription price for non - members within the contiguous U.S. is $30.00 per year. For those outside the contiguous U.S. the subscription price is $46.00 per year. Single-copy price is $3.00. Periodicals postage paid in Houston, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Houston Geological Society Bulletin, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, About the Cover: Jurassic ammonites recovered from Lyme Regis (Dorset) England. Texas 77079-2916 Photo by Barry Katz page 51 January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 1 2 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Board of Directors 2009 –10 http://www.hgs.org/about_hgs/leadership.asp President (P) Gary Coburn Murphy Oil 281-782-7021 [email protected] President-elect (PE) John Tubb INEXS 713-805-5649 [email protected] Vice President (VP) Art Donovan BP 281-850-4312 [email protected] Secretary (S) Amy Sullivan Shell 281-705-8280 [email protected] Treasurer (T) Matt Boyd Southwestern Energy Company 281-618-7379 [email protected] Treasurer-elect (TE) David Meaux BP 281-366-2847 [email protected] Editor (E) Barry Katz Chevron 832-854-6989 [email protected] Director 07-09 (D1) Ianthe Sarrazin Petrobras America 713-808-2775 [email protected] Director 07-09 (D2) Walter Light Thunder Exploration 713-823-8288 [email protected] Director 08-10 (D3) Robert Pledger Consultant 832-512-0495 [email protected] Director 08-10 (D4) Tarek Ghazi Aramco Services 713-432-4562 [email protected] Committee Chairperson Phone Email Board Rep. AAPG HOD Foreman Steve Levine 832-486-6018 [email protected] P Academic Liaison Brad Hoge [email protected] D3 Ad Hoc Constitution & Bylaws Steve Earle 713-328-1069 [email protected] P Advertising Lilly Hargrave 713-463-9476 [email protected] E Arrangements Matt Boyd 281-618-7379 [email protected] TE Awards Mike Deming 281-925-7239 [email protected] VP Ballot Paul Hoffman 713-871-2350 [email protected] S Calvert Memorial Scholarship Carl Norman 713-461-7420 [email protected] PE Community Outreach Walter Light 713-823-8288 [email protected] D1 Continuing Education VOLUNTEER NEEDED D1 Directory Michael S. Benrud 713-785-8700 x104 [email protected] EE Earth Science Week Martha McRae 713-869-2045 [email protected] D1 Jennifer Burton [email protected] D1 Engineering Council Claudia Ludwig 713-723-2511 [email protected] D4 Environmental & Eng Geologists Matthew Cowan 713-777-0534 [email protected] VP Exhibits Mac Mckinney 281-353-0661 [email protected] D3 Field Trips Gary Moore 713-466-8960 [email protected] D4 Finance Joe Lynch 281-496-9898 x134 [email protected] T Foundation Fund John Adamick 713-860-2114 jada@tgsnopec .com PE General Meetings Art Donovan 281-850-4312 [email protected] VP Golf Tournament Mark Dennis 281-494-2522 [email protected] D1 Government Affairs Arlin Howles 281-808-8629 [email protected] D4 Henry Wise 281-242-7190 [email protected] D4 Guest Night Bill Osten 281-293-3160 [email protected] D2 Houston Energy Council Sandi Barber 713-935-7830 [email protected] D4 HPAC Winona Labrant Smith 713-952-2007 [email protected] S International Explorationists Justin Vandenbrink 281-448-6188 [email protected] VP Ad Hoc Int’l Year of Planet Earth Sandi Barber 713-935-7830 [email protected] D3 Membership Shari Sartain 281-382-9855 [email protected] S Membership Growth Linda Sternbach 281-679-7333 [email protected] D2 Museum of Natural Science Inda Immega 713-661-3494 [email protected] D3 NeoGeos Cecelia Baum 713-346-5826 [email protected] S New Publications Bill Rizer 281-392-0613 [email protected] D1 Nominations Kara Bennett 832-452-3747 [email protected] P North American Explorationists Steve Getz 713-871-2346 [email protected] VP Northsiders Tony D’Agostino 832-237-400 [email protected] VP David Tonner 713-516-6894 [email protected] VP Office Ken Nemeth 713-689-7605 [email protected] PE Publication Sales Tom Mather 281-556-9539 [email protected] D1 Remembrances Art Berman 713-557-9067 [email protected] EE Shrimp Peel VOLUNTEER NEEDED D1 Skeet Shoot Tom McCarroll 713-353-4728 [email protected] D1 Technofest Deborah Sacrey 713-468-3260 [email protected] D1 Tennis Tournament Ross Davis 713-659-3131 [email protected] D1 Vendor’s Corner Paul Babcock 713-859-0316 [email protected] TE Web Site Manager Tarek Ghazi 713-432-4562 [email protected] D4 Web Master Lilly Hargrave 713-463-9476 [email protected] PE HGS Office Manager Sandra Babcock 713-463-9476 [email protected]
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 3 4 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 t
From the n e
Gary Coburn President d i
[email protected] s e r P
e h t 2010: A Year of Opportunity m o
appy New Year! 2010 promises to be a great year for the HGS. to both our partners and management in order to get them on the r HI know that one of everyone’s top New Year’s drilling schedule. In times when drilling funds are limited there can F resolutions is to attend more HGS talks and short courses. OK, well be a bit of competition even within the same company for those maybe not the top but certainly in the top 10…20?..100? Oh, come drilling dollars. This can work both for us and against us. On the on! Work with me here! Like I was saying, right up at the top of plus side the competition may force us to do extra steps or conduct everyone’s list of things to do in 2010 is to attend more of the great more research in order to enhance our prospect. This extra work talks the HGS puts on every month. I think one of the helps us to understand the prospect better and that in itself makes us highlights this year will be the Mudstone Conference (Applied better as presenters. On the downside, geologists who are not the Geoscience Conference, or AGC) to be held February 8 - 9. In just best presenters may see their prospects by-passed in favor of less three short years the Mudstone Conference has become the premier qualified but better presented prospects. This of course is nothing world conference on unconventional reservoirs. It attracts attendees new. It has been going on since the days of paper seismic sections from all over the United States and many foreign countries. If you and logs and the days when the E & P in a company’s name stood for have any interest in the Haynesville, Woodford, Marcellus, Bossier Exploration and Production, not Excel and PowerPoint. Presenting or Eagle Ford shale or shale plays in general, this is an aspect of our jobs that sometimes gets is one conference you can’t afford to miss! …If our prospects are to ignored. We ask for training in a lot of areas but Register early as it ALWAYS sells out! few of us ever ask for training in the fine art of live we must convey all presenting or preparing the presentation such as In addition to the AGC there are a lot of excellent requesting a course in PowerPoint for example. talks already scheduled for the spring. For we know about them in It’s come a long ways since most of us first example, the North American Exploration group a clear, concise, and started using the current mainstay of prospect is having a joint talk with the International presentations. I know such things seem so Exploration group entitled “Sand-Prone convincing manner… mundane but in the end, whether presenting Submarine Mass-Transport Deposits: Reservoir to management or potential partners, the Characteristics and Classification of an Underappreciated presentation is where the rubber meets the road. We have spent Deepwater Facies” by Lawrence D. Meckel-III. The Northsiders are untold hours with our prospects. We think about them even when presenting a talk entitled “Clues to Depositional Processes of we aren’t at work. They come unbidden into our heads at the most Ancient Mudrocks – Comparison of the Quaternary Shallow inopportune times. Who among us has not at one time or another Marine Amazon Dispersal System with the Barnett, Haynesville, dropped what we were doing to grab a piece of paper, a napkin, our and Mancos Shales” by Jim Rine. The Environmental Group is daughter’s homework, to scribble down a revelation that suddenly just presenting a talk entitled “Municipal Setting Designations in popped into our heads? Our prospects are not just things to be put on Houston” by Richard Chapin. These presentations are in addition drilling calendars. They are living breathing extensions of ourselves. to the General HGS dinner meeting, “What’s New in Seismic They are the culmination of our current professional abilities and Imaging?” by John T. Etgen, and the General HGS Lunch meeting, lives. We are excited when they are born, we celebrate when they are “The Influence of High-Frequency Climate Variability on successful, we mourn and spend hours reflecting and asking why Paleoclimate Interpretation” by Marty Perlmutter. That incredible when they are not. Our prospects, successful or not, are a part of us. talk schedule is JUST for the month of January. In addition to If our prospects are to live we must convey all we know about them learning new things and networking, each of these HGS talks is in a clear, concise, and convincing manner, and we generally have worth one hour of Continuing Education credits of the 15 hours just 30 minutes to an hour in which to do it. It is no longer enough which are required to keep your Texas P. G. license current. We are to simply be proficient and keep current in the technologies that indeed fortunate to live in an area that can provide so many oppor - help us recognize and define our prospects. We must make ourselves tunities to learn. We simply need to take advantage of it. proficient in presenting them. We owe them (and our long suffering families) that much, don’t you think? 2010 promises to be a year of opportunities and challenges. One of the challenges will be to find ways to make our prospects appealing Here’s wishing you a year of personal and professional success! I
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m o r F Creativity, Innovation, the Herd, and a Bubble
any of us have seen the quote by Wallace Pratt, “Where oil the time when there is the greatest need for creativity and Mis first found, in the final analysis, is in the minds of men.” innovative solutions to various exploration, production, and Others are familiar with the quote by Patrick Dickey that “Several environmental problems attempting to maximize values and times in the past we have thought we were running out of oil opportunities while reducing costs. whereas actually we were only running out of ideas.” Both of these quotes suggest that in order for a geologist to be successful, Creativity and innovation require a clear understanding of the creativity must be part of the process. For those that may doubt problems before us, the technical foundations of our science, the this, consider the projected importance of unconventional necessary resources, freedom to think, and the necessary tools resources in the oil and gas industry today. This rise in and equipment to experiment as well as an opportunity to fail importance is a result of a number of innovations. First the without fear of retribution. There is also a need to be open- evolution of what is considered a viable minded and a willingness to examine all hydrocarbon reservoir to include coal beds, … geologists must be careful sides of the problem. Most importantly tight low permeability sands, and gas there is a need for thinking out of the box shales and then drilling and completion of the so called “information and a willingness to attempt as Rolf Smith processes including the common use of suggests in The 7 Levels of Change “to do horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing. cascade” when observations things that haven’t been done” or “to do These concepts and tools have things that can’t be done”, or at a minimum“ transformed, at least, part of the industry. of the actions of others are adapting things that others do”. Advances in technology, such as 3D seismic, and more detailed reservoir studies have used to make the same Individual innovations need not be major to also been shown to increase production in choice as the group… add value. Cumulatively, however, a number conventional reservoirs in places such as of small steps can greatly change the way we the North Sea and west Texas. do business. In fact, truly innovative and radical solutions may, at times, be questioned. Very often the long- Creativity and innovation clearly play a vital role in the advance - term value of a new idea is difficult to assess and the return may ment of our science and the industries we support. They lead to not be seen for many years or may yield results in areas other than the development of new plays and the manner in which we those originally intended. Furthermore, it may be someone other explore and develop our resources. Unfortunately neither repre - than the creator that takes full advantage of the idea, bringing value sents something that can be easily turned on at the command of to society or the profession. In his book Dealers of Lightning: Xeroc management. The innovation process, by its very nature, is PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age Michael Hiltzik serendipitous, iterative, and non-sequential. Management can, documents one of the better known examples where a group other however, provide for an environment that will foster creativity than that of the innovators’ takes full advantage of a series of and innovation by providing sufficient resources as well as an inventions. He cites examples such as the mouse, the graphical user understanding that creativity often marches to the beat of a interface (GUI), and the laser printer where companies other than different drummer and that timelines may deviate from the plan. Xerox were able to more fully capitalize on innovation. Clearly when oil and gas prices are high, providing for such an environment and the necessary resources is easier than when Not all new concepts and innovations are ultimately successful prices are low and financial pressures exist. One could, however, and lead to viable opportunities. With all new innovations and argue that when prices are low and the system is stressed that is From the Editor continued on page 9
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ideas, geologists must be careful of the so called “information seal, and trap. One can only hope that over the past three decades e cascade” when observations of the actions of others are used to we have learned something and that the shift toward unconven - h t make the same choice as the group observed. In this mode, deci - tionals by so many large and small companies is more than an sions are made independently of the information available and information cascade. The best decisions are based on a sound m o
one’s understanding and knowledge. Such cascades can lead to understanding of the science behind the different plays, remem - r bubbles which ultimately burst. In our business one may look to bering that oil and gas is found through rigorous observation, F the Western Overthrust Belt where major discoveries in excess of hard work, and study. It is important to remember that gas shales 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas were are complex petroleum systems, generalizations have limited made in the 1970’s. Explorationists attempted to expand these application, and that the interchangeability of the different successes to all overthrust belts without considering that all parameters used in their assessment has not been established. occurrences of oil and natural gas are dependent on the same fac - tors as in other tectonic settings. Significant investments were Our science and the associated industries will continue to rely on made in both acreage acquisition and drilling globally with only innovation and creativity. But it is important to remember the minor success and without considering the basics of the petrole - thoughts of John Parker, “It takes facts to be able to deserve a um system. Realism ultimately set in and the bubble burst. concept just as it takes concepts to be reative.” I Exploration reverted to more complete geologic assessments examining hydrocarbon charge, reservoir presence and quality, Until next time… d e n i
Constitution and Bylaws Amendments Explained a l
By Steve Earle p x E
s couple of years ago, the Bylaws of the Houston Geological define when expulsion is allowed and a process for this to occur. t n
ASociety were amended to allow for electronic balloting Section 6 adds a requirement for Emeritus membership of ten e on amendments since voting through the website has become consecutive years as an Active member prior to their application. m popular with a large number of our members. Unfortunately, the d n
Constitution was not changed and a paper only ballot is We propose adding Article III, Section 12 to the Constitution as a e still required. To remedy this situation, and to take a more means to assure continuation of the Society in the event of a m A comprehensive look at our key governing documents, an ad hoc worst case scenario by providing for a special election. And in s committee was formed. I will attempt to explain the proposed Article VI we add language to clarify the steps required before the w
changes and some rationale for them. HGS may be dissolved. a l y
While there are a few changes meant to clarify or correct For the Bylaws, we have proposed a few changes. We believe B
grammar, I will address those that are more substantive. First, we Board meetings must continue to be open, but would allow the d attempted to make voting procedures consistent for election of Board to meet in executive session only for discussion of highly n a officers and for amendments to our constitution or bylaws. confidential matters such as legal or personnel issues where an n
Voting would still be allowed by either paper or electronic ballot, open session might compromise the Society's best interest. This is o i but once these changes are approved, we could cover any issues addressed in Article I, Section 2. We added Section 5 to Article IV t u
that the membership needs to vote on with a single ballot. Some allowing the Board to assess late fees; we do not expect the Board t i voting procedures in the Bylaws did not conform to current will assess a late fee unless an issue arises where the Society is t s
practice, so the changes would align voting requirements with being hurt by more than a few recalcitrant members. Finally, we n how we actually do things. Refer to Article V of the Constitution added Article VII establishing priority of the Constitution. o and Articles III and VI of the Bylaws. C I hope you will vote to approve these amendments to Article II, Section 9 of the Constitution changes how members are help strengthen governance of our Society. Let me conclude by to be reinstated. The procedure currently specified simply does thanking my committee members, Marsha Bourque, Paul Britt, not work in practice and the proposed changes should streamline Richard Howe, Bob Merrill, Jim Ragsdale and Ianthe Sarrazin, for the process for past members to rejoin the Society. Section 7 their work on this project. I covering expulsion of members was vague. We offer language to Constitution and Bylaws Amendments Explained continued on page 10
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The HGS Board will present the ballot to you in February for your approval or rejection of the proposed amendments to our governing documents.
Bring a non-member colleague with you to the next HGS meeting – share the networking and new ideas
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 13 14 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Monday, January 11, 2010 g HGS General n i Westchase Hilton • 9999 Westheimer Dinner Meeting t Social Hour 5:30–6:30 p.m. e Dinner 6:30–7:30 p.m. e M
Cost: $28 Preregistered members; $35 non-members & walk-ups John T. Etgen r
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What’s New in Seismic Imaging? e G
rom a geophysicist’s perspective, the better the seismic image, methods. We take great pains to do this quickly and accurately. S Fthe easier it is for the geologists to do their job. So in a sense, However, many of the methods we used in the past are based on G we are working hard to trivialize you! Of substantial simplifications to the way waves H course in the hydrocarbon exploration and …regional and temporal propagate. Recently, a method called production business we’re collectively always “Waveform Inversion” has been gathering a working on the frontiers: geologically, variations in the phase lot of excitement. Historically the velocity geographically, technically, scientifically, etc. “models” that geophysicists have created were So our ability to image and interpret things relationships between lacking in information content at intermediate we want to understand is constantly sedimentary and scales. We could find sharp changes in velocity, challenged. Do recent geophysical trends have because they give rise to reflection events. the potential to revolutionize the relationship glacioeustatic cycles may We could find very long wavelength trends in between geophysical data and geological the speed of wave propagation through travel- understanding and interpretation of the not be consistent with time tomography. Variations in wave speed interior of the Earth? Maybe. I’ll talk about that were tens to a few hundred meters these trends, which are the product of the basic assumptions about in scale were not recovered. When we can incredible advances in computing power recover features with velocity expressions available for processing seismic data stratigraphy… at those scales, the results are dramatic in combined with clever thinking about how we terms of connecting geology to geophysics. I’ll collect seismic data. show some examples of this technology and explore its potential for the future. I For a variety of reasons, the deepwater region of the Gulf of Mexico is one of our favorite proving grounds for geophysical Biographical Sketch technologies. There, industry faces many technical challenges J OHN T. E TGEN received a B.S. in around developing subsalt reservoirs. A few years ago BP geophysical engineering from the pioneered two new seismic acquisition methods that when Colorado School of Mines in 1985 and a coupled with advances in seismic processing have made substantial Ph.D. in geophysics from Stanford improvements in our understanding of these reservoirs. I’ll show University in 1990. From 1990 through you some examples of these methods applied to BP assets. One 1998 he worked for Amoco Production of the keys to motivating these advances was the use of seismic Research Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma. forward modeling. The ability to simulate realistic synthetic data From 1999 through the present he has and test hypotheses has become a critical part of geophysical worked for BP as a Senior Scientific science. We have even come to the point now where the same Advisor for seismic imaging. His technology used to simulate data to the best of our ability is being research interests include numerical wave propagation, seismic used to process the data we actually acquire in the field. The modeling and migration, and velocity estimation. In the spring of future holds not only more clever ways of acquiring data, but 2007 he took a sabbatical from BP and was a visiting associate ways of acquiring a lot more data. professor at Stanford, supervising a research group in seismic imaging and teaching a seismic imaging class. In 2008 he and If you hang around geophysicists enough, you’re certain to hear colleague Carl Regone were awarded the Virgil Kauffman Medal them discuss “seismic velocities”. We need good estimates of the of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists for their work on speed that waves propagate in the subsurface to apply our imaging wide-azimuth marine seismic.
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 15 16 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Monday, January 18, 2010 g HGS Joint International and North American n i Westchase Hilton • 9999 Westheimer Dinner Meeting t Social Hour 5:30–6:30 p.m. e Dinner 6:30–7:30 p.m. e M
Cost: $28 Preregistered members; $35 non-members & walk-ups Lawrence D. Meckel, III r
To guarantee a seat, you must pre-register on the HGS website and pre-pay Chief Geologist e
with a credit card. Woodside Energy (USA), Inc. n
Pre-registration without payment will not be accepted. n You may still walk up and pay at the door, if extra seats are available. i D
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Sand-Prone Submarine Mass-Transport Deposits: i r Reservoir Characteristics and Classification of an e m A Underappreciated Deepwater Facies h t r o and-prone submarine mass-transport deposits (Figure 1) are filled with locally overpressured gas or water in the shallow N deepwater deposits that have been underappreciated by subsurface represent a shallow drilling hazard that warrants
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the deepwater stratigraphic record (Figures 2 & 3), and that they Mass-transport deposits are defined as sedimentary stratigraphic a act as significant oil and gas reservoirs in major global hydrocarbon successions that were remobilized after initial deposition but n o provinces such as the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and the North prior to substantial lithification, and transported downslope by i t
Sea (Figure 4). Furthermore, sand-prone mass-transport deposits gravitational processes as non-Newtonian rheological units a n r
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(non-turbulent, Bingham plastics or dilatant fluids). Individual because reservoir quality can be degraded by significant amounts S mass-transport deposits may consist of one bed or many, and, of detrital or diagenetic clay and compartmentalization can G depending on the pre-existing stratigra - impact continuity of reservoirs. H phy that has been remobilized, …sand-prone mass-transport mass-transport deposits may be sand- Shallow water flow is not exclusive to prone or mud-prone. deposits filled with locally mass-transport deposits. However, a overpressured gas or water review of the literature suggests it occurs As a practical limit, sand-prone mass- far more frequently in mass-transport transport deposits are defined as having in the shallow subsurface deposits than turbidites. In a significant an effectively porous and permeable number of cases, mass-transport deposits sand-to-shale ratio of at least 20 per cent. represent a shallow drilling represent drilling hazards that can Exceptional cases of reservoir-prone potentially pose significant health and mass-transport deposits include other - hazard that warrants safety risks, and also have the potential to wise mud-prone mass-transport deposits require expensive sidetracks or casing with a single sand or sands in excess of 10 significant consideration in programs to be implemented during m thick, regardless of the sand-shale ratio drilling. In the most extreme cases, of the overall mass-transport deposit. deepwater drilling programs… devastating damage to infrastructure or Porosities in these sands can be in excess drilling operations may result from of 30%, and permeabilities can be on the order of several darcies. inattention to these features, such as catastrophic well failure Outstanding production rates and ultimate recoveries are while drilling, or even destruction of subsea drilling templates. possible (Figure 4). However, production rates and ultimate recoveries are typically not as spectacular as in the best examples HGS Joint International and North American Dinner continued on page 21
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Conservative estimates indicate that at least $200 million US had (2) To provide quantitative and qualitative criteria to aid S been spent through 2002 (when costs were substantially lower practitioners in differentiating sand-prone mass-transport G than at present) in mitigating and remediating shallow water flow deposits from mud-prone mass-transport deposits and sand- H issues in deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico alone. Cost prone turbidite systems at regional to reservoir scales. The estimates for remediation and mitigation since 2002 have not criteria for differentiation, which are based in large part been published, but are likely to be much higher. To some degree, on the author’s personal experience and observations, are this statement is tempered by the fact that most companies now necessary because a comprehensive summary of recognition employ dedicated shallow water flow teams to address this issue. criteria for reservoir-prone mass transport deposits has not been published previously. These observations suggest that these remobilized sands may be a more significant component of deepwater hydrocarbon systems Differentiation is important in the case of sand-prone systems than has been generally acknowledged. However, the term ‘mass- because turbidites and mass-transport deposits have fundamentally transport deposit’ has a disparate, and often confusing, usage in different reservoir properties and require very different peer-reviewed literature, and no criteria exist to help differentiate exploration, appraisal, and development strategies. Key sand-prone mass-transport deposits from superficially similar differences between the two types of deposits are useful, but not turbidite systems. The purposes of this presentation are therefore foolproof, predictors of reservoir properties (i.e., petrophysical twofold: character, spatial distribution, and lithologic nature) away from well control, especially if 3D seismic data are available to help (1) To propose a classification of mass-transport deposits that constrain lateral variations in facies. Furthermore, identifying focuses specifically on depositional process, and that explicitly and characterizing sand-prone mass-transport deposits accurately includes the potential for mass-transport deposits to contain in the subsurface allows better prediction of reservoir sands, as observed in numerous cases. HGS Joint International and North American Dinner continued on page 23
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performance, which in turn facilitates better hydrocarbon field depositional systems analysis, sequence o J development plans. These implications are especially important stratigraphy, risk assessment, reservoir given ever-increasing costs associated with the development of characterization, and compartmental - S deepwater fields. ization issues. G H This presentation uses personal observations, as well as published With Woodside, and previously with examples from producing fields, the seafloor and shallow Shell International E&P, Dr. Meckel has subsurface, outcrops, and flume tank experiments to illustrate been involved in research, exploration, specific criteria that aid in the recognition of sand-prone mass- development, and production projects transport deposits in the subsurface. Many of the criteria used to in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, identify sand-prone mass-transport deposits are also valid for Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, West of Shetlands, and South identifying deepwater channels and/or injected sands. None of America, as well as onshore developments on the Texas Gulf these criteria is sufficient by itself to distinguish between a Coast and the Anadarko Basin. mass-transport deposit and a turbidite system. However, in aggregate, the criteria are sufficiently diagnostic to identify Dr. Meckel received a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the Swiss mass-transport deposits that are likely to be reservoir-prone, and Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich), an M.A. in have a reasonable probability of discriminating them from other Geology from The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. with genetic units. I Honors in Geology from Williams College in Massachusetts.
Biographical Sketch Among his numerous papers and presentations, he won the New DR. L AWRENCE D. M ECKEL , III (Trey) is the Chief Geologist of Orleans Geological Society’s 2002-2003 Best Paper Award. He was Woodside Energy (USA), Inc. Previously, he was the Coordinator the convenor of a 2009 AAPG Hedberg Research Conference on of Reservoir Modelling and Geoscience Technology at Woodside deepwater foldbelts, and is chairing a session on unstable continental Energy Ltd. in Perth, Australia. He specializes in integrated margins at the 2010 AAPG Annual Conference in New Orleans.
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 23 g Tuesday, January 19. 2010
n HGS Northsiders i t Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (former Sofitel) Luncheon Meeting e 425 North Sam Houston Pkwy E e Social 11:15 AM, Luncheon 11:30 AM M
Cost: $31 pre-registered members; $35 for non-members & walk-ups. n To guarantee a seat, you must pre-register on the HGS website and pre-pay with o a credit card. e Pre-registration without payment will not be accepted. h
c You may still walk up and pay at the door, if extra seats are available. n u L s r Clues to Depositional Processes of Ancient Mudrocks – e d i s Comparison of the Quaternary Shallow Marine h t r Amazon Dispersal System with the Barnett, o N
Haynesville, and Mancos Shales S
G key to prediction of depositional facies in sandstones, Haynesville (Upper Jurassic), and the Mancos (Cretaceous) shales in H Acarbonates, or siliceous mudrocks is an understanding of the the U.S. Some large-scale depositional facies patterns found within processes forming these deposits. the ADS are also compared with Past studies of modern mud …mud is a dynamic sediment similar patterns within the Mancos. environments coupled with recent laboratory flume investigations controlled by many of the same lateral, Examination of small scale (Schieber and Yawar, 2009) show that characteristics, shows that mud is a dynamic sediment traction transport processes that affect laminations and scour features controlled by many of the same found in the subtidal to intertidal lateral, traction transport processes coarser sediment particles… sediments of the ADS are formed by that affect coarser sediment particles. fluidized mud pushed by longshore In this presentation, a portion of the 1600-km-long shallow currents (Rine and Ginsburg, 1985). In the deepwater Barnett, water Amazon dispersal system (ADS) is utilized to illustrate the similar features are created by high density flows driven by gravity sedimentary processes that form many of the sedimentary (Loucks and Ruppel, 2007). The high degree of bioturbation structures found in the strata of the Barnett (Mississippian), the found in the Haynesville Shale can be found in the more distal offshore edge of the coastal ADS mud wedge or in the nutrient- rich ebb-tidal deposits of the adjoining coastal estuaries. Regarding the Mancos Shale, on the small scale ADS strata associated with migrating mud banks contain sedimentary structures that resemble the laminated and scoured “hyper - pycnites” of the Mancos as described by Bhattacharya and MacEachern, (2009).
When comparing the Mancos Shale with ADS sediments on a depositional-facies-scale, the Block diagram showing relative distribution of depositional facies along the coast of Suriname in South Amer - ADS offers a good analogue for ica. The typical mud bank is 50 to 60 km long, 10 to 20 km wide, and up to 5 m in relief. Along the coast and Northsiders Luncheon inner shelf of Suriname coast, these mud banks migrate 1.5 km annually. From Rine and Ginsburg, 1985. continued on page 27
24 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Jim Rine Sedimentology Group, Weatherford Laboratories Houston
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 25 26 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 HGS Northsiders Luncheon continued from page 24 ______g n i t e e M
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Aerial view of exposed mud bank at low tide showing surface flow features within the fluid mud. Approximate width of view is 500m. Isolated coarse-grained sandstone body is within the shelfal portion of S
the Mancos Shale, Middle Mountain to Floy Wash region of the Book G Cliffs, east-central Utah. This trough cross-bedded sandstone contains depositional facies patterns found in the Mancos of east-central mudstone clasts, shell debris, fish teeth, bone fragments, and marine- H Utah where swallow carbonates, shelf sandstones, and bored wood fragments (Pattison et al, 2009). Photo is from Stop 12, fine-grained distal delta deposits are juxtaposed (Pattison et al, AAPG Field Trip No. 18. 2009; Chan, 1992). Within the Quaternary sequence of the ADS, variations in sediment input from the Amazon River combined shoreface in Suriname, South America: A mud analogue to sandy with fluctuations in sea level create a depositional facies pattern nearshore marine deposits: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology , v. 55, p. that is dominated by fine-grained sediments but also contains 633-652. significant deposits of sand and even lenses of carbonates. Similar facies patterns present in the Mancos of eastern Utah can also be Biographical Sketch explained by similar sedimentary processes that have lateral JIM RINE began his geology career in 1973 transport of mud sediments as a critical component. I at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (U of Miami) Citations: where he studied under the carbonate Bhattacharya, J.P. and MacEachern, J.A., 2009, Hyperpycnal rivers expert R.N. Ginsburg. At Ginsburg’s and prodeltaic shelves in the Cretaceous Seaway of North America: prompting, Jim examined the muddy Journal of Sedimentary Research , V. 79, p. 184-209. coastline of Suriname in northeast South Schieber, J. and Yawar, Z., 2009, A New Twist on Mud Deposition – America and down drift of the world’s Mud Ripples in Experimental and Rock Record: The Sedimentary largest river, the Amazon. Ever since his Record , v. 7, n. 2, p. 4-8. early observations of the Amazon dispersal Pattison, S.A.J, Taylor, K.G., and Macquaker, J.H.S., 2009, A shore-to- system, Jim has been impressed with the capabilities of shallow basin transect through the Mancos Shale mud belt: sedimentological marine processes to move large volumes of sediment. While at control on lithofacies variability in unconventional hydrocarbon Cities Service Research in Tulsa where Rine was part of a team plays, Book Cliffs, Utah: Field Trip No. 18 Guidebook , Society for researching shallow marine sandy sediments along the east coast Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), American Association of Petroleum of the US, he documented that significant shallow marine Geologists Annual Convention and Exhibition, 7-10 June 2009, sedimentation is also occurring in the relatively sediment starved Denver, CO, 168 p. setting of the eastern North America continental shelf. Since Jim’s Loucks, R.G. and Ruppel, S.C., 2007, Mississippian Barnett Shale: early marine geology work, he has done numerous field studies of Lithofacies and depositional setting of a deep-water shale-gas succes - petroleum bearing rocks from the jungles of Colombia to the sion in the Fort Worth Basin, Texas: American Association of deserts of eastern Pakistan. Rine has also published a number of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin , v. 91, n.4, p. 579-601. hydrogeology papers based on a decade of research at the U of Chan, M.A., 1992. Oolitic ironstone of the Cretaceous Western South Carolina. During the last five-plus years Jim has returned Interior Seaway, East-Central Utah: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology , to fine-grained sediment studies in Houston as a principal v. 62, n. 4, p. 693-705 geologist and geologic advisor within the Sedimentology Group Rine, J.M., and Ginsburg, R.N., 1985, Depositional facies of a mud at Weatherford Laboratories.
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 27 28 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Tuesday, January 19, 2010 HGS Environmental & Engineering g n i
Black Lab Pub, Churchill Room • 4100 Montrose Blvd. Dinner Meeting t Social 5:30 p.m., Dinner 6:30 p.m. e e Cost: $25 Preregistered members; $30 non-members & walk-ups M
Richard Chapin
The HGS prefers that you make your reservations on-line through the HGS r City of Houston website at www.hgs.org. If you have no Internet access, you can e-mail e
[email protected], or call the office at 713-463-9476 (include your name, n e-mail address, meeting you are attending, phone number and membership ID#). n i D
Municipal Setting Designations in Houston g n i r
o you want to know what a Municipal Setting Designation Manager in the Planning Branch of the e (MSD) is, how it can help you and how we got here? This Public Works and Engineering Department. e D n presentation will answer those questions and discuss the MSD Richard is currently responsible for the i g
process in Houston. An MSD reduces the health risk to people City's Municipal Setting Designation (MSD), n living and working in the area by preventing use ofcontaminated Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL), E ground water. An official notice that the ground water is contam - and Municipal Separate Stormwater &
inated and cannot be used will be filed on the applicant's deed in Sewer System (MS4) programs. He has l a the property records and the ban will be enforced by the city. This over 30 years of water quality, remediation, t can help a contaminated site be developed or redeveloped and geologic experience. Prior to joining n e because the requirement to investigate and remediate existing the City in 2008, Richard worked as an contaminated groundwater for use as potable water may be elim - environmental regulation expert for a major international m n inated. Some success stories and some potential pitfalls will also chemical manufacturer. Chapin has helped sites across the country o r be discussed. I with issues dealing with stormwater, waste water, potable water, i v
NPDES, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC), n
Biographical Sketch Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW), and groundwater E
RICHARD CHAPIN works for the City of Houston as a Senior Project contamination investigations and cleanups. S G H
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 29 30 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Wednesday, January 27, 2010 HGS General g n i
Petroleum Club • 800 Bell (downtown) Luncheon Meeting t
Social 11:15 AM, Luncheon 11:30 AM e Cost: $30 pre-registered members; $35 for non-members & walk-ups; e
Emeritus/Life/Honorary: $15; Students: FREE M Martin Perlmutter
To guarantee a seat, you must pre-register on the HGS website (www.hgs.org) Chevron Energy Technology Company n and pre-pay with a credit card. Houston, TX o Pre-registration without payment will not be accepted. e
You may still walk up and pay at the door, if extra seats are available. h c n u L
The Influence of High-Frequency Climate Variability l a r
on Paleoclimate Interpretation e n e nderstanding past long-term climate states and their higher record of climate cycles is easily recognized and measured. In G frequency variability can play an other areas, it’s more difficult because
U S important role in helping to forecast …regional and temporal variations the climate does not change much or future climate changes. The insolation perhaps stratigraphers who interpret G cycles which drive high-frequency in the phase relationships between climate ignore changes to sedimentary H climate variability and their interfer - delivery systems and environments ence patterns have been mathematically sedimentary and glacioeustatic of deposition caused by the specific resolved for the last 50 Ma. Inferences cycles may not be consistent climate response. They don’t can be drawn on these patterns back recognize preservation bias caused by through at least the Paleozoic. with basic assumptions about climate cycles so they fail to include However, different regions of the the phase relationship of sediment Earth have different climatic responses stratigraphy… supply and sea- or lake-level cycles. to the same insolation cycles and These issues can cause paleoclimatolo - record the changes differently. In some locations, the stratigraphic gists to misinterpret the actual temporal scales of climate change because they are looking for similar stratigraphic responses to the same climate cycle in areas that just don’t preserve them the same way.
Presently, most paleocli - mate analyses and interpretations are resolved only for mean annual conditions for time intervals ranging from 0.1 to 1 my. However, the greatest insolation changes occur seasonally at the scale of precession (~20 kyrs) during periods of high eccentricity. Similar to the conditions that cause summer in one hemisphere and Pole-to-pole insolation plotted at the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice for a 1.5 My interval. Precession-scale in - winter in the other at solation cycles can change seasonal heating within a hemisphere by up to 30%. Insolation calculated from equations HGS General Luncheon in Berger (1978). Figure from Perlmutter and Plotnick, 2002. continued on page 33
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 31 32 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 HGS General Luncheon continued from page 31 ______g n i t e e M
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Relationship between precession-scale paleoclimate states and glacioeustasy for the E. Permian. High sea level is associated with intervals with warm southern hemisphere summers. Low sea level is associated with cool southern hemisphere summers. The time between these end member states can be a short as 10 kyrs. Note that cool northern hemispheres summers occur during times of warm southern hemisphere summers and cool southern hemisphere summers occur during the times of warm northern hemisphere summers. Figure from Perlmutter and Plotnick, 2003. HGS General Luncheon continued on page 34 A S G OOD A S O UR WORD TAP INTO OUR RESERVOIR
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January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 33 Meeting
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January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 35 January 2010 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Reservations: Members Pre-registered Prices: The HGS prefers that you make your reservations on-line through the HGS website at General Dinner Meeting ...... $28 www.hgs.org. If you have no Internet access, you can e-mail [email protected], or call the Nonmembers & walk-ups ...... $35 office at 713-463-9476. Reservations for HGS meetings must be made or cancelled by the date Env. & Eng...... $25 shown on the HGS Website calendar, normally that is 24 hours before hand or on the last Luncheon Meeting ...... $30 business day before the event . If you make your reservation on the Website or by email, an email confirmation will be sent to you. If you do not receive a confirmation, check with the Nonmembers & walk-ups ...... $35 [email protected]. Once the meals are ordered and name tags and lists are prepared, no more International Explorationists ...... $28 reservations can be added even if they are sent. No shows will be billed. North American Explorationists ...... $28 3 45 6
HGS Board Meeting 6 p.m. HGS Office
10 11 12 13 HGS General Dinner Meeting “What’s New in Seismic Imaging?” John T. Etgen, Westchase Hilton Page 15
17 18 HGS Joint 19 HGS Northsiders 20 Luncheon Meeting International and North “Clues to Depositional Processes of Ancient American Dinner Meeting Mudrocks…” Crowne Plaza Hotel Page 24 “Sand-Prone Submarine Mass-Transport HGS Environmental & Deposits: Reservoir Characteristics and Engineering Dinner Classification of an Underappreciated Meeting Deepwater Facies” Lawrence D. “Municipal Setting Designations in Meckel, III, Westchase Hilton Page 17 Houston” Black Lab Pub Page 29 24 25 26 27 HGS General Luncheon Meeting “The Influence of High-Frequency Climate Variability on Paleoclimate Interpretation” Martin Perlmutter, Petroleum Club Page 31 31
36 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 GEO EVENTS Thursday Friday Saturday Upcoming GeoEvents February 8-9, 2010 1 2 Applied Geoscience Conference US Gulf Region Mudstones as Unconventional Shale Gas/Oil Reservoirs Houston, TX Page 16 March 2-4, 2010 APPEX 2010 London, England April 11-14, 2010 AAPG Annual Convention & 7 8 9 Exhibition New Orleans, Louisiana April 22-23, 2010 Modeling Sedimentary Basins and Their Petroleum Systems Geological Society London, England May 3-6, 2010 Offshore Technology Conference Houston, TX May 16-18, 2010 14 15 16 AAPG Southwestern Section Meeting Dallas, TX Deadline for Submission to May 22, 2010 HGS Guest Night – Houston Science the March Bulletin Museum, Houston, TX June 8-10, 2010 Applications of Reservoir Fluid Geochemistry, AAPG Hedberg 21 22 23 Research Conference Vail, CO SIPES Luncheon June 13-16, 2010 Meeting AAPG Rocky Mountain Section “Update on Implementation of the Meeting Durango, CO Modernization of SEC Oil & Gas July 4-8, 2010 Reporting Requirements” Australian Earth Scoences John Lee, Petroleum Club Page 49 Convention Canberra, Australia September 8-9, 2010 28 29 30 9th African Conference – Africa: A NOW Multi-faceted Promise Houston, TX you can make September 12-15, 2010 AAPG International Conference & your reservations Exhibition Calgary, Canada on-line at April 10-13, 2011 www.hgs.org AAPG Annual Convention & Exhibition Houston, Texas
Collarini Energy Staffing Inc. Full–Time and Temporary Exploration and Production Personnel Geoscience Facilities Drilling Production Reservoir Engineers Landmen Management Procurement Information Technology Health and Safety Accounting Administrative Support 11111 Richmond Avenue, Suite 126 www. collarini.com 4200 South I-10 Service Road, Suite 230 Houston, Texas 77082 Metairie, Louisiana 70001 Phone (832) 251-0553 Phone (504) 887-7127 Fax (832) 251-0157 Connecting the Industry’s Experts Fax (504) 887-7162
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 37
40 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 9
HGS Earth Science Week 2009 0 By Martha McRae, Jennifer Burton and Inda Immega 0 2
n Saturday, October 10, 2009, HGS sponsored the Family Hands-on activities dealt with such topics as local petrified wood, k Energy Festival Day at the Houston Museum of Natural geophysical properties and seismic examples, micro and macro e O e Science as part of Earth Science Week. Earth Science Week is one paleontology, identification of rocks and minerals, a high W of HGS’s annual outreach events to promote the importance of efficiency engine designed by U of H students, and mapping e
earth sciences to the public. techniques. Discussions and posters scattered throughout the Paleo c
Hall and Wiess Energy Hall of the museum described petroleum n e Activities for the day centered around an Energy Passport event exploration and careers in the geosciences. Texas rock kits were i c
held in the main Paleo Hall of the Houston Museum of Natural given to participants who completed most of the passport stations. S
Science (HMNS). Over 60 volunteers from several local earth We happily had over 350 people participate in the passport h t
science societies, local colleges, HMNS volunteers, and individual activities this year. An AGI bookmark with a geologic timescale r geoscientists helped setup and man “passport” stations with printed on it was handed out all day. For school teachers participating a E hands-on educational activities. These volunteers helped answer in the activities, we handed out an AGI ESW Teacher’s Kit containing geoscience questions from the public and participating Boy lesson plans, posters, and examples of science activities to do in the S
Scouts for most of the afternoon. Participating societies this year classroom. All these free give-a-ways were well received. G included Houston Geological Society, Houston Museum of H Natural Science, Houston Gem and Mineral Society, Geophysical Again this year the weather did not cooperate with our planned Society of Houston, Gulf Coast Section of SEPM, National field trip to Bolivar Peninsula, so it was postponed until spring. Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists, and the Check on the HGS website for a new scheduled date and updates University of Houston College of Technology. A special thanks to for the trip. Kristie Bradford with Lonestar College will be leading the many volunteer students, the trenching and current demonstration portion of the field trip. instructors, and professors from San Dr. Armacost from Lamar University will be discussing the impacts Jacinto Community College. With of Hurricane Ike on coastal bird species. Dr. Owen and Dr. the volunteers’ help, our Earth Westgate from Lamar University will have aerial photos to aid the Science Week event this year was a geoscience discussion on the impact of Hurricane Ike on the region. big success. Thank you! Dr. Immega with the HMNS will discuss coastal processes. I
HGS Earth Science Week 2009 continued on page 43
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January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 45 Killer whales produce whistles, clicks, pulsed calls, low-frequency pops and jaw claps for two overlapping functions—to communicate and echolocate.
For years PGS has been communicating closely with operators in exploration basins worldwide to help locate new prospects, to expand production from existing ones and to lower finding and development costs. Recent significant successes from our depth imaging teams are giving geoscientists clear images by using state-of-the-art migration algorithms and advanced velocity model building workflows. To find out more about the bottom line benefits of PGS data process - ing, please contact Frank Dumanoir at (713) 509-8354.
A clearer image www.pgs.com
46 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 HGS Earth Science Week 2009 continued from page 45 ______9 0 0 2
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Cheated, Mistreated, Pushed Around? Have you been cheated, mistreated or somehow deprived of your share of a deal, working interest or royalty? If so, give me a call. I have twenty five years experience as a working interest and royalty owner in the oil and gas business to go along with thirty five years of court room experience. You do not pay anything unless I win.
Robert A. Chaffin CHAFFIN & STILES 4265 San Felipe, Suite 1020 Houston, Texas 77027 (713) 528-1000 [email protected]
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 47 David Childers, ph: 281-872-5022, e-mail: [email protected] 16945 Northchase, Suite 1600, Houston, TX 77060
48 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 g
SIPES Luncheon Meeting n i t e
Update on Implementation of the Modernization of e M
SEC Oil & Gas Reporting Requirements n
John Lee, Texas A&M University o e h c
he modernized Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for reporting oil and gas reserves are in effect for all filings n Twith the SEC on or after January 1, 2010. These rules, issued in late 2008, are more flexible than previous rules, but that flexibility u L introduces new interpretation problems for filers. To assist with the transition from the old rules to the new rules, the SEC issued guidance on both technical and accounting issues in October 2009. In addition, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) S issued a proposal in September 2009 to bring disclosures standards in SFAS 69 into accord with the SEC’s modernized rules. E P I S This presentation will include discussions of the SEC and FASB guidance, including any new guidance that might be issued up to the time of the presentation. Issues to be discussed include guidance on proved undeveloped reserves generally, the “five-year” rule for development of PUDs disclosed by the filer, “reliable technology,” and determination of “current costs.” I
Biographical Sketch JOHN LEE holds the L.F. Peterson Endowed Chair and is a Regents Professor of Petroleum Engineering in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. He specializes in petroleum reserves and evaluation, unconventional gas resources, and petroleum reservoir engineering.
Dr. Lee received B.ChE, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He spent 15 years with ExxonMobil, leading teams on reservoir studies, and joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1977. While at A&M, he also worked with S.A. Holditch & Associates, petroleum engineering consultants, from 1980 to 1999, specializing in reservoir engineering aspects of low permeability gas reservoirs. He served as an Academic Engineering Fellow with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from October 2007 to December 2008. As an SEC Fellow, he coordinated the technical aspects of the SEC’s modernization of oil and gas reporting regulations.
He has received numerous awards from the Society of Petroleum Engineers, including the Anthony Lucas Medal, the DeGolyer Medal, and Honorary Membership. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Natural Science. I
Thursday, January 21, 2010 Houston Petroleum Club in the Discovery Room, 800 Bell St. (down - town Houston). Social 11:15 AM, Luncheon 11:45 AM Reservations Required: Make reservations by telephone (713-651- 1639), fax (713-951-9659), website (www.sipes-houston.org), or e-mail [email protected] to B. K. Starbuck-Buongiorno by 12:00 noon on Tuesday preceding the meeting. You can now sign up for the meet - ing online at www.sipes-houston.org, but payment is still required by regular mail or at the door. Cost: $30 for SIPES Members and Chapter Affiliates who register by 12:00 Noon Tuesday; $35 for new registrations at the door. The price for guests, non-members and walk-ins is $35. No-shows will be billed .
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 49 The Houston Geological Society Continuing Education Committee Presents Risk and Uncertainty Analysis for Unconventional Plays Sponsored by Hamilton Engineering, Inc. Tuesday 2-Feb-10 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST Speaker: Gary P. Citron, PhD, Managing Partner, Rose & Associates, LLP This course, designed for geoscientists and engineers, provides a comprehensive treatment on the description, characterization and valuation of tight gas, shale and Pricing Before After coal bed methane plays. 22-Jan-10 22-Jan-10 Beginning with practical definitions and formational processes, this course describes the Member: $90.00 $100.00 techniques to probabilistically estimate the resource potential, risk and value of staged Non-Member: $100.00 $110.00 investment programs to profit from unconventional resource plays. The first part of Student: $10.00 $25.00 the course deals largely with the main types of resource plays, and the main geologic GSH Member: $90.00 $100.00 attributes as concerns to grade the potential to be commercially successful. The second part of the course continues with the flow regimes of these reservoirs; how to model their performance with type curves associated with the geological heterogeneity; major assessment processes and valuation techniques to best achieve your strategies. Course Outline • Part I: Introduction SPEAKER GARY P. C ITRON , P HD (BS, Geology, State University of 1. What are Unconventional accumulations? New York at Buffalo; MS & PhD in Geology, Cornell University). a. Types: Tight gas, CBM, Shale gas, After a twenty year career as a geoscientist, manager, and internal b. Characteristics and Locations of major areas of interest in NA consultant for Amoco exploration business, Gary joined Pete 2. Consequences of differences in unconventional plays Rose’s consulting firm in February 1999, which focuses on the 3. Primer/refresher on Statistics, the language of Uncertainty • Part II: Tight Gas Characteristics and Assessment field of prospect and play risk analysis. Gary became Pete’s first 1. Historical perspective Partner in Rose & Associates, LLP in 2001 and assumed the role 2. Paradigm shift of understanding of Managing Partner in 2003. 3. Requirements for a Tight Gas accumulation 4. Volumetric and Chance Assessment In his last assignment at Amoco, he worked with exploration 5. Exercise teams worldwide for four years, helping them assess prospect • Part III: CMB Characteristics and Assessment component ranges and associated chance factors. Dr. Citron has 1. Definition of Coal, formation and description developed expertise in consensus building in risk assessments 2. How it is different and performance tracking. He also coordinated the yearly post 3. Langmuir equation: elements of uncertainty appraisal of the drilling program which helped institutionalize 4. Volumetric and Chance Assessment learning throughout the exploration business. In 1999 he was 5. Exercise selected by the AAPG to serve in their Visiting Geologist • Part IV: Shale Gas Characteristics and Assessment Program. While at Amoco, Dr. Citron actively mentored 1. Mechanisms of Formation and Exploitation history 2. Volumetric and Chance Assessment younger geoscientists on prospect measurement. 3. Exercise • Part V: Reservoir Flow in Coals and Shales In 2001, he received the best paper award from the AAPG’s Division 1. Multiple Flow regimes of Professional Affairs, and again in 2007 he was honored for a. Desorption delivering a ‘Top Ten Oral Presentation’ at the AAPG annual b. Ficke’s Law convention in Long Beach. Gary remains active in the AAPG c. Diffusion House of Delegates, and continues to serve on committees for d. Darcy flow the AAPG and the SPE. He is a Texas State certified and licensed 2. Impact of permeability Geologist who has authored or co-authored more than a dozen • Part VIII: Play Assessment publications, and has been an invited and honored speaker for 1. Play definition and Framing the SIPES, Geological Society of London, AAPG, SPE and SEG. 2. Planning the Work and Pilot Designs 3. Assess future potential For more information about this event, contact HGS Office 4. Analogs and type curves 713-463-9476 • office @hgs.org 5. Economic modeling highlights Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 • Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm Location: Houston Research Center • 11611 West Little York Road • Houston Texas 77041 USA Please make your reservations on-line through the Houston Geological Society website at www.hgs.org
50 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 e k
Galveston Island Field Trip: One Year After Ike I
By Dr. Michelle J. McMahon r e t f A
n November 1, 2009, fair weather and calm seas met the r
participants of the field trip of the joint Association of a
O e
Earth Science Editors and Houston Geological Society on Y
Galveston Island led by Dr. John Anderson, the Maurice Ewing e
Professor of Oceanography at Rice University. The day was n O
an engaging mix of coastal geology and Galveston history and : politics, punctuated with humorous snippets of local lore. p i r T The trip began with a tour of the historical district of Galveston, d which barely survived the devastating 1900 hurricane, the event l e that prompted construction of the 6.7-mi- (10.4–km-) long, i F 5.2-m- (17-ft-) high seawall that protects the east end of the barrier island today. After the 1900 d n hurricane, homes behind the seawall were raised a l s
1.5 m (5 ft), which unfortunately was not high I enough to protect the Victorian, Edwardian, and n modern structures from the 3-m (10-ft) Hurricane o t
Ike storm surge in September last year. s e v l
The drive along Ferry Street leading to the Bolivar a Ferry parallels a 3-m (10-ft) high Army Corps of G Engineers levee, the highest elevation on the island. Galveston Island Field Trip continued on page 53
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 51 52 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Galveston Island Field Trip continued from page 51 ______e k I
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The opposite side of the street is lined with low-lying, single- e t story homes that were submerged to the rafters during Ike. f A
Accompanied by gulls, brown pelicans, and breaching dolphins, r a ferry ride across to and back from Bolivar Peninsula introduced a e
the participants to the Galveston Harbor, Intracoastal Y
Waterway, and Houston Ship Channel. Spurred on by e
Dr Anderson’s presentation, the group discussed dredging, n O
beach nourishment, and wetlands restoration and conservation. :
Back on dry land, the critical balance between sea level, p i subsidence, and sediment budget was introduced. r T
d A subsequent driving tour of the Galveston Seawall culminated l e in a stop at the western end. This portion of the seawall, heavily i F damaged during Ike, has since been repaired. The effect of the seawall on the littoral drift of sediment was examined; the d n comparison of the position of the “protected” coastline and a l s
the unprotected beaches to the west was dramatic. Standing I on the lip of the repaired seawall, Dr. Anderson addressed the n potential perils of a 30 billion dollar “Ike Dike” proposal, o t which would extend the current seawall 24–32 km (15–20 s e
miles) westward to San Luis Pass and 64 km (40 miles) v l
eastward along the Bolivar Peninsula to High island. a Massive floodgates would also be constructed to “protect” G Galveston Bay.
After moving west through examples of unbridled beach development replacing the stable ridge and swell terrain, the group had lunch in the bayside community of Jamaica Beach. The topics of the importance of coastal wetlands, beach and bay development, beach nourishment practices, and the impact of straw bales and geo-tubes on storm surge were debated. After lunch, geohazard maps of Galveston Island were presented, and comparisons were made between the effect of the storm on older homes elevated to 2–4 m (7–13 ft) with shallow pylons and newer homes with elevations of 4–5 m (13–17 ft) and wider pylons anchored in the Beaumont (clay) Formation. Farther west, the group passed older houses with shallow pylons suspended in Brazos results in the broader context of the Northern Gulf of Mexico River deltaic sands; the force of the Ike winds had caused the sediment budget and coastal current patterns. unconsolidated sands to liquefy, toppling the homes. As the bus drove north back to Houston through the refinery Just east of San Luis Pass, the appropriately named “Baywater” town of Freeport, the participants reflected on a spectacular development sits precariously atop Hurricane Alicia (1983) autumn day filled with abundant insights into Texas coastal washover fan deposits located in the center of coastal wetlands. processes and policies. You can learn more in Dr. Anderson’s Ph.D. candidate Davin Wallace shared a portion of his research, book, The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast: addressing the sand budget of the transgressive Follets Barrier A Geologist Answers Questions about Sand, Storms and Living by Island (west of San Luis Pass) and summarized his research the Sea (2007, TAMU Press). I
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 53 e s i HGS/PESGB m o r 9th International Conference on African E&P P d
e Africa: A Multi-faceted Promise t e c Houston, 2010 a f - i t
l September 8-9, 2010 u Marriott Houston Westchase Hotel • 2900 Briarpark Drive, Houston, Texas M
A
: Note change of dates from previous announcement! a c i Plan to attend this event during the week before the AAPG Int’l Convention in Calgary. r f A This annual conference has become established e c as the primary technical E & P conference on n e Africa. Scheduled for 8-9 September 2010 in r e Houston, a two-day program of talks is planned f n along with technical posters and exhibits from o sponsoring companies. Opening reception will be C
B Tuesday evening September 7th. G
S The conference series, organized by members of E
P the International Group of Houston Geological /
S Society (HGS) and Petroleum Exploration Society
G of Great Britain (PESGB) covers all aspects of H
African E&P, with particular emphasis on new h t ideas for plays and prospects, the geology of the 9 continent and its conjugate margins, and application of emerging technologies.
Technical Contributions and Sponsorships are welcomed now.
Submit topics as soon as possible for consideration of the Technical Committee to [email protected]. Abstracts (~200 words) are due no later than 31 March. The program will be finalized by end April.
For sponsorship opportunities or exhibit space, please contact David Schwartz [email protected] .
Special thanks to Fugro Gravity & Magnetic Services for again sponsoring the CD of Proceedings.
Pre-registration will be available from April, further details will be appear in the HGS Bulletin, PESGB newsletter and websites.
Conference Committee for 2010 includes Al Danforth, Ian Poyntz, Martin Cassidy, Dave Schwartz, Justin Vanden Brink, Tarek Ghazi and Claudia Lopez (Houston), Ray Bate and Duncan Macgregor (London).
54 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 w
November General Meeting – A Member’s View e i
By Linda Sternbach V
s ’ r
ames Cearley, of Chevron, e delivered an outstanding talk to b
J m
HGS Monday, November 9, on the e
scope and potential of the deepwater M Wilcox oil play. HGS President Elect A John Tubb was pleased to announce – the the crowd that turnout for g
the evening totaled nearly 200 n i geoscientists, according to Treasurer t e
Elect David Meaux. Vice President e Art Donovan welcomed James M
Cearley, General Manager of Gulf l a
of Mexico Deepwater Exploration r for Chevron North America e n
Exploration and Production Co. and introduced him as a e
featured speaker. G
r
Cearley told the audience that the emerging Lower Tertiary e b Wilcox Trend of the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico is the latest m
exploratory trend since the deepwater sub-salt Miocene trend was e ignited 10 years ago with large discoveries like Thunder Horse v and Tahiti. The deepwater Miocene has delivered over 8 billion o BOE to date, and N the Lower Tertiary Trend has deliv - ered over 3 billion BOE so far, with much of the trend yet to be explored. The Lower Tertiary Wilcox is a 300- mile-long, primarily sub- salt, trend in the ultra-deep water targeting some of the oldest and deepest clastic reservoirs yet developed in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Wilcox trend, the oil fields discovered to date have been very large with significant pay thickness. However, these discoveries have flow rate challenges created by lower permeability rocks and low mobility hydrocarbons.
Cearley discussed some of the geological surprises found by the Wilcox drilling including strange gumbo and rock inclusions inside salt, overturned beds and repeat sections of the Lower Kevin J. McMichael Tertiary above the main target, and the incredible challenge of drilling wells with up to 12 strings of casing in 8000 feet of First City Tower 713-655-9700 1001 Fannin, Suite 777 Fax 713-655-9709 water. The HGS audience actively participated in a question and Houston, TX 77002 [email protected] answer session with Cearley after the talk. I
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 55 56 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 e Government Update t a
Henry M. Wise, P.G. and Arlin Howles, P.G. d p
If you’d like the most up-to-date Texas rules, regulations, and governmental meeting information we direct you to the HGS website U
to review The Wise Report. This report, which comes out as needed, but not more often than once a week, offers the most up-to-date t n
information that may be of interest to Texas geologists. e m n r
AGI Government Affairs Monthly Review (October 2009) resource conservation and additional programs for floods, e Climate Change Legislation Passes Despite Boycott wildfires, and coastal adaptation. v o The debate on the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill in the Senate, officially referred to as the “Clean Energy Jobs and American The newest version includes one major addition. It limits the G Power Act” or S. 1733, ramped up in mid-October. Environment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s power to regulate and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairwoman Barbara GHGs by making sure congressional emission caps preempt Boxer (D-CA), and co-sponsor of the bill, steered the bill out of EPA’s ability to moderate emission under the Clean Air Act. committee on November 5, 2009 after three comprehensive The addition also gives EPA more power over large industrial hearings during the last week of October. emission sources than the Waxman-Markey bill in the House. EPA has been flexing its regulatory power already in regard to The Republicans on the committee staged a boycott of those large point sources, issuing a rule on October 30, 2009 to discussions on the bill because they wanted to get a detailed cost force sources emitting more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) first. equivalents to constrict emissions. Boxer did not want to delay the bill any longer on a redundant request, so after three days of trying to reach a compromise the The Democratic majority is trying to get a Senate-approved committee voted 11-1 in favor of the bill without considering measure passed before the Copenhagen climate summit in amendments by either party. No Republican committee December. Besides the Kerry-Boxer bill, other portions of the a members were present for the vote breaking a tradition of full climate change bill are awaiting votes in the Finance having at least two minority party members as part of any Committee and the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry quorum for committee votes. The one vote against the bill came Committee. from Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) who felt his amendments needed to be addressed. Among the 80 amendments submitted Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe by Democrats, Baucus’ amendment would decrease the Lieberman (I-CT) are also working outside of the committees to emissions target from a 20 percent reduction to a 17 percent find solutions to garner the 60 votes needed for passage. Senators by 2020. Graham and Kerry wrote an op-ed for the NY Times in mid-October calling for more offshore oil and gas drilling and The latest version of the Kerry-Boxer climate bill is 959 pages in greater incentives for nuclear energy. Their plan will likely be on length and was released to the public on October 30, 2009. the discussion table as these provisions could garner more The bill is separated into two major divisions: “Authorization support from Republicans and some Democrats. For Pollution Reduction, Transition, and Adaption” and “Pollution Reduction and Investment.” The first division With the number of controversies and compromises still to be includes titles for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs, tackled, it is unlikely the bill will reach the Senate floor before research, transition and adaptation. The second division Copenhagen or even by the end of this year. While the continued outlines the “cap-and-trade” scenario, or the benchmarks for uncertainty about congressional actions on climate change carbon dioxide reductions, the GHG registry systems, and the would be a significant disappointment for the Administration offsets program. The bill calls for a 20 percent reduction of and the international community, President Obama has indicated GHGs compared to 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83 percent that he will make climate change legislation a top priority once reduction by 2050. health care reform legislation is completed.
To reduce GHG emissions, the bill looks to carbon capture and The full text of the Kerry-Boxer bill is available from Thomas: sequestration (CCS), which includes finding geological storage http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S1733: sites and developing demonstration projects, plus advanced The Kerry-Graham op-ed in the NY Times: nuclear energy, water efficiency, energy efficiency, renewable http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11kerrygraham. energy, and natural gas. The research covers advanced energy html and drinking water adaptation. Water is also covered in the adaptation programs which provide safeguards for natural Government Update continued on page 59
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 57 58 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Government Update continued from page 57 ______e t a d p
Congress Concerned About Access To Domestic Minerals The full text of H.R. 3326 is available from Thomas: U
An earmark to protect rare earth element mines and bills to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:h3326: t n
promote access to molybdenum-99 isotopes show a growing The full text of H.R. 3276 is available from Thomas: e
concern in Congress over the dearth of domestic access to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:h3276: m mineral resources. The full text of H.R. 2647 is available from Thomas: n r
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR2647: e The shortage of rare earth minerals prompted Appropriations v o Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) to add an House Authorizes $10 Million For Americaview earmark to the House Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3326) for The House approved a bill to establish a national cooperative G $3 million to help reopen a California rare earth mine. According geospatial mapping program. The National Land Remote Sensing to Lewis the controversial funds were necessary for Molycorp Outreach Act (H.R. 2489) authorizes $10 million annually for an Minerals, owned in part by Goldman Sachs, to quell national AmericaView program at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in security concerns. This appropriations bill is still awaiting fiscal years 2010 through 2019. conference committee approval. The program goal is to disseminate imagery from satellites and Rare earth minerals have seen their value balloon in recent years, airplanes for education, research, assessment, and monitoring thanks to their utilization in high technology military devices and purposes across the nation. It is based on the current renewable energy applications like hybrid batteries and wind turbines. AmericaView project that started as a partnership between the The growing interest in supply stems from progressively tighter USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center restrictions on export from China, the world’s single dominant and a consortium of universities that expanded the use and producer. China controls the vast majority of supply for all 17 distribution of satellite data and imagery. The bill would create a rare earth elements, including up to 99 percent for some elements consolidated program at the USGS. such as Terbium. After four years of decreasing permits for export, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information A companion bill (S. 1078) was voted out of committee in the Technology (MIIT) has reportedly submitted a recommendation Senate in August, but is awaiting full Senate approval. to the Chinese administration to further tighten exports. Amid global concern though, MITT responded that a ban would never The full text of the two bills is available from Thomas: be enforced. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.02489: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s.01078: On a different, but related issue, there is growing concern in the U.S. about the supply of molybdenum-99, which is needed for Solar R&D Bill Passes House medical imaging. The U.S. stopped production of the isotope, The Solar Roadmap Technology Act (H.R. 3585), introduced by which is a fission product of highly purified uranium-235, partly Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) in the House Science out of concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation and partly and Technology Committee, passed the House on October 22 out of concerns about nuclear waste disposal. Earlier this year, a and awaits approval in the Senate. The bill would allocate $2.25 reactor in Canada used to produce the isotope broke down, billion from fiscal years 2010 to 2015 for solar research and nearly crippling American supplies. The American Medical development projects. It also would create a “Solar Technology Isotopes Production Act of 2009 (H.R. 3276) would promote Roadmap Committee” of Department of Energy (DOE) developing U.S. production of molybdenum-99, according to its appointed experts, a third of which will be solar industry repre - sponsor, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), to ensure a stable sentatives. It also mandates that by 2012, 30 percent of the DOE and consistent supply of the isotope for cancer scans and brain funding for solar research, development, and demonstration imaging in American health care facilities. (RD&D) is consistent with the roadmap recommendations, and is ramped up to 75 percent by 2015. Energy Secretary Steven The molybdenum isotope concern has also been addressed in the Chu will be in charge of awarding grants to carry out the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (H.R. solar programs and providing awards to industry for solar 2647) which became public law this month. In addition, H.R. manufacturing RD&D. 2647 requires the Defense Science Board to study and report on the extent to which military capabilities are impacted by supplies More information about the H.R. 3585 bill is available from and the potential shortage of rare earth minerals. Thomas at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.03585: Government Update continued on page 61
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 59 Tauber Exploration & Production Co. Seeking Ready to Drill Prospects Contract and Full Time Exploration and Production Staff Geoscience, Management, Reservoir Engineers, Landmen, Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast Information Technology, Production We can provide you with the RIGHT people with the RIGHT skills and the RIGHT experience at the RIGHT price, time and location! Contact: Tim Tade or David Voight Why spend all your scarce management time looking for staff when we can do it for you? Founded in 1999, GeoExperts is staffed and led by E&P (O) 713-869-5656 (F) 713-869-1997 professionals with decades of experience in the worldwide oil industry Tel: 713-953-0823, ext. 13, Fax: 713-2953-1642 55 Waugh Drive, Suite 601 • Houston, Texas 77007 (we also have offices in Canada, London and West Africa) www.geoexperts.com
60 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Government Update continued from page 59 ______e t a d p
House Bill Aims To Provide $250m For Clean Tech Start Ups Thomas at: U
Representative Glen Nye (D-VA) introduced the Small Business http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h3736: t n
Early-Stage Investment Act of 2009 (H.R. 3738) to allocate More information about the H.R. 3534 bill is available from e
$250 million for a Small Business Administration program Thomas at: m designed to provide grants to small and early stage companies in http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.03534: n r
clean technology. e
NSF Releases New Vision For The Geosciences v o Despite the growth in interest for clean technology, lending in the The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Advisory Committee sector has been hit hard by the recession. Studies show that for Geosciences (AC-GEO) released GEO Vision: Unraveling G investment fell by over half throughout the past year. Proponents Earth’s Complexities through the Geosciences, a new long-term of the bill noted the potential economic benefit to be unleashed strategy document for the Geosciences Directorate (GEO). by the investment. AC-GEO found the top challenges for the geosciences in the future to be: understanding and forecasting Earth system The funds will be administered through established venture behavior, reducing vulnerability and sustaining life, and growing capital firms. This system was commended by supporters in the geoscience workforce. The report shows that geoscientists are business and government for the potential efficient and effective well-suited to bring the insight needed to address the pressing investment that can be made by professionals. The strict issues facing the Earth. stipulations of the bill, however, may prove to be an issue in the venture capital community. A mandate to spend the fund within AC-GEO believes the NSF is the only research agency in the five years may be too quick as many capital venture funds last U.S. with the breadth and capability to understand the broad 10 or more years. The stipulations for experience and fund challenges in Earth systems to protect resources, environment, success could also prevent talent laden young firms from energy supplies, human health and the economy. The participating in the program. recommendations for GEO involve maintaining fundamental and interdisciplinary geoscience research, conducting ground - The full text of H.R. 3738 is available from Thomas: breaking research, communicating the science to the public http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.03738: and policymakers, engaging K-12 students, and coordinating within NSF and with other agencies. The report highlights Measure Proposes A New Oil And Gas Leasing Agency several key research areas for GEO, including natural hazards, The Minerals Management Service Reform Act (H.R. 3736) has ocean acidification, gas hydrates, EarthScope, the Ocean been introduced by Government Reform Committee Ranking Observatories Initiative, atmospheric observations, and Earth Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) to remove the Minerals science literacy. Management Service (MMS) from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and make it an independent agency. MMS, which This vision document reflects four years of work by AC-GEO, oversees oil and gas royalty payments, would become an and replaces the 1999 document NSF Geosciences Beyond independent federal agency with a director appointed by the 2000. The updated GEO Vision incorporates new science, new President. Issa argues that this will allow for more effective technology, and new opportunities for GEO. oversight by Congress. The GEO Vision document is available for download from NSF: House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) http://www.nsf.gov/geo/acgeo/geovision/start.jsp disagrees and introduced a bill of his own (H.R. 3534) that would consolidate the energy programs of both the Bureau of Land BLM Work With Advocacy Groups Potentially Illegal Management (BLM) and MMS into one office at DOI in charge Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees have been of onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing. Rahall says this bill accused of being “less than objective” when working with envi - will also give more authority to DOI’s inspector general. ronmental groups over the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS). After a complaint was filed that NLCS directors Secretary Ken Salazar agrees that an office is needed within DOI interacted with advocacy groups in inappropriate ways, to collaborate between BLM and MMS, but it is yet to be seen the Department of the Interior (DOI) Inspector General (IG) how to best set up and carry this out. investigated the relationship between the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the federal employees. The report More information about the H.R. 3736 bill is available from states that the communications between the NGOs and NLCS Government Update continued on page 62
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 61 e Government Update continued from page 61 ______t a d p
U “created the potential for conflicts of interest or violations of to Spruce No. 1 Mine in 2007 by the U.S. Army Corps of t law.” This has Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Representative Engineers (USACE). The EPA says Spruce No. 1, the largest n
e Rob Bishop (R-UT) demanding reform and review of employee mountain-top removal coal mine in Appalachia, violates the
m conduct. Clean Water Act giving it the right to veto the USACE permit. n EPA is calling for improvements to be made to the mine in order r
e The BLM employees have been accused of making and editing to reduce the environmental and water quality impacts. In v brochures and fact sheets for the National Wildlife Federation addition, last month EPA announced that 79 pending o (NWF) that were later used for lobbying materials. NLCS mountaintop removal mine permits will be delayed for more G Director Elena Daly replied that BLM officials were only helping intensive review. to double-check facts to ensure that the public got accurate information. Another top official said they were unaware that the Although these actions by EPA have been applauded by brochures would be used to lobby for congressional support. environmentalists, not everyone is happy about them. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said these events prove that the Obama Upon receiving the findings from the IG, the U.S. Attorney’s administration is anti-coal and added that there is no possible Office said BLM will not be prosecuted because “the law covering way to clean up the climate without clean coal. The EPA stated ‘lobbying with appropriated monies’ has no criminal sanctions.” that they are “committed to supporting coal mining in BLM has 90 days to give a written response detailing its future Appalachia, but only if it is done in a manner that complies with actions due to these findings. environmental laws.”
To download a PDF of the full IG report, go to: Beyond just environmental laws, the EPA is being asked to http://www.eenews.net/public/25/12636/features/docu - consider social justice in its decisions. A coalition of advocacy ments/2009/10/05/document_gw_01.pdf groups argues that low-income communities are disproportionately burdened by the consequences of mountaintop removal. The EPA Caught Up In Mountaintop Mining Considerations Sierra Club and the rest of the coalition groups say mountaintop The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on mining destroys opportunities for “positive economic growth” in October 16, 2009 that it will retroactively revoke the permit given safer, healthier, and better paying jobs.
Countdown to AAPG e are looking forward to an exciting 2010 as we make the Wpreparations for the AAPG 2011 Annual Convention & Exhibition to be held in Houston. The Technical Program Committee led by Linda Sternbach and Carl Steffensen is rapidly designing the theme topics and program outline. Several new additions to that 2011 committee include Andrea Reynolds (Shell) as AAPG Oral Sessions Chair and Tom Bulling (BP America) as AAPG Poster Sessions Annual AAPG Chair. We have gained additional outstanding committee chairs Conventio including Denise Stone (Consultant) as Short Courses Chair and n James Cearley (Chevron) as Sponsorship Chair. in Houston
We are actively seeking volunteers to assist all of our committees and we hope that will join our team as we lay the foundation for the 2011 convention. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Steve Levine (General Chair) steve.d.levine@ conocophillips.com, Marsha Bourque (General Vice Chair) [email protected], Linda Sternbach (Technical Program Chair) [email protected] or Carl Steffensen (Technical Program Vice-Chair) [email protected]. I
62 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 e t a d p
Jason Bostic of the West Virginia Coal Association argued that For more information on the GIN data, visit: U
“if it wasn’t for the coal industry…there would be no economic http://www.usgin.org t n
activity.” Many industry groups agree with this sentiment. e Study Ties Drought To Population, Not Climate Change
The Sierra Club commissioned a study, however, that found m that the mountaintop mining “eliminates jobs, drains state A Columbia University study found that the drought that n r
budgets, and destroys the region’s potential to generate clean overwhelmed the Southeast from 2005-2007 was nothing out of e energy.” In addition, the report states that banning mountaintop the ordinary. By studying data from tree rings, computer models, v o mining would have very little effect on the price of electricity. and weather instruments, the drought was found to be pretty The Sierra Club would like the government to reopen its standard and even mild compared to other droughts even in the G 2003 environmental assessment of mining practices and recent past. Despite the normalcy of the drought, it forced many take social justice and long-term economic impacts into states to declare water usage restrictions and file lawsuits against consideration. other states over water. Columbia reported that the resulting water shortages were due to population growth and bad planning State Surveys Get $17.79 Million In DOE Geothermal rather than climate change. Grants Energy Secretary Steven Chu dedicated up to $338 million in There were 6.5 million people in Georgia in 1990, and now there American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or stimulus) funds are 9.5 million people. That is almost a 50 percent increase in for geothermal research, exploration and development grants. only 17 years. The population is still growing and little has been In addition, Chu announced that a coalition of 40 state geological done to reduce consumption or increase storage of water. surveys led by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) will gather Although it was much drier in the 19th century, it had less of an state-specific data for the new National Geothermal Data effect due to the small population. System (NGDS) using the Geoscience Information Network (GIN). The GIN is a program between the Association of Most climate models have actually predicted that as temperatures American State Geologists (AASG) and the U.S. Geological rise, rainfall will increase in the Southeast, but this will come with Survey to integrate geological databases into an accessible, an increase in evaporation. Richard Seager, a climate modeler online format. at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia, says the best one could hope for is for the two to balance out and that “climate In the grant announcements, AZGS will receive $17.79 million of change should not be counted on to solve the Southeast’s the funds over three years on behalf of the coalition to populate water woes.” I the NGDS. Most of the other projects announced are also expected to contribute their data to the NGDS. Member News For more information on the announcement and projects GEORGE DEVRIES KLEIN has published a new book funded, go to the DOE website: entitled‚ ROCKNOCKER: A Geologist’s Memoir ‚ about his http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/news_detail.html?news experiences as a geologist. _id=15589
Website • Brochure Ad • Logo • Catalog Newsletter Design Lisa Krueger Design LisaKruegerDesign.com 713.664.7267
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 63 s
m January Crossword of Geologic Terms r e T c i g o l o e G f o d r o w s s o r C y r a u n a J
The HGS Board is offering a $50 gift card to the first correct and completed crossword received by the HGS Business Office prior to the mailing of the February issue.
Across 44 Gradual extension of land 5 Composed of plant remains, commonly algae, deposited in 46 Mouth of a stream anaerobic environments 48 Variety of plagioclase 6 Ridge with sharp summit and steep slopes 49 Paired sedimentary laminae 10 Degree of metamorphism 50 Subordinate lithostratigraphic unit 11 Treeless grassy plain of temperate regions 12 Polished surface from friction along fault plane Down 16 Bright green copper mineral 1 Rising of cold, nutrient-rich water 19 Capable of being easily split 2 Dense even-textured siliceous sedimentary rock 21 Pyroclastics 3 Originating at the same time 24 Diabase 4 Ridge of unsorted, unstratified glacial drift 25 Red form of corundum 7 Small coastal island 27 Process of disintegrating sedimentary rocks in order to 8 Small dam in a stream extract and concentrate acid insoluable microfossils 9 Second period of the Cenozoic era 29 Soft, fine-grained limestone 13 Green form of beryl 30 Process at or near the surface 14 Crust or coating formed on a rock surface 33 Magnetic variety of natural iron oxide 15 Large, discordant plutonic mass 35 Broad continuous alluvial slope 17 Stage of development that a stream has reached its maximum 37 Low glacial ridge efficiency 38 Glauconitic sand 18 Aquatic organisms that drift 42 Science that deals with global water 19 Underlying side of the fault
64 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 s m r
20 Aquatic animals that live within the bottom sediment 36 Feldspar-rich sandstone e T 22 Lower Cretaceous 39 Long, narrow beach ridge c i
23 General supervisor of operations on drilling rig 40 Small-scale cyclone g o 26 Pertaining to the heat of the Earth 41 Single-celled plant with silica frustules l o
28 Coral build-up 43 A surface or fracture or parting in a rock e G
31 Strongly foliated crystalline rock 45 Small point of land attached to the mainland f o
32 Treeless arctic plain 47 Small cavity in rock, usually lined with crystals of a different d
34 Valueless part of an ore composition r o
December Crossword Puzzle Answers w s s o r C
y r a u n a J
June 2010 Grand Canyon Geology Field Trip Experience the majestic beauty of the Grand Canyon as we raft the mighty Colorado River and examine some of the finest classical geology exposures in the world. Reservations are now being taken for the 2010 Grand Canyon Geology Field Trip through the HGS website. Trip runs June 13-21, beginning and ending in Las Vegas. Estimated cost is $3000. A $300 deposit will secure your spot on this popular field trip. Please contact Steve Earle at 713-328-1069 with any questions, or email him at [email protected]
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 65 ds or A ! Col able Full vail ow A HGS Bulletin Instructions to Authors NAll materials are due by the 15th of the month, 6 weeks before issue publication. Abstracts should be 500 words or less; extended abstracts up to 1000 words; articles can be any length but brevity is preferred as we have a physical page limit within our current publishing contract. All submissions are subject to editorial review and revision. Text should be submitted by email as an attached text or Word file or on a clearly labeled diskette in Word format with a hardcopy printout to the Editor. Figures, maps, diagrams, etc., should be digital files using Adobe Illustrator, Canvas or CorelDraw. Files should be saved and submitted in .eps (Adobe Illustrator) format. Send them as separate attachments via email or CD if they are larger than 1 MEG each, accompanied by figure captions that include the file name of the desired image. DO NOT EMBED them into your text document; they must be sent as separate files from the text. DO NOT USE POWERPOINT, CLIP ART or Internet images (72-DPI resolution) as these do not have adequate resolution for the printed page and cannot be accepted. All digital files must have 300-DPI resolution or greater at the approximate size the figure will be printed. Photographs may be digital or hard copy. Hard copies must be printed on glossy paper with the author’s name, photo or figure number and caption on the back. Digital files must be submitted in .jpg or .eps format with 300-DPI or greater resolution at the printing size and be accompanied by figure captions that are linked by the file name of the image. The images should be submitted as individual email attach - ments (if less than 1 MB) or on CD or zip disk. Advertising The Bulletin is printed digitally using QuarkXPress. We no longer use negatives or camera-ready advertising material. Call the HGS office for availability of ad space and for digital guidelines and necessary forms or email to [email protected]. Advertising is accepted on a space-available basis. Deadline for submitting material is 6 weeks prior to the first of the month in which the ad appears. Random Inside Page 2 Inside Front Inside Back Outside Calendar Calendar (B&W) Cover Cover Back Cover Back Page (Black & White) (Full Color) (Full Color) (Full Color) (Full Color) (Full Color) No. of Random* Random* Random* Random* Issues Eighth Quarter Half Full Full Full Full Half Full Quarter 10 $823 $1,387 $2,488 $4,734 $5,680 $7,830 $7,560 $6,858 $6,750 $2,700 9 $823 $1,387 $2,488 $4,734 $5,680 8 $750 $1,260 $2,242 $4,307 $5,169 7 $665 $1,123 $2,014 $3,834 $4,600 6 $590 $990 $1,782 $3,392 $4,069 $1,890 5 $497 $837 $1,503 $2,860 $3,432 $4,698 $4,536 $4,104 4 $405 $683 $1,223 $2,326 $2,792 3 $327 $550 $990 $1,886 $2,262 $1,080 2 $232 $392 $704 $1,339 $1,607 1 $146 $246 $443 $842 $1,010 $1,404 $1,296 $1,080 $810 FULL COLOR AD BUSINESS CARD $135 per 10 Issues – Send two cards * add 30% to B&W charge for full (4) color ad ($30 for each additional name on same card)
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January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 67 s
w Houston Petroleum Auxiliary Council News e Winona LaBrant Smith, HGS Liaison N l i t came as no surprise that the December Christmas Luncheon and has chaired numerous committees and events for HJF and c at Lakeside Country Club was a smashing success. The their various service projects helping older adults and children n I u Kingsmen Chorus’ performance will be long remembered as well and providing scholarships. Marti coordinated spouse activities o as their Director, John Devine. Lakeside was beautifully decorated for the 2002 AAPG Convention Chaired by her husband, Jeffrey C
for the holidays and the food was delicious. Lund. The Women’s Activities was so well organized that it will y r be remembered for many years. Between her world travels and a i The next event will be on Monday, February 13, 2010. Our Game residing overseas, Marti is knowledgable on many varied subjects. l i Day Luncheon is always a function you will regret if you do not Again, please plan to attend some of the HPAC events where you x
u attend. It is to be held at the Junior League Tea Room, 1811 Briar will have the opportunity to meet members like Marti Lund! A
Oaks from 10:00am - 2:00pm. Our incredible Daisy Wood, chair, with her committee, Linda Dobbins, Kathy Duncan, Linnie Geologists, please encourage your spouses to join HPAC, where m
u Edwards, June Harrison, Suzanne Howell, Kathi Hilterman, they will have the opportunity to meet other wives whose hus - e l NormaJean Jones, Georgeann Massell, Lois Matuszak, and Suzy bands are Geologists, Geophysicists, Engineers and Landmen. o r Stepanek will host this event. SaraNan Grubb will coordinate an They will participate in stimulating programs, delicious lunches t
e informal style show for the upcoming rodeo. and friendly fellowship. P
n In the month of December, HPAC began introducing to our For your convenience, a HPAC membership form is included o t readers our cultural garden of exciting members who are below. If you have any questions, please contact Winona LaBrant s
u involved in all walks of life and make HPAC a stimulating and Smith at 713-952-2007. o diversified organization. Marti Lund is the member we are high -
H lighting this month. Her life experiences have taken her down News from Geo-Wives many adventurous paths. She graduated from Mt. Sinai Hospital Programs thru December! School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse and received a Bachelor By Lois Matuszak, Geo-Wives President of Science degree from U of H after moving to Houston. She On Thursday, January 7, 2010, Geo-Wives will have a downtown worked for 10 years as a surgical nurse at Hermann Hospital spe - Bus Tour of the Underground Shops. Lucette Rieger will conduct cializing in opthamology with Dr. Richard Ruiz but also doing the tour and also take us to some of the downtown buildings. other types of surgery including emergency cases with Dr. Red Geo-Wives will take a bus from the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Duke (what an exciting experience that must have been!). She Church at 11612 Memorial Drive. Be there at 8:45 a.m. was a member of the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart Lunch to Be Announced. Cost of the tour is $10.00. Board of Trustees for several years and is still active in Duchesne Lunch is extra. The bus will depart at 9:00 a.m. alumni work and is helping to edit a book comemorating the Make your reservations with First Vice President, Jackie Smith, at 50th anniversary of the school. This accomplishment is an 713-771-5427 or email her at [email protected]. I incredible feat! She is on the Board of the Houston Junior Forum You are invited to become a member of HPAC 2009–2010 dues are $20.00 Mail dues payment along with the completed yearbook information to Carol Gafford , 13323 Misty Hills Drive, Cypress, TX 77429 YEARBOOK INFORMATION
Last Name First Name Name Tag
Spouse Name Name Tag HGS Member’s Company
Home Phone Business Phone Business Fax
Street Address City Zip
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68 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010 Professional Dir ectory
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January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 69 Wavefront LLC Oil & Gas Consultation since 1996 Steven “Eric” Getz IT Support Consultation (Geophysical & Geological) Network, Workstation, and Software Support Seismic Data Loading Seismic Modeling Synthetic Seismogram Construction (713) 305-5089 SMT Expert [email protected] Microsoft Certified
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Geological & Environmental Investigations on Oil & Gas and Mining Properties • Site Assessments • Brine Investigations • Hydrochemical Studies • De-Watering Studies • Property Evaluations • Forensic Investigations Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H. M. D. Campbell and Associates, L.P. http://www.mdcampbell.com Houston, Texas • 713-807-0021
January 2010 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 71 Where is your card? $135 per year 10 issues 713-463-9476
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72 Houston Geological Society Bulletin January 2010
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