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MARCH 2007 Vol. 28, No. 3 March 2007 67

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On the cover: Venoco’s Platform Gail, located about 10 miles offshore in 739 feet of water in the Santa Barbara Channel, is just one sign of the historical – and continuing – importance of oil that’s found in California. The platform, which can accommodate up to 93 people at a time but can be run by as few as five, produces from the Sockeye Field. Photo courtesy of Venoco. Inset, turbidite sand beds containing Bouma Ta-Td sequences and flame structures in the upper channelized portion of a submarine fan system within the Monterey Formation. Photo by A.E. Fritsche.

They call California the land of milk and honey, but the reality 8 of Los Angeles’ success is a deeper truth: It was built on oil.

Dig this: Because of a rock-collecting gravedigger in the 16 Netherlands, Arnold Bouma started his love affair with geology – a trip that took him to the pinnacle of his profession. Photo courtesy of Destinations Magazine Not only has he climbed the ladder of success, he’s led the 18 The THUMS project is perhaps the most beautiful oil drilling operation to be found in way. AAPG honors John Amoruso with its first Michel T. North America – and it’s a sight that will be in clear view for those attending the upcoming AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif. Stories related to the Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award. meeting can be found throughout this special Convention Issue of the EXPLORER, but more specific information on THUMS can be found on page 28. Trendy places: ExxonMobil’s top earth scientist has his eye 22 on today’s exploration trends, and finds that what’s needed in today’s oil industry are prudence and balance.

Read all about it! Headlines are only part of what the 24 industry is experiencing – for the rest of the story, Volunteers: Good All-Convention Luncheon speaker Michael Economides has much more to say. For AAPG Climate A site to behold: The THUMS Island project, sitting right in 28 the middle of the Long Beach seafront, may be America’s By LEE T. BILLINGSLEY members on most beautiful drilling operation. As you can tell, this is a special various topics – but EXPLORER, because it is focused on the two largest our Annual Convention and Exhibition in volume topics have Where will the next giant fields be found? Intriguingly, some 36 Long Beach, Calif., which will be held been the proposed geologists have a pretty good idea about that – and a April 1-4. “graduated dues” Last year my wife, Joanne, and I had structure and successful track record to back it up. a chance to tour the Long Beach hotels, AAPG’s current convention facilities, area restaurants position on global and attractions, and we are very excited climate change. to return for the convention. AAPG has Members have a dedicated group of Pacific Coast threatened to not Section members that have put together renew their Geophysical Corner 48 Membership and Certification 60 a fantastic meeting for us in one of the Billingsley memberships if the Washington Watch 49 Readers’ Forum 62 most beautiful natural settings. graduated dues Of course, it is especially beautiful system is passed, or if AAPG does not In Memory 51 Classified Ads 64 because Long Beach is such an oil alter its position on global climate town. It sits on top of the Wilmington change (although not the same Foundation Update 54 Director’s Corner 65 Field, which has produced 3.5 billion members). And I have been told of BO, and 1,400 wells still produce about members who already have resigned in Regions and Sections 56 DEG Column 65 40,000 BOPD. previous years because of our current www.Update 59 During our visit I noticed some global climate change position. unusual islands in the harbor that My response is: You have a much looked man-made, yet attractive. I better chance of changing AAPG from finally noticed a workover rig between within than from without. It sounds like the palm trees and realized that the the old saying, “Don’t throw the baby AAPG Headquarters – 1-800-364-2274 (U.S. & Canada only), others 1-918-584-2555 islands contain some of the field wells. out with the bath water.” Communications Director Correspondents Advertising Coordinator (See related story, page 28.) Concerning the proposed graduated Larry Nation David Brown Brenda Merideth So set out your sunglasses and dues structure, I firmly believe it is an e-mail: [email protected] Louise S. Durham P.O. Box 979 sunscreen and start getting “pumped improvement for AAPG. What if the Diane Freeman Tulsa, Okla. 74101 up” to join us in Long Beach. You just House of Delegates does not pass it by Managing Editor Barry Friedman telephone: (918) 560-2647 may run into the “Governator.” the required two-thirds majority? I Vern Stefanic Dennis King (U.S. and Canada only: certainly will not resign my membership. e-mail: [email protected] Ken Milam 1-800-288-7636) * * * Instead, I will support other ideas to (Note: The above number is for make AAPG membership more Editorial Assistant Graphics/Production advertising purposes only.) During my tenure as president I have Susie Moore Rusty Johnson fax: (918) 560-2636 received correspondence from See President, next page e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] AAPG Candidate Balloting Opens Vol. 28, No. 3 The AAPG EXPLORER (ISSN 0195-2986) is published monthly for members. Published at AAPG headquarters, 1444 S. Boulder Ave., P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Okla. 74101, (918) 584-2555. e-mail address: [email protected] Online voting opened March 1 and AAPG Office.” Periodicals postage paid at Tulsa, Okla., and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the U.S.A. 2007 officer candidate paper ballots Responses and biographical Note to members: $6 of annual dues pays for one year’s subscription to the EXPLORER. Airmail service for members: $45. Subscription rates for non-members: $63 for 12 issues; add $67 for airmail service. Advertising rates: Contact Brenda have been mailed. information were provided by each Merideth, AAPG headquarters. Subscriptions: Contact Veta McCoy, AAPG headquarters. Unsolicited manuscripts, Biographies, pictures and candidate and edited only for photographs and videos must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope to ensure return. statements from all candidates for grammar, spelling and format. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) does not endorse or recommend any products or services that AAPG office are also available for This information also appeared as a may be cited, used or discussed in AAPG publications or in presentations at events associated with AAPG. viewing on the AAPG Web site, hardcopy insert in the January Copyright 2007 by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved. www.aapg.org. EXPLORER. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to AAPG EXPLORER, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Okla. 74101. The candidates responded briefly Online balloting will be available Canada Publication Number 40046336. to the subject: “Why I Accepted the thru midnight, May 15. Ballots will be Canadian returns to: Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J5 Invitation to be a Candidate for an counted on May 16. ❏ e-mail: [email protected]

MARCH 2007 4 Ad Hoc Panel to Study Climate Policy The global climate change ad Kansas; past president of the AAPG the Jackson Chair of Energy and Composition of Cambrian Oceans: hoc committee consists of: Division of Environmental Environmental Resources, University Potential for Tectonic, Geoscience; co-editor of AAPG of Texas at Austin. Paleoceanographic and ✓ Jay Gregg (chairman) – Holder Studies #47 Geological Perspectives Biogeochemical Events” and of the V. Brown Monnett Chair of of Global Climate Change. ✓ Art Green – Of Gig Harbor, “Evolution of Permian Atmospheric Petroleum Geology and head of the Wash., retired, former Exxon chief CO2 and Western Equatorial geology department at Oklahoma ✓ Eugene Shinn – Formerly geologist and a 2004-05 AAPG Pangean Climate as Recorded by State University. In 2005, Gregg carbonate research geologist with Distinguished Lecturer on “The Paleosol Morphologic and took part in the Integrated Ocean the U.S. Geological Survey; Dynamics of the Sun/Earth Climate Geochemical Proxies.” Drilling Program Expedition in the presently consultant and courtesy System.” North Atlantic to core the Upper professor at the College of Marine ✓ Eric Barron – Dean, Jackson Cenozoic, deep, cold water Geology, University of South Florida. ✓ Isabel Montenez – Professor at School of Geoscience, University of coral/mud mounds, researching the University of California at Santa Texas at Austin, and former director petrology and diagenesis of these ✓ Charles Groat – DEG Cruz, a past AAPG Distinguished of Penn State University’s EMS sediments. president-elect, former head of the Lecturer and recent co-author for Environment Institute. He has U.S. Geological Survey and current the paper on paleoclimate chaired several national research ✓ Lee Gerhard – Retired director director for the Center for determination in Permian. Her boards, including the Board on of the Kansas Geological Survey International Energy and lecture topics were “Evolution of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and professor at the University of Environmental Policy, and holder of Strontium and Carbon Isotope of the National Academies. ❏

PLEASE VISIT US DURING THE AAPG ANNUAL MEETING AT BOOTH #601 President from previous page

affordable to low-income geologists – or No one helps you see the support graduated dues in future years. It’s OK to throw out the dirty bath water, but be careful with the baby! potential as clearly as Paradigm. * * * This year’s Executive Committee has listened to members’ views on global climate change, and we have appointed an “all-star,” balanced committee to recommend a set of facts on global climate change (see box above). As stated in my January President’s Column, this committee’s work should result in a set of facts on climate change that will replace the current position paper and that can be distributed at member’s request in the form of a pocket-sized card. This change is occurring because we are listening to AAPG members, not because we are listening to members of other organizations. Appointing the ad hoc global climate change committee was one of my most important tasks this year as president. I relied upon the wisdom of the Executive Committee, but also DEG President Jane McColloch and DPA President Rich Green. Every member I asked to serve on the committee agreed because it is such an important issue to him or her, and they want AAPG to “get it right.” Why is AAPG’s position on climate change so important? ✓ Members need facts to See more, learn more, extract communicate with their own communities, newspapers and more with Paradigm technology. government officials as debate on climate change policies intensify both in Paradigm just acquired Earth Decision Sciences™ the United States and globally. Global to accelerate earth sciences to your desktop and policy makers need our geologic input to reveal more about your digital subsurface Earth make scientifically sound decisions. ✓ The current policy statement is not models than you could ever imagine. supported by a significant number of our With advanced model-centric Rock and Fluid™ members and prospective members. Interpretation and Earth Decision Suite™ solutions AAPG is indebted to this dedicated from Paradigm, you can reduce uncertainty and committee, and we are anxious to see improve accuracy by analyzing rock and fluid their recommendations. properties simultaneously. Being president of AAPG is challenging and consuming, but the Throw away convention. This is a new era of attitude and help from volunteer merging geology, geophysics, petrophysics, members make it all worthwhile. modeling and engineering. See you in Long Beach,

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© 2007 Paradigm Geotechnology B.V. All rights reserved. The following are trademarks or registered trademarks of Paradigm Geotechnology B.V. or any of its affiliates (collectively, “Paradigm"): Paradigm logo, Earth Decision Sciences, Earth Decision Suite, Rock and Fluid and GoCad and/or other Paradigm products referenced herein. All other trademarks are owned by their respective owners.

MARCH 2007 5

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MARCH 2007 6

Annual Convention Starts April 1 Long Beach Offers a Lot of Firsts

By VERN STEFANIC begins one hour later in the exhibits hall. EXPLORER Managing Editor Update: Hotel Rooms Are Going Fast As Lockman and others said, there California, here we come. are other “must see” events as well, For the first time in over a decade, Still waiting to start your engine on additional rooms at other hotels for the including: ✓ AAPG is returning to southern California preparing for the AAPG Annual convenience of the attendees, so The Career Center will offer a for the 92nd Annual Convention and Convention? we’re all still in the race for rooms. variety of tools and special events for Exhibition, which will be held April 1-4 at Here’s a hint: Don’t wait too much To reserve a room, either refer to attendees to connect to employment the Long Beach Convention Center. longer to put the pedal to the metal. the Housing Reservation Form from opportunities, including an April 1 Built around the theme With registration for the Long Beach the convention announcement that seminar on “How to Be An Independent “Understanding Earth Systems – meeting roaring off to a fast start, the was mailed to members in January, or Geologist.” ✓ Pursuing the Checkered Flag,” Long AAPG housing block was about to get download the form from the AAPG This year’s student poster sessions Beach has attracted more than 1,000 “lapped.” In other words, the rooms Web site at www.aapg.org, and fax to will provide the greatest student oral and poster presentations spread out were gone. (330) 963-0319. participation in the history of the annual over 11 themes that are diverse and However, AAPG has contracted for See you at the finish line. ❏ meeting. global in scope. ✓ End-of-day refreshments will be Included in that total are eight forum offered at 4:30-5:30 p.m. both April 2-3 or special sessions, plus the annual field trips and meeting venue offer “a deep water reservoirs … and on in the exhibits hall. Michel T. Halbouty Lecture at 5:10 p.m. once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Monday you could then immerse ✓ “Music and Mayhem” is the Monday, April 2, which this year will be cannot be duplicated. yourself by attending all or some of the Tuesday night social activity, when Kurt Rudolph’s talk (see page 22) on “We have linked most of the field trips 22 technical sessions (oral and poster) attendees have an exclusive night of “Current Petroleum Exploration Trends: to technical sessions to provide a focused on deepwater reservoirs. music, food and fun at Long Beach’s Prudent Investment or Irrational comprehensive learning experience,” “To put the icing on the cake you popular Blue Café. Exuberance?” Lockman said. “California provides a could conclude your convention ✓ This year, the meeting will have an Add to that the various luncheon laboratory in its backyard where world- experience by heading back to the field official ending: The Sundowner speakers, a large exhibits hall filled with class outcrops and analog exposures for five days and view the outstanding Reception will be held Wednesday at the latest in information and technology abound. deepwater facies outcrops California 5-6:30 p.m. on the convention center’s plus a large array of short courses and “Seeing the rocks is still the most has to offer,” he said. promenade patio, overlooking the Pacific field trips, and convention organizers effective way for a geoscientist to gain Ocean. say you have the setting for a superb an in-depth understanding of the earth Plenty of Highlights This year’s convention marks the first conference. systems we think about on a daily basis. time Long Beach has served as the site “The technical program is the “For example,” he continued, “if The convention officially starts at 4 for an AAPG annual meeting; Los foundation of the meeting – I believe that deep water clastics are the focus of p.m. Sunday, April 1, with the opening Angeles has been the host on six (it) is one of the strongest in years,” said your work, you could start your session, featuring AAPG President Lee previous occasions, and Anaheim was meeting general chair Dalton Lockman. convention by taking a Saturday pre- Billingsley’s address plus the the site in 1973. AAPG’s most recent “Those attending will find information convention field trip to view presentation of AAPG honors and California-based annual convention was about new technologies, exploring new sedimentology and facies architecture awards, when Arnold Bouma will receive the 1996 meeting in San Diego. basins and developing strategies to of channelized slope deposits 50 miles this year’s Sidney Powers Memorial Detailed convention information and maximize production and reserves.” from the convention center. On Sunday Award (see page 16). registration instructions can be found He added that the technical sessions, you could view cores from multiple The traditional Icebreaker event online at www.aapg.org. ❏

MARCH 2007 7

MARCH 2007 8

Photo courtesy of the Long Beach Public Library Collection Photo by QT Luong Those were the days: The Signal Hill oilfield at Atlantic and 28th Streets, circa 1930 (above left), was an urban forest of drilling rigs – and a testament to the historic importance of oil in California. To the right, the proud tradition of exploration and production in California continues. Urban Oilfields in Disguise Oil Flows ‘Confidentially’ in L.A. By BARRY FRIEDMAN depth of 140 meters (460 feet) at the EXPLORER Correspondent AAPG members Steve Testa and Basin and the important role this area corner of Colton Street and Glendale Petroleum is serious business in Robert Hatcher Jr. will lead the AAPG has played in the development of the Boulevard, near present day Dodger California and is as much a part of the Annual Convention’s “History of petroleum industry. Stadium. The story is they used what for state’s genealogy as starlets, freeways Petroleum Geology Forum: Speakers will chronicle the role and the time was considered state of the art and movie stars turned governors – Contributions of Southern California to impact our understanding of technology – the sharpened end of a maybe more so. Petroleum Technology and geoscience and engineering and eucalyptus tree. In fact, the petroleum industry has Development,” from 1:30-3:30 p.m. technological development has played Within two years of their find, 80 wells been California’s number one export Sunday, April 1, at the Long Beach in the development of Southern were producing oil in the area. By 1897, through the years and historically the Convention Center. California’s urban oil fields. the number of wells increased to 500. most profitable industry in the southern This year’s history forum, now a The forum will end in time for the Doheny, who would soon become a part of the state. regular Sunday event during the annual meeting’s opening session and awards millionaire, is perhaps best known for his Correcting what he thinks is the meeting, will focus on southern ceremony, which will be held nearby in involvement in the Teapot Dome Scandal, common misconception of what made California – notably the Los Angeles the LB Convention Center. an oilfield in Wyoming that involved California what it is, Stephen Testa, questionable dealings between the executive officer of the State Mining and Department of Interior, the sitting Geology Board of California, says, that ✓ California’s initial oil boom (1865- Angeles Basin. Wyoming senator and Doheny, who was “the great city of L.A. was built on oil – not 66). Over 3.4 billion barrels of oil have eventually acquitted. gold or the entertainment industry.” ✓ The doldrums (1866-75). been produced from fields in the LA The most successful oilman of the Further, Testa, who has taught ✓ The revitalization period (1875- Basin since the first discovery. time, though, wasn’t really of oil and hazardous waste management, geology 1900). While there had been some drilling in wasn’t a man; Emma Summers, a music and mineralogy at California State The discovery and development of the the north of the state near San Francisco, teacher, was an investor, and by 1900 University at Fullerton and petroleum Los Angeles City oilfield in 1892 would the major action was down south. she controlled half the production in the environmental engineering at the lead to the discovery of numerous other In 1892, two mineral prospectors original Los Angeles Field. She became University of Southern California, says the fields throughout the Los Angeles Basin. named Edward L. Doheny and Charles A. known as “California’s Petroleum Queen.” discovery of the oilfields in Los Angeles During the early 1920s California became Canfield were in the downtown area of In 1900, four million barrels were was the single most important moment in the most oil productive state in the Los Angeles when they saw the wheels of produced. By 1910 the figure had grown the history of petroleum in California. country, and by 1923 one of every five their cart were coated in tar. to 77 million barrels. Then, inexplicably, It is a history filled with prostitutes, barrels of oil produced in the United Doheny and Canfield soon discovered production slowed, until three major fields charlatans, extortionists and robber States was extracted from the Los the Los Angeles Field after drilling to a were discovered in rapid succession – barons – as well as some really unsavory Huntington Beach (1920), Santa Fe characters. Springs (1921) and the biggest of them Not surprising, then, that the The colorful tower might look like just one more random art piece in Los Angeles, but it all, the Signal Hill (or Long Beach) Field in relationship between the state and oil has really is Venoco’s “Tower of Hope,” a drilling rig cover whose design is based on the 1921. always been somewhat ambivalent. drawings of children. Clearly, oil has a beautiful presence in Los Angeles. Time magazine wrote in 1926: As attorney for the petroleum industry, The Standard Oil Co. of California is a Bruce Webster, once commenting to Los complete cycle in the oil industry. It is the Angeles magazine about an oilfield, said, largest individual producer of crude oil in “They ruined a perfectly good oilfield by the U.S. and dominates the marketing of building a city on top of it.” petroleum products along the west coast of both Americas. Boom Times An Uncertain Future? It started with a bubbling crude, as the noted oil expert Jed Clampett once As colorful as its history was, explained. petroleum in California – particularly Seeps were many and indigeneous southern California – has always been a people used the tar to waterproof their tough love for the communities in which canoes. The most famous seep was it operated. found in La Brea, in the southern part of The population of the city of Los the state, which for thousands of years Angeles doubled between 1890 and had trapped animals looking for food. 1900, then tripled again between 1900 There were four distinct periods in the and 1910. As people and industry early history of California oil, all of which jockeyed for land, an uneasy peace was were steps in the path to the state’s agreed to. In the 1930s and ‘40s, to modern industry standing: appease residents who neither liked the ✓ The early reconnaissance (1849- 64). Photo courtesy of Department of Oil Properties, City of Long Beach See California, page 10

MARCH 2007 9

MARCH 2007 10 Judges Needed for Long Beach

There are a couple of questions that accomplishing, helping to make a at the ‘Best of AAPG’ session. arise around AAPG convention time, difference and you being involved in a “Obviously, the judges thought well and both deserve an answer. scientific, worthwhile exercise. You’ll of my paper. So I got a second free trip ✓ Question #1 – How can I get meet some new colleagues as well. to sunny California, and had a great involved? On a personal note, here is a time. Soon after, I was contacted by ✓ Question #2 – How can I “give comment from Patrick T. Gordon, Tom Barber, Halbouty’s general back” to the profession? exploration manager for Gaither manager, asking me to come back to There is one answer for both: Petroleum in Houston: Houston to work for them. That was one Volunteer to be a judge at the Long “In San Francisco in June 1981, of the best moves I ever made. Beach meeting. while a geologist for Gulf Oil in Midland, “I owe it all to the hard-working It is an important job and it is a I gave an oral paper on a Texas Gulf judges who thought well of my oral chance to “give back.” The job rewards Coast gas field at a session chaired by presentation. Thank you.” Photo by W.F. Guerard Jr. excellence, helps promote competence Michel Halbouty. Although I did not win To become a judge, make a notation Drilling with a flair: When people think of – and boosts the profession. the Matson best paper award, I was on your registration. If you already have California they often think of doing things The service will last for just one asked by the awards chairman if I registered, contact Terri Duncan at with a creative touch – and that goes for session (or more, if you like) and you would like to give the talk again at the (800) 364-2274, ext. 641, or at the oil industry, too. Above, an artistically will have the satisfaction of SEG convention in Los Angeles that fall [email protected]. ❏ painted pumping unit in the Coalinga oilfield, Fresno County, California.

California Downhole Seismic Services – The Best Choice! from previous page

noise, sight or smell, wells were soundproofed with vinyl-coated glass cloth with one-inch sheet fiberglass filling to decrease the noise. As the state’s population exploded in the second half of the century, architects had to find even more ways to camouflage the drilling for petroleum products – and are still finding them today. According to Susanne Garfield, media and public outreach director of the California Energy Commission, the latest 2006 Energy Information Administration figures indicate California ranks third in the nation among oil producing states – behind Texas and Alaska – if offshore operations are excluded. It ranks fourth overall (behind Louisiana, Texas and Alaska) when offshore operations are included. Still, the state last year had to import about 42 percent of its oil from foreign countries. Today, California refines more than 1.9 million barrels of crude per day, ranking it third highest in the nation. Not surprisingly, considering its nearly 30 million people, the state ranks first in the United States in gasoline consumption and second in jet fuel consumption. Testa, who also is president and founder of Testa Environmental Corporation, believes the problems that the industry and the state face now will be Industry-Leading Technology with Experience, those they face 50 years from now. “It’s a green state (actually the Flexibility and Personal Service southern portion is rather brownish and Baker Atlas Downhole Seismic Services and VSFusion recognize that each client is different dry), but who’s taking notes?” and every well is unique – while providing the flexibility to meet our clients’ needs with Apparently voters. worldwide availability and unsurpassed personal service. California is the only oil producing state that does not collect drilling VSFusion – Baker Hughes’ joint venture with CGG provides a full spectrum of borehole royalties, so a bill was proposed last year, seismic application design, data processing, interpretation and integration with the Proposition 87, that would force oil companies to pay taxes for drilling most experienced borehole geophysicists and industry-leading software to improve your privileges until the state raised $4 billion, reservoir description. which was to be used for alternative fuel research. Downhole Seismic Services – DSS offers experienced and dedicated engineers along You would think that California, known with the latest in digital data acquisition systems. With the most expansive range of for its eco-friendly environment and downhole seismic equipment in the industry today, Baker Atlas delivers a widespread ferocious green movement, would have passed the measure overwhelmingly – availability of advanced borehole seismic acquisition services compared to any other especially considering oil company borehole seismic contractor. profits of the past year or two. The same electorate, though, which Combined, we are the Best Choice for all your borehole seismic needs. requires oil producers to plant palm trees and install night lighting to hide their wells and derricks, defeated the measure handily. As to whether the best, brightest days A Baker Hughes - CGGVeritas Company are ahead or behind California’s

or more information, visit our website www.bakerhughes.com www.vsfusion.com www.bakerhughes.com visit our website or more information, petroleum industry, Testa is philosophical. F © Hughes Incorporated. 2006 Baker The BEST Choice “Let’s just say the bulb still works when you flip the switch.” ❏

MARCH 2007 11

MARCH 2007 12

33 Honored in Long Beach Bouma Leads List of Awardees

Arnold H. Bouma, a much honored and internationally respected geologist with a sequence named in his honor, heads the list of those who will be honored at the AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif. Bouma, an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University, is this year’s recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award, and one of 33 people who will be honored by the Association at this year’s awards ceremony. The ceremony is part of the meeting’s Bouma Amoruso Dolly Downey Smith Steward opening session, which will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 1, in the Long Beach Convention Center. The session also will include a pre- show multi-media look at the geology, history and current petroleum industry activity of Long Beach and the surrounding region; welcoming remarks from General Chairman Dalton Lockman; the presidential address from Lee Billingsley; and remarks from Bouma. AAPG awards, approved by the Executive Committee, are presented annually to recognize individuals for Adesida Guzman Hurst Lorenz Mason service to the profession, the science, the Association and the public. Executive Committee to honor those who Full biographies and citations of all distinguished themselves by their As a recipient of the Powers Medal, have provided excellence in Association award winners will be included in a accomplishments and through their Bouma is bestowed the Association’s leadership. future BULLETIN. service to the profession of petroleum highest honor (see related story, page Receiving the inaugural Halbouty Those award winners approved by geology and to AAPG. This year’s 16). Outstanding Leadership award is John the Executive Committee and who will honorees are: In addition, this year’s slate of Amoruso, of Amoruso Petroleum in be honored along with Bouma and ❐ Edward D. Dolly, The Houston honorees includes a new award – the Houston, an AAPG Honorary member, Amoruso in Long Beach are: Exploration Co., Denver. inaugural Michel T. Halbouty former AAPG president and member of Outstanding Leadership Award, the AAPG Foundation Corporation (see Honorary Member Award approved earlier in 2006 by the related story, page 18). Presented to members who have continued on next page

MARCH 2007 13 continued from previous page

❐ Marlan W. Downey, Dallas. ❐ Daniel L. Smith, Sandalwood Oil and Gas, Houston.

Outstanding Explorer Award Presented to members in recognition of distinguished and outstanding achievement in exploration for petroleum or mineral resources, with an intended emphasis on recent discovery. Schulz Battacharya Fritsche Graham Fritz Milling ❐ Dan B. Steward, Republic Energy, The Woodlands, Texas.

Distinguished Service Award Presented to those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG. This year’s honorees are: ❐ Adekunle A. Adesida, Shell Petroleum (Nigeria), Lagos, Nigeria. ❐ Alfredo E. Guzman, Pemex, Veracruz, Mexico. ❐ Andrew Hurst, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland. Flawn Gerhard Warner Hunt Mitra ❐ John C. Lorenz, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. ❐ Erik P.Mason, Shell Oil, Katy, ❐ Stephan A. Graham, Stanford of AAPG members to public affairs – and ❐ W. Herbert Hunt, Petro-Hunt, Texas. University, Stanford, Calif. intended to encourage such activities. Dallas. ❐ Valary L. Schulz, Matador This year’s honorees are: Resources, Dallas. Special Award ❐ Peter T. Flawn, retired (president Presented to individuals and emeritus, the University of Texas at Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award Grover E. Murray organizations whose area of work may Austin), Austin, Texas. Presented to honor and reward the Distinguished Educator Award not qualify for one of the existing awards, ❐ Lee C. Gerhard, Thomasson author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN Presented for distinguished and but are worthy of Association Partner Associates, Lawrence, Kan. article published each calendar year. outstanding contributions to geological recognition. This year’s honorees are: ❐ Edward M. Warner, Expedition Oil, ❐ Shankar Mitra, Gerardo Correa education, both at the university level ❐ Richard D. Fritz, executive director, Denver. Figueroa, Jesus Hernandez Garcia and and toward education of the general AAPG, Tulsa. Antonio Murrillo Alvarado, for “Three- public. This year’s honorees are: ❐ Marcus Milling, executive director, Pioneer Award Dimensional Structural Model of the ❐ Janok Bhattacharya, University of American Geological Institute, Presented to long-standing members Cantarell and Sihil Structures, Houston, Houston. Alexandria, Va. (Posthumous) who have contributed to the Association Campeche Bay, Mexico,” which ❐ A. Eugene Fritsche, retired and who have made meaningful appeared in the January 2005 (emeritus – California State University at Public Service Award contributions to the science of geology. Northridge), Winnetka, Calif. Presented to recognize contributions This year’s honoree is: See Awards, next page

MARCH 2007 14 Awards from previous page

BULLETIN. All are with the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.

Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Award Presented to honor and reward the author/editor of the best special publication dealing with geology a published by the Association. Figueroa Garcia Alv rado Salvador Brachman Shurr ❐ Amos Salvador, for AAPG Studies 54, Energy: A Historical Perspective and 21st Century Forecast. Salvador is with the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.

George C. Matson Award Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the AAPG Annual Convention in Houston. ❐ Steven H. Brachman, for “Integration of 3-D Seismic With Geologic Knowledge Can Detect Non- Amplitude Combination Traps and Haggar Chadima Economides Kinney Cowdery Discover New Pay Zones in the 600 BCF Mature Play, Northern Lafourche Parish, Geosciences in the Media Award Gabriel Dengo ❐ Jonny Wu, department of geology, Louisiana.” Brachman is with Pogo Presented for notable journalistic Memorial Award Royal Holloway University of London Producing, Houston. achievement in any medium, which To honor and reward the best paper (UK), for “4-D Analogue Modeling of contributes to public understanding of from the AAPG International Conference Transtentional Pull-Apart Basins.” Jules Braunstein Memorial Award geology, energy resources or the and Exhibition in Perth, Australia. Presented to honor and reward the technology of oil and gas exploration. ❐ Dale A. Leckie, with Nexen Inc., House of Delegates best poster presentation at the AAPG ❐ Michael J. Economides, a prolific Calgary, Canada, for “Sequence Honorary Membership Award Annual Convention in Houston. author with 11 books either authored or Stratigraphic Controls of Reservoir The House’s highest honor, presented ❐ George W. Shurr, Thomas Haggar co-authored to his credit, and with two ‘Sweet Spots’ in Coastal and Shelf in recognition of consistent, dedicated and Sarah A. Chadima, for the poster more books in press; honored for his Deposits – Cretaceous Guadalupe and exemplary service to the HoD. “Exploration Strategies for Ultra-Shallow most recent best-seller, The Color of Oil. Formation, Colombia.” ❐ Edward D. Dolly, Houston Microbial Methane on the Eastern Economides is a professor at the Cullen Leckie’s co-authors were Elvira Exploration, Denver. Margin of the Williston Basin.” Shurr is College of Engineering, University of Gomez and Miguel Jose De Armas, both with GeoShurr Resources, Ellsworth, Houston. with Nexen Inc., Bogotá, Colombia. House of Delegates Minn., and Haggar and Chadima are He will be the featured speaker at the Distinguished Member Award both with the South Dakota Geological All-Convention Luncheon at this year’s Ziad Beydoun Award ❐ Carroll L. Kinney, Edmond, Okla. Survey, Vermillion, S.D. AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, To honor and reward the best poster ❐ Robert D. Cowdery, Wichita, Kan.❏ Calif. (see related story, page 24). presented at the Perth meeting.

MARCH 2007 15

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MARCH 2007 16 ‘Milestone’ Finding Launched Career Bouma’s Sequence Was Just a Start

By DENNIS KING “I honestly don’t know how it came to be EXPLORER Correspondent Rocks always held a special called the Bouma sequence ... But after fascination for young Arnold Bouma as he wandered around the natural-gas rich that, it seemed whenever I was introduced fields near his hometown of Groningen, The Netherlands, turning over stones and puzzling at their shapes and people would say, ‘Oh, you must be the son composition. But it was at the side of a most unlikely of Bouma.’That really ticked me off.” mentor that the teenage Bouma got his first insights into the deeper mysteries of geology and learned he could actually identified a sequence for dividing deep- and came to the attention of the famed make this earth science his life’s work. water turbidites into intervals – which later Professor Ph. Kuenen, a pioneer in “I guess you could say my first came to be known as “the Bouma deepwater research. teacher was a local gravedigger,” said Sequence” – was, the citation states, It was Kuenen who interested Bouma Bouma, this year’s AAPG Sidney Powers “truly a geological milestone of the 20th in turbidites as a wide-open area of Medalist. “He was a most fantastic century.” research. person with only two years of schooling, Arnold H. Bouma will receive the “My interest was so high that Kuenen but he always kept a bucket of rocks that Powers Medal, AAPG’s highest honor, eventually said to me, `Why don’t you go he’d found in his work. during the Association’s annual with Ten Haaf to Italy (on a research “He was well known by the local convention April 1-4 in Long Beach, Calif. mission) so you can see what turbidites professors, who sometimes came to him “When I was a boy, I didn’t even know are really like?’” to see what he had collected,” Bouma geology could be a profession,” Bouma As he moved on to the State University recalled. “I helped him and we found said, a slight chuckle punctuating his at Utrecht to earn his M.S. degree in some of the most beautiful rocks filled lilting Dutch accent. geology, sedimentology and with fossils, all Paleozoic.” “I just knew that I enjoyed collecting paleontology in 1959 and a Ph.D. in From that primary, down-to-earth rocks. I just liked them.” sedimentary geology under Professor beginning, Bouma went on to become, in D.J. Doeglas in 1961, Bouma said he Bouma, 1978 the words of his Powers citation, “an Kuenen’s Impact continued his research using European extraordinary geoscientist, a prolific outcrops and flume studies. author and editor, an educator committed But the counsel of the wizened The precocious student’s original goal petroleum exploration since its earliest to the highest standard of teaching and a gravedigger, visits to local museums and was to substantiate Kuenen’s widely held days. researcher who advanced the a restless, inquisitive mind eventually led theories on deepwater depositional As his research progressed, the geocommunities’ knowledge through his Bouma to the State University in dynamics. student began to question his professor’s innovation, creativity and tireless Groningen. There, after a 20-month But here Bouma reveals something of model. contributions to deep-water military service in the Army ended by the the maverick in his nature, a trait that sedimentology and stratigraphy.” death of his father, Bouma followed his seems to connect neatly to the intuitive, Bouma’s 1962 research findings fascination with rocks to the classroom wildcatting spirit that has marked continued on next page

MARCH 2007 17 continued from previous page What’s in a Name: The Bouma Sequence Finding “The” Sequence This is the definition of the “Bouma depositional energy overlain by Bouma’s findings revealed that bed- sequence,” as found in the successively finer grained and scale turbidite dynamics were much more Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary: better stratified sediments like complex than those proposed by sands and muds deposited under Kuenen. Bouma sequence: n (geology). A calmer conditions that are labeled “In Europe, in those days, professors characteristic sequence of sedimentary as Units A though E. In practice, were considered higher than God,” structures occurring in sedimentary however, the chaotic, high-energy Bouma recalled with a wry bemusement rocks deposited in areas of deep water nature of turbidite deposition can in his voice. So when his research sedimentation by turbidity currents, alter or remove underlying promised to break new ground and call which form deposits called turbidites. In sediments so that incomplete into question his professor’s prevailing theory, a complete Bouma sequence sequences of sediments typically theories on sedimentary flows and comprises sediments that fine upwards, remain preserved. deepwater deposits, Bouma said simply, consisting of a lowermost layer of See: clastic sediment, “Kuenen didn’t like it.” coarse, chaotic clastic sediments sediment, turbidite, turbidity current. Courtesy of Schlumberger: Oilfield Glossary Nevertheless, the student pressed on deposited under conditions of high at www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com and his doctoral dissertation, titled “Sedimentology of Some Flysch Deposits: A Graphic Approach to Facies namesake discovery become the be-all, Gulf Research and Development their three sons. Interpretation,” published and widely end-all of his career. Company. When Gulf Oil was purchased None of his sons, Bouma noted with a distributed in 1962, set off numerous In 1962, he accepted a Fulbright post- by Chevron in 1985, Bouma assumed the light laugh, followed him into the earth laboratory and field research studies and doctoral fellowship to work with Professor position of senior research associate with sciences. “One of them is an engineer, formed the basis of what eventually came Francis P. Shepard at the Scripps Institute Chevron Oil Field Research Co. the second a professional in the Army to be known in the field as “the Bouma of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. During his corporate tenure, he and the third one is a prosthodontist,” he Sequence.” Then in 1966, Bouma immigrated to oversaw Leg 96 of the Deep Sea Drilling said proudly. Making his name with such a America with his family to accept an Project on the Mississippi Fan and Texas- landmark discovery so early in his career academic post in oceanography at Texas Louisiana Continental Slope, and he Still Going Strong has had both amusing and aggravating A&M University. helped produce the documentary film repercussions, Bouma said. He taught there until 1975, when he “Deep Water Sands” for the BBC and Back in Texas, Bouma has taken an “I honestly don’t know how it came to was asked to join the U.S. Geological AAPG. adjunct professorship in the Department be called the Bouma Sequence,” he said. Survey, initially in the Pacific-Arctic Bouma returned to the academic of Geology and Geophysics at Texas “I was never able to find out where it branch and then in the Atlantic-Gulf of world in 1988 when he was named A&M, and in his retirement, he said, “I’m started. But after that, it seemed Mexico branch. Charles T. McCord Professor of Geology busier than ever.” whenever I was introduced people would “One reason I went to the USGS was and Geophysics at Louisiana State He’s currently working on a textbook say, ‘Oh, you must be the son of Bouma,’ that at that time it was not easy to place University at Baton Rouge. There he on sedimentology, one he is determined because they thought if you had students in jobs or research projects,” taught and served for a few years as “will not be too thick, too expensive and something important named after you Bouma said. “The job market was not director of the Basin Research Institute will cover the subject in a way that will be then you must be a very old man, or very good, but with my position there I and head of the School of Geosciences. accessible for students.” maybe you had to be six feet under. could help my students find work.” He retired in 2005. In addition to teaching and involving “That really ticked me off.” Having experienced both the At that point, Bouma and Lieneke, his his students in field trips and hands-on academic and government climates, patient and supportive wife of more than research projects, Bouma is pushing Stretching Out Bouma made a move into the corporate four decades, decided they wanted to forward with a bold plan to establish a world in 1981, joining Gulf Oil as a senior move back to College Station, Texas, Shale Studies Center at Texas A&M that Nevertheless, Bouma said he was scientist and working his way up to chief where Bouma began his teaching determined not to let that single scientist and acting vice president for career and where they began raising See Bouma, page 20

MARCH 2007 18

Amoruso to Receive Inaugural Honor ‘Go-to-Guy’ Gets Halbouty Award

By LOUISE S. DURHAM “You lead by instilling the desire to foster EXPLORER Correspondent It’s always fortunate when an the already driven purpose of helping – organization has a recognized go-to person it can rely on to assume a position they want to do the work, and you want to of leadership to rally the membership to accomplish its target goals. Independent geologist John Amoruso help them to reach the mutual goal.” – past AAPG president, AAPG honorary member and AAPG Foundation Corporation member – is that kind of guy. Besides his considerable AAPG involvement, Amoruso has served as recalled, “but I wasn’t interested or adept your responsibility, you got it done – we president of several other prestigious at it, so I looked around to see what I all had to pitch in and show leadership.” geoscience organizations, including liked. Amoruso noted he has held some job GCAGS, SIPES, HGS and AGI. Along with “I took my first course in geology and or other with AAPG since the mid-1960s, taking on this array of presidential had the most dynamic professor I ever when the annual meeting was held in responsibilities, his additional positions of had,” Amoruso said. “He was a fantastic Houston. As a newcomer to Houston in service in these and other professional lecturer, and I took to it right away and 1965, he joined the HGS and began his groups comprises a list that fills pages of have liked it ever since. long record of service with that single-spaced text. “I think of it as a real blessing,” he organization. It comes as no surprise to his added, “because if you like your job you When queried as to how one colleagues that Amoruso was selected to never have to work – and I love what I succeeds as a leader, Amoruso receive the inaugural Michel T. Halbouty do.” emphasized it’s very different in a Amoruso Outstanding Leadership Award, which professional society than in a company honors those individuals who have shown Helping Hands where someone in a position of authority excellence in Association leadership. tells you what to do, and you must do usually are dedicated to helping, and The award did, however, take the The affable Amoruso noted he has whatever you’re told. most of the time you have people willing recipient by surprise. always liked to participate in whatever “In a professional society, you’re all to work together to advance the goal that “I was flabbergasted,” Amoruso said, group he joined. But he points to his volunteers,” he noted. “Fortunately, with particular society has. “and very, very pleased. Mike and I were service in the U.S. Navy as the probable geologists you’re dealing with a lot of “You lead by instilling the desire to friends who respected and liked each training ground for the many leadership people who want to help the science and foster the already driven purpose of other, and I consider this award a great roles that ensued. the profession. In fact, the vast majority of helping – they want to do the work, and privilege.” “We were on a destroyer – the USS geologists get involved for the betterment you want to help them to reach the mutual Amoruso’s career in geology almost English – and we had a lot of of everybody. goal.” didn’t happen. responsibilities, because a destroyer is a “Everyone’s a volunteer, and you’re a “When I got to Tufts for undergraduate small ship and there weren’t a lot of worker at one time and a leader at work, I was enrolled in engineering,” he officers,” he said. “When something was another time,” Amoruso said. “Volunteers See Amoruso, page 20

MARCH 2007 19

MARCH 2007 20

Amoruso For the Record: Amoruso’s Career from page 18

Houston geologist John J. Amoruso, of Delegates. Section (GCAGS). the winner of AAPG’s inaugural Michel 1994-97 – Chairman, DPA Committee 1980-82 – Chairman, Governmental Enter the Young T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership on Honors and Awards. Affairs Committee. Award, has had a career of dedicated 1992 – DEG founder, charter member. 1979-82 – Corporate Advisory The new Halbouty award is ranked as and excellent achievement in 1991 – AAPG Certificate of Merit. Committee. AAPG’s second most distinguished honor, leadership – including, and especially, 1990-91 – Chairman, Twenty-First 1979-80 – Chairman, Strategic second to the Sidney Powers Memorial for AAPG. Century Committee. Committee on Public Affairs. Award. Only one award is given during His AAPG resume includes: 1987-90 – Membership Committee 1979-80 – Vice president, Gulf Coast any one calendar year. (chairman, Gulf Coast Section). Section. The Halbouty Award previously was 2007 – Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding 1987 – Honorary Membership. 1977-79 – Secretary, AAPG. known as the Michel T. Halbouty Memorial Leadership Award. 1986-99 – Secretary, AAPG Foundation. 1976 – Vice chairman, House of Human Needs Award, but the award’s 2002, 2005 – Corporation member, 1986 – AAPG Foundation Trustee. Delegates Committee. intention and name were changed last year AAPG Foundation. 1984 – Member, AAPG Foundation 1975-77 – Distinguished Lecture by the Executive Committee to honor 1999, 2006 – Vice chairman, AAPG Trustee Associates. Committee. outstanding leadership. Foundation. 1984-87 – AAPG Advisory Council. 1973 – A.I. Levorsen Award, Southwest This award and the Sidney Powers 1998-99 – Chairman, Twenty-First 1983-84 – President, AAPG. Section. Memorial Award shall be mutually Century Committee. 1982-83 – President-elect, AAPG. 1970 – A.I. Levorsen Award, Gulf Coast exclusive. Amoruso will receive his honor 1998 – Member-at-Large, AAPG House 1981-82 – President, Gulf Coast Secton. ❏ during the opening session of the Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif. He noted it’s been a joy to be involved Meet us at AAPG in all levels in the professional societies – emphasizing the friendships developed booth and the network that goes hand-in-hand 1639 with membership and hands-on participation. As might be expected, this high-profile leader has a keen vision of what must come next. When it’s a question of successful acquisition... “The one thing you have to get used to is that for the success, growth and continuation of any organization, the younger members have to step up and fill those spots themselves,” Amoruso said. ... Ask Fugro “If everything is right with the organization, they will want to do the same thing – to help the profession and Fugro-Geoteam’s flagship, the newly converted 3D/4D vessel Geo Atlantic, acquired the science as much as you do. “You can’t be a hanger-on and keep some position that others could take,” he more than 100 sail line kilometers per day during it’s first full month in production. noted. “The only way to keep it viable is to involve the younger people – and there are a lot of the young ones who are very dedicated.” ❏ Bouma from page 17 will forge an academic-corporate partnership to set up a new system of shale studies employing industry cores and outcrops and utilizing the talents of geology and engineering students. The center’s mission, he said, will be to investigate the forces that create shale and how shale eventually becomes oil and gas. “There’s still a lot we don’t understand about shale, and since it makes up about 60 percent of sediments that are the source of oil and gas, I think it’s a fantastic area of research,” Bouma said. Despite owning a wall full of plaques, awards, citations and professional honors, Bouma, now in his mid-70s, still bubbles over with enthusiasm as he talks about his latest ventures. He said he’s seen enormous changes in the field during his career, with breathtaking advances in technology and heavy reliance on Inspiring In production Interested? computer science. State of the art technology. Up to 10 streamers. Contact Fugro-Geoteam AS. But while the computer is a useful tool, he said, it can’t replace the intelligence, experience, keen observational skills and intuition of the dedicated geoscientist. “There are still discoveries to be made, but it won’t be the computer that tells us what it all means,” Bouma said. “For that, we always have to go back to the rock to find out what we Fugro-Geoteam AS, Hoffsveien 1C, PO Box 490 Skøyen, N-0213 Oslo, Norway Tel +47 22 13 46 00 Fax +47 22 13 46 46 Web: can do with it and what it means. www.fugro.no “And for that,” he added, “the geologist who can explore and NO OTHER COMPANY CAN PROVIDE THE SAME COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF GEOTECHNICAL, SURVEY AND GEOSCIENCE SERVICES observe and think is still the most important thing.” ❏

MARCH 2007 21

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MARCH 2007 22 Costs, Risks Rising It’s a Great Time to be Prudent

By DAVID BROWN – we’re also going to continue to move development, but there is a tremendous reservoir quality concepts that recognize EXPLORER Correspondent out into more remote and higher-cost potential for additional recovery from deep porosity preservation and It’s a complex and competitive world areas,” he said. these fields,” Rudolph said. improved drilling and production for exploration. ExxonMobil has recognized the need Developing near-field opportunities capabilities, Rudolph said. Expensive, too. for an evergreen understanding of play also avoids the competitive cost of One challenge for the industry is Kurt Rudolph grapples with those settings around the world, according to acquiring new acreage, he noted. identifying basins where deeper plays issues and many more as chief Rudolph. “Exploiting new reservoirs in known may emerge, he said. geoscientist for ExxonMobil Exploration “Over the past 20 years we’ve done fields and plays usually implies a “There is usually more promise in a in Houston. dozens of studies revisiting areas, paradigm-shift, often driven by new basin that is more complex, has multiple Rudolph will present the Michel T. working to understand the regional concepts, technology or data,” he petroleum systems and has also seen Halbouty Lecture at AAPG’s annual characteristics,” he said. observed. inefficient exploration because of the convention in Long Beach, Calif., on leasing history,” Rudolph said. “Basins “Current Exploration Trends: Prudent ✓ The need to recognize and develop ✓ The pursuit of deeper and more that have these characteristics, such as Investments or Irrational Exuberance.” near-field potential. subtle plays in known areas. His main message? “Maturing fields in well-known Today, the industry can extend plays Prudence and balance are producing areas do not seem ripe for through improved seismic imaging, continued on next page necessary, now more than ever. As the company’s top earth scientist, AAPG member Rudolph reviews ongoing programs and works on special projects for ExxonMobil Exploration. He also serves as an adviser to senior management on upstream opportunities and technical matters – a job that requires an in-depth, up-to-date view of global exploration. Rudolph describes six trends in exploration today:

✓ An increasingly competitive environment with a changing political and commercial context. He said this climate continues to drive up the cost of opportunity capture for the industry, because of increased competition for exploration blocks, the rising expense of doing business and higher profit shares by host governments. While recent oil and gas prices have spurred exploration efforts, Rudolph said the commercial context of operating can’t be ignored. “Everybody has been focused on oil and gas commodity prices, but if you look at the other aspects affecting our industry – like the cost of steel, or drilling day rates – they’re going up at similar rates,” he said.

✓ The proliferation of large and varied data sets and the associated tools to interpret them. “There’s been some debate in AAPG about what people are calling ‘Nintendo geology.’ But we really have no choice but to use the computing tools to interpret and integrate more and more information,” Rudolph said. Exploration will need all the tools enabled by large data sets, according to Rudolph, but the use of data should enhance geological understanding and not replace it. “It’s basically a pragmatic imperative to deal with these high-end data sets,” he said. “But as we continue to use very large data sets, we can’t stop recognizing the importance of geoscience fundamentals.”

✓ The importance of understanding basin and play characteristics and being able to forward-model the earth. “As we move into unproven areas, our ability to understand and forward-model petroleum systems is becoming more important in terms of high-grading prospects and dealing with risk,” Rudolph said. He emphasized the necessity of ground-truthing and calibrating current knowledge, for both frontier exploration and play development. “As we more fully exploit some of these plays – say, in West Africa, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico deepwater plays

MARCH 2007 23

Historical Perspective continued from previous page

OPEC/ Globalization/ Emerging US Dominated Exploration Global Expansion Post WWII Growth Nationalization Mergers Countries? the Gulf of Mexico, have a long history of 80 Deep Water generating multiple plays. 3D Seismic CDP Seismic “Simpler basins are more efficiently 70 Single FoldSeismic creamed, and often see significant Seeps, SurfaceExploration value-destruction as exploration 60 continues with little material success,” he Increased added. Recovery 50 ✓ The development of non- 40 DISCOVERED OIL DISCOVERED GAS conventional resources – tight gas, heavy ? oil, shale gas and coalbed methane. OIL ? 30 “These resources have very different DEMAND ? characteristics from more conventional GAS resources. They tend to have a long 20 Produced ? DEMAND asset life. They require integration of Oil New Discoveries subsurface engineering and commercial 10 Produced aspects,” Rudolph said.

Oil-Equivalent Barrels (Billion)* Gas “They are operationally very intense 0 and they lend themselves to a constant 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 * Conventional resources only learning approach. The development Graphic courtesy of Kurt Rudolph and introduction of new engineering technologies are very important here,” he added. Rudolph believes the nature of non- conventional resource plays will require a longer-term and more integrated model for exploration. “Basically, you’re exploring while you’re developing while you’re producing,” he noted.

Finding the Balance

In the Halbouty Lecture, Rudolph will present specific examples related to each of these trends, drawing from exploration and development work in North America, West Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. He plans to close with a summary of

TODAY’S DECISIONS CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK’S LOGS. today’s realities and a more philosophic look at the future of the industry. “I think everyone’s aware of the discussions about Peak Oil that have been going on. The bottom line is, we’re going to be in a challenged time for meeting the world’s energy demands,” he said. Tackling that challenge in an increasingly complicated world will require an ever more integrated approach to exploration, one that utilizes information across areas, business stages and disciplines, and across geoscience, engineering and commercial considerations. No one knows everything the future will bring, Rudolph said. The industry faces numerous uncertainties, so managing these uncertainties in a thoughtful way is a key to success. “If you look at the classic learning curve, with knowledge and understanding increasing with time, the key opportunity for success is when that curve is steepest, and your understanding is the most volatile,” Rudolph said. “If you wait until your knowledge is more complete, it is often too late – options for action have closed and the opportunity has been lost,” he noted. At the same time, meeting the world’s future energy needs will require big investments, with continued pressure on AnswersWhileDrilling.com the industry to perform at very high levels. “But on a hopeful note, the industry has a long track record of meeting these type of challenges,” he said. In a complex, competitive and expensive climate for exploration, the industry needs a prudent, balanced approach. It might be a good time to hedge your bets, Rudolph thinks. “In this uncertain environment, you need to spread your investment over these various elements of the portfolio,” he said. “That’s always been important, but it’s going to be even more important in the world we live in now.” ❏

MARCH 2007 24

But Things Like This Are Driving the Oil Price Pay No Attention to This Headline!

By DAVID BROWN Author, teacher, consultant and College of Engineering at the University EXPLORER Correspondent AAPG award winning journalist Michael of Houston; managing partner of a “Geopolitics and headlines have J. Economides will be the guest petroleum engineering and strategy been controlling oil prices for easily the speaker at this year’s All-Convention consulting firm; and editor-in-chief of past seven years,” noted Michael J. Luncheon, which will begin at 11:30 the Energy Tribune magazine. Economides. a.m. Monday, April 2, at the Hyatt Also on the luncheon agenda is One of the most recognized – and Regency ballroom. presentation of officer candidates for recognizable – figures in the oil and gas Economides, winner of this year’s the AAPG Executive Committee and industry, Economides will discuss Geosciences in the Media award, will this year’s AAPG Teacher of the Year, “Energy Geopolitics” as the All- speak on “Energy Geopolitics.” Ryan Henry. Convention Luncheon speaker on Tickets to the luncheon are $30. For more information, go online at Monday, April 2, at AAPG’s Annual He is a professor at the Cullen www.aapg.org. ❏ Convention in Long Beach, Calif. He will present his views and opinions on headline topics affecting the industry. noted the close ties Chavez has to other Ahmadinejad. That’s promising for two reasons. Latin leaders, particularly Bolivian “There is a common thread between First, the world today has no shortage President Evo Morales. all of these guys,” he said. “Basically, of scary headlines about geopolitics and “They are not alone – they are very they are socialists of different types.” energy. popular, without a doubt. They’ve been a OPEC tried to cushion oil price spikes Second, Economides never has a disaster for their countries,” he said. to avert serious recession in oil- shortage of opinions. The tightness and price of world oil consuming countries, but the energy Economides He is a professor in the Cullen supplies will determine the clout Chavez militants would welcome economic College of Engineering at the University wields in the future, according to suffering in the West, especially in the of Houston and managing partner of a Economides. United States, Economides said. good as any restaurant in Houston.” petroleum consulting firm. “At $75 oil, Chavez is a 1,000-pound “They would love $100 a barrel oil,” Far short of the domestic resources it The author or co-author of 11 books – gorilla,” he said. “At $50 oil, he’s he noted. needs in order to develop economically, with two more on the way – and editor- reduced to a monkey.” “Geopolitical militants have certainly China currently derives 70 percent of its in-chief of the Energy Tribune, held sway in recent years. To complicate power from coal, “something the U.S. Economides also will receive AAPG’s Headline: matters you have China, which has an hasn’t seen since the 19th century,” Geosciences in the Media Award at the ENERGY MILITANTS ON MARCH insatiable appetite for oil,” he added. Economides observed. annual meeting, for his recent best- Economides sees the emergence of “China is the greatest emerging seller, The Color of Oil. an “axis of energy militants” – national Headline: superpower in the history of the world. leaders who want ever-higher oil prices CHINA SET TO PASS U.S. People in the United States need to Headline: regardless of the consequences to the Economides has traveled to China. recognize this. China will surpass the LATIN AMERICA LUNGES LEFT world economy. He said “Beijing has 200 hotels and the United States in many ways, very soon,” Economides called Venezuelan In that group he included Chavez, worst is as good as the best hotel in he predicted. President Hugo Chavez “an Russian President Vladimir Putin and Houston. Beijing and Shanghai have anachronistic version of Eva Peron” and Iranian President Mahmoud 1,000 restaurants and the worst is as continued on next page provides an alternative QS

MARCH 2007 25

continued from previous page Chevron’s Jack field, will have huge The organization’s member countries Even worse, Iran has become a net consequences for the United States. once had a surplus production capacity importer of natural gas, and uses about “The impact that ultra-deepwater of 10 million barrels a day, but that has half its oil production to generate production will have on the U.S. energy dwindled to almost nothing, he said. electricity. As an irony, Venezuela’s Chavez is supply is so great that I believe it may Today, the energy militants are more “As their population goes up, they are “the leader most joined at the hip to the reverse the long-term trend exactly the likely to move market prices. using more and more oil for power United States,” Economides said. way Prudhoe Bay did when it came “Russia – which isn’t a member of generation, which is preposterous in The United States has the refining online,” he said. OPEC, of course – has been acting like these days,” Economides said. capability and markets Venezuela needs the most militant of OPEC countries,” “Nuclear power generation is very for its heavy oil. Now there’s talk of China Headline: Economides said. rational for them. That would free oil for retrofitting refineries and diverting that RUSSIA RETRO UNDER PUTIN external sale,” he added. heavy oil for its own consumption, Economides said he is working on a Headline: according to Economides. book about what he calls the re- U.S. NEEDS SENSIBLE POLICIES Headline: He said that would be a disaster for Sovietization of Russia under Putin. In reacting to the 2007 State of the MIDDLE EAST TOP CONCERN the United States. “He’s not just taking Russia back to Union address by President Bush, While Iraq and Iran now dominate “You have China out there lurking to Brezhnev. He’s taking it back to Economides said, “I thought I was U.S. attention, geopolitics in other parts take Venezuela’s heavy oil. It will be very Khrushchev. Putin is taking Russia back listening to (former presidential of the world continue to affect the global interesting how that will play out over the 50 years – you have to go back 50 years candidate Sen. John) Kerry. energy picture, according to next few years,” he observed. to see what you see going on in Russia “The United States is a huge Economides. now,” he said. consumer of energy, and on top of that “Basically, you have the events in the Headline: He agreed that the takeover and we have some of the dumbest energy Middle East, the fear factor in the Middle GEOPOLITICS PADS OIL PRICE forced sale of Yukos assets was “the policies in the history of the world,” he East. But there are many other events Right now, the equilibrium price of oil theft of the century,” and noted the said. that have taken place,” he said. is $40, Economides said. On top of that emergence of Russian giant Gazprom as In regard to a push for more ethanol Given the Iraq War and the sensitive price, the market has added a a world-scale energy force. in the U.S. fuel supply, Economides nature of events in the Middle East, that headlines-and-geopolitics cushion, he “Gazprom is just such a gargantuan commented “ethanol is a scam, you region probably will remain a focus of stated. company – six times the size of Shell, for realize. Ethanol has a net negative concern, Economides noted. “I would say the fear factor in the comparison – it’s a state within a state. energy quotient.” “You want to know the headline that Middle East added $10, not counting The question is whether Russia owns About the United States relying more would move oil over $100 a barrel? Israel Iran. Iran added another $10. And Gazprom, or Gazprom owns Russia,” he heavily on wind and solar energy, he Attacks Iran,” he said. Chavez and Putin were maybe another observed. said, “What nonsense is this? Wind and $5,” he said. Economides said there are even solar are much more expensive than the Headline: He expects the geopolitics price rumors that the current president of most expensive natural gas.” HEADLINES PAINT GRIM PICTURE addition to remain in place for the Gazprom will become the next president “There’s not much good news for the foreseeable future, with a break-out of Russia – and after he leaves office, Headline: oil industry in geopolitics,” Economides possible at any time. Putin will move up to become president IRAN ON POWER TRIP observed. “The headline that didn’t happen – of Gazprom. “The fact of the matter is, Iran has “It would take very little for the price but it could have had a huge impact – been hurting badly,” Economides said. of oil to go up. Even $50 a barrel, or $55 was the UN deadline on Iran came and Headline: “During the time of the Shah, Iran was a barrel, can be ill-afforded by went without a whimper from the United OPEC MEMBERS LOSE CLOUT producing six million barrels a day. Now Venezuela and Russia,” he said. States,” he commented. At one time, OPEC could move world they are barely meeting their OPEC But he also advises, don’t pay too oil prices by sharply increasing or quota.” much attention to what’s in the Headline: decreasing production, Economides Iran’s population has increased 75 headlines. They may have no more real DEEPWATER LIFTS said. percent in the past 25 years, he noted, meaning than the headline for this story. U.S. PROSPECTS “OPEC really has very little excess and that growth has diverted energy “As usual,” Economides said, Economides believes the emergence capacity left. It can’t manipulate the resources to fueling power for the “geopolitical issues have a headline of ultra-deepwater discoveries, like market the way it used to,” he noted. country’s development. component, and a reality component.” ❏

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MARCH 2007 26 Graduated Dues, Petition Candidates Major Items on Delegates’ Agenda

By LARRY L. JONES ✓ For the first time in several years, the Bylaws for the establishment of a “vice involved in the nomination of major Chairman, House of Delegates Resolution Committee has been president, regions” office, as initiated by Association officers, can become a The upcoming House of Delegates successfully working with several societies the 2006 HoD meeting and subsequent petition candidate for the election cycle meeting, which will take place April 1 at from around the world to prepare them for vote of the membership. occurring immediately thereafter. the AAPG Annual Convention in Long becoming Affiliate Societies of AAPG, and Next we will deal with “petition Beach, Calif., promises to be a very at least two will be brought forward. candidates.” * * * important meeting for AAPG. Several recommendations were Agenda items include: ✓ However, the greatest interest of this considered relative to this matter, but only The most significant set of motions to meeting will come from the considerations one series of motions will be brought forth, be advanced to the House relates to the ✓ The Rules and Procedures of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. which will completely bring petition establishment of a “graduated dues” Committee will propose certain changes to Their proposals are all related to Bylaws candidates under the same election rules structure for membership applicants and reconcile rules and procedures ` with changes and do not change the AAPG as candidates nominated to the Executive existing members. the AAPG Constitution and Bylaws. These Constitution, hence they will require the Committee for approval. AAPG has experienced a recent net will relate to Nominations, Honors and approval of a two-thirds majority of those In addition, no member of the Advisory increase in membership as the partial Awards and Election Campaign Policy. attending the Long Beach convention. Council or Executive Committee, who is result of concentrated efforts in both the The first of these will be reconciling the finishing their term of office and who was Sections and Regions. However, the general trend is a year-by-year reduction in membership, and AAPG must reverse this trend if we are to maintain the position of the pre-eminent geoscience association. A Graduated Dues Committee was formed to evaluate the options. It compared the significant growth of such associations as SPE and others, plus the manner in which they accomplished their orderly growth. This effort moved from that committee to the Advisory Council, to the staff for documentation, to the Executive Committee and finally to the House of Delegates. It was determined that an “ability to pay” model be proposed. This would be balanced by a reduction in services if less than full dues were being paid. There would be a three-tier system established based on gross personal income. The present dues for members and Associate members with more than four years of membership are $80 (U.S.) per year. The concept is not geographically bound and could benefit a part-time professor, a retired individual or one who has lost his job or an international member or applicant who works for a low paying national oil company. All members at some point could benefit. The brackets would have dues established as $80 for gross personal income greater than $50,000; $40 for $50,000 down to $25,000; and $20 for less than $25,000. This would be accompanied by a reduction in services for less than full dues. Full dues could receive hard copies of both the EXPLORER and BULLETIN; second tier would receive a hard copy of the EXPLORER plus a digital copy of the BULLETIN; and third tier would have

See HoD, page 30

Candidates for House of Delegate officers have been announced.

Chairman-Elect ❐ Sandi Barber, project manager, SAIC, Houston. ❐ George Bole, consultant and instructor for the University of Tulsa’s Department of Continuing Engineering and Scientific Education. Previously with Amoco.

Secretary/Editor ❐ David Farmer, vice president, Stanolind Oil & Gas, Midland, Texas. ❐ Robert E. Webster, senior geoscientist, Hunt Oil Co., Dallas.

The election will be held at the HoD meeting April 1 in Long Beach, Calif. The one-year terms will begin July 1. The chairman-elect will assume the chairmanship in 2008. ❐

MARCH 2007 27

MARCH 2007 28

Attractive ‘Launch Pads’ to Find Oil THUMS an Oilman’s Island Paradise By BARRY FRIEDMAN Further, in the case of Long Beach, EXPLORER Correspondent wellheads and pipelines must be located For many outside the oil industry, the below ground level to ensure that the term scenic oil island may be something islands enhance the appearance of both of an oxymoron, on the order of harbor and skyline. concerned banker or designer t-shirt. So, the trick is for these well operations But in Long Beach, Calif., there’s a to find peace among the various – and 42-acre oilfield – offshore, in plain view of constantly changing – local aesthetic tourists, port traffic and beach lovers – sensibilities. with 175-foot-high drilling towers and 1,100 wells that penetrate a vast Under My THUMS underground. It may well be the most unique – and The battle lines in California in general beautiful – oil drill site in America. and southern California in particular Of course, you wouldn’t know by between those who favor more oil looking at it. exploration versus those who want more Which is the point. environmental protection are well drawn. It’s the city of Long Beach’s THUMS For every Greenpeace contributor, there is Island project, an approach at the energy advocate who sees an development of the prolific Wilmington untapped well. Field that five major oil companies For most, THUMS is the best template (Texaco, Humble, Union, Mobil and Shell – for a truce. T.H.U.M.S.) undertook to: AAPG member Stephen Testa, ✓ Provide oil. executive officer of the State Mining and ✓ Not offend the aesthetic sensitivities Geology Board of California, says the of oil industry detractors – or anyone else, facility is the “exception, not the rule.” for that matter. Photo courtesy of Occidental Petroleum Corporation By restricting the development to Why the fuss? The THUMS Island project – good for Long Beach, good for the industry. offshore facilities the city of Long Beach According to the city of Long Beach has been able to develop the field, which and the state of California regulations and You’ll probably see the islands as AAPG member John Jepson, a actually underlies the convention center guidelines, oil installations, drilling towers you make your way to the AAPG Annual geologist with the City of Long Beach where the AAPG annual convention will be and rigs have to be constructed to blend Convention – but there’s also a chance Gas and Oil Department, will lead the held. into the environment. In short, structures to get a closer look at what may be the three-hour tour of the scenic oil islands The four islands that comprise THUMS whose DNA doesn’t lend itself to disguise, most beautiful oil site in America. and provide the story of their creation – Grissom, White, Chaffee and Freeman, camouflage and sound-proofing have to Two field trip tours of the THUMS and history. all named after NASA astronauts who died be designed to do more than just pump Island project will be offered during the For more information go online to in training accidents – are located about a oil. Annual Convention – from 1-4:15 p.m. www.aapg.org, and click on the Long mile offshore in Long Beach Harbor. Each They have to look like they’re doing Sunday, April 1, and at the same time Beach section on pre-convention field island is approximately 10 acres and, in something else or, more to the point, like on Wednesday, April 4. trips. nothing at all. See THUMS, page 30

MARCH 2007 29

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drilled from the islands, according to for 13 percent of AAPG revenue, and THUMS Occidental, which has operated THUMS HoD when investment gains were considered, it since 2000. THUMS is the largest crude oil was 11 percent. The worst-case scenario from page 28 producer in the Los Angeles area, with a from page 26 would be a short-term loss of 20 percent combined daily production rate of 38,000 in dues, but savings of not printing the keeping with local regulations and tastes, barrels of oil and 11 million cubic feet of digital only. material and mailing are not considered. is equipped with an irrigation system; natural gas per day. Any member who falls in tier two or If that worst case was true, our AAPG palm, oleanders, sandalwood, figs and THUMS has helped make the three can elect to pay full dues and enjoy revenue would be reduced by 2.6 acacia trees; and sound proofed and Wilmington Oil Field – the third largest field hard copies. percent, and this should be further offset camouflaged oil drilling derricks. ever found in the United States – one of by anticipated increased membership. There’s even an aquarium nearby. the most productive fields per acre the * * * Additionally, abstract sculptures and world has ever known. ✓ Finally, can we trust our members to waterfalls, some as high as 45 feet, are And it is virtually invisible from the Three points, among others, have been place themselves in the proper tier, based offset by other landscaping and night shore. raised. on gross personal income? lighting. I believe we can trust the vast majority Specifically, the islands were My Sweet Embraceable Fuel ✓ Why do we not make everything of them. constructed using 640,000 tons of digital? boulders and 3.2 million cubic yards of One historian told the Honolulu Advisor Many AAPG members want a hard AAPG needs to establish an orderly sand. The boulders, weighing up to five newspaper that the field is a “prime copy, and if we made the EXPLORER growth of membership, who desires to tons each, rest on the shallow harbor example of the aesthetic mitigation of digital we would lose a significant portion make a contribution. I sincerely ask your bottom and form a perimeter for each technology.” of our budget via loss in advertising. support for the graduated dues structure island. THUMS also injects reclaimed city To some, like architectural historian ✓ Dues in the 2005-06 audit accounted course of action. ❏ water to maintain reservoir pressure. Kurt G.F. Helfrich, THUMS represents the More than 1,200 wells have been compromise between industry and the environment, which Helfrich describes as the moment those communities, especially in southern California, went from rejection of technology to the adaptation of it. This psychological journey, if you will, leaves people like Testa somewhat nostalgic. “Early postcards ... illustrate how society used to celebrate its industries – yes, including the petroleum industry, knowing that this industry supported its community,” he said. “Now we camouflage our rigs, but we still do not communicate well with the general public.” The industry, though, does seem to be getting better at it. THUMS was the first upstream oil and gas producer in California to join the California Climate Action Registry, an environmental group looking at climate change, specifically greenhouse gases. Occidental will now report all emissions from its operations, both offshore and on. “THUMS is taking an important step in demonstrating environmental stewardship,” said Diane Wittenberg, president of the California Climate Action Registry, during the announcement. “We hope other oil and gas producers within the state will soon follow.” More importantly than just its cosmetic advances, though, is this: in its 40-year history, THUMS has not experienced a single pipeline leak. Frank Komin, facility president and general manager, added that “in addition to investing millions of dollars to install pollution limiting equipment throughout our operations, we are working to help meet California’s energy needs by developing a long term supply of clean burning natural gas.” Specifically, Occidental operates the eastern offshore section of the Wilmington. The field, discovered in 1932, is estimated to have three billion barrels of oil at its discovery and has poured more than $4 billion into California’s economy THUMS does have its share of challenges, though, namely the field is about 90 percent depleted, according to John Jepson, a geologist with the city of Long Beach Gas and Oil Department. The field will revert to city control when the wells dry up. “Here in southern California,” he said, “we have such a diverse economy and so many people (an estimated 10 million) that few people know of the local oil industry.” THUMS, he says, “is a great example of the pressures facing the local oil industry. This field is 85 years old, has produced almost a billion barrels, has millions of barrels left to recover, but the wells cannot compete with properties worth millions. “It makes for a very interesting discussion of land use,” he said – regardless of how many palm and acacia trees you plant. ❏

MARCH 2007 31

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MARCH 2007 32 Survival Depends on Skills, Smarts Independents: Lessons to Teach

By LOUISE S. DURHAM Monika Ehrman will present the paper the big guys but also the independents Gas Practice Group at Locke Liddell & EXPLORER Correspondent “From Wildcatters to Wall Street: The Role and small operators who fill the critical role Sapp, who will make a presentation at the Admittedly angry over Big Oil’s big of Independents and Small Operators in of finding and producing the bulk of meeting. profits the past couple of years, a host of Today’s Oil Patch” at 3:20 p.m. Monday, America’s own oil and gas resources. “It’s the independents who produce elected officials in the nation’s capital April 2, at the AAPG Annual Convention. Given the current anti-industry most of our oil and gas resources (an recently cobbled together a package of Her talk is part of the AAPG Forum on jockeying in the D.C. crowd, it’s timely estimated 90 percent of the oil and gas onerous proposed legislation designed to Independent Producers Re-Exploring indeed that a forum at the annual AAPG wells in the United States),” she said, “but strip the industry of tax breaks and to force Mature Fields. meeting in Long Beach, Calif., will include the role of these companies and the small it to increase royalty payments. She will be followed by Vincent J. a presentation tagged “From Wildcatters to operators is overshadowed by the supers, However, it would be prudent for the Hamilton’s talk on “Building a European Wall Street: The Role of Independents and such as Exxon, BP and others. zealous lawmakers to take an extra deep Independent,” and a panel discussion. Small Operators in Today’s Oil Patch.” “People are not as aware of the breath of the apparently thin air enveloping “The importance, particularly today, is important role independents play,” Ehrman Capitol Hill in order to calm down and proposals, once enacted, may well there’s a real push for growing our own noted. “This can be a one or two-person oil examine a major potential consequence of decrease domestic oil and gas production domestic natural resources, especially in company in West Texas with its own rig, their current shenanigans: (read: increase imports). After all, the new terms of natural gas production,” said and also the larger independents who The hastily assembled anti-industry laws undoubtedly would impact not only Monika Ehrman, an attorney in the Oil & have grown from being focused on a regional area, and in some cases have grown internationally and then decided to come back to a domestic area.”

Valuable Lessons

Independents and small operators are usually leaders in a specific geographic area, Ehrman said, and they become leaders in operating these areas and in the technology. The former Mitchell Energy comes to mind given its almost two- decade effort to develop the technology to produce gas in commercial quantities from the now-hugely-productive Barnett Shale. There are plenty of lessons to be harvested from these smaller members of the oil patch, according to Ehrman, who noted several examples:

✓ The first thing one can learn from an independent or small operator is how to define a scope, she said. This involves defining an operating area, which could entail divesting assets scattered geographically, including overseas, and narrowing the focus. Ehrman cited, for example, EnCana’s “amazing” set of international and domestic assets and the ultimate divestment of some non-key properties to focus on domestic natural gas production. She noted still another way to define yourself is by resource area, such as the Barnett, the Fayetteville Shale or the Canadian oil sands.

✓ How to set and measure goals is yet another lesson to be learned. Ehrman noted what makes a successful independent successful is they have a way to set and measure goals (whether formally or informally) and the level of risk. The risk can be financial, geographic, technical, political, etc. Independents have the advantage over the majors here in that it’s easier to communicate and focus on goals with fewer levels of management; measurements of risk levels or limits are performed on a routine schedule.

✓ Become an expert – either keep up with or develop technology that makes you a leader in the designated area. This doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive or the most cutting edge technology but what works best for the particular objective. For example, producing marginal wells in the Oklahoma Panhandle may require less sophisticated technology than what is needed to frac the producing intervals in some of the now- popular shale plays.

✓ The successful independent avoids empire building – the goal is to become the best company in a particular area or region. Whether private or public, the aim is to grow for the sake of quality. And it’s not always about acquisitions; it also entails divestitures where practical. ❏

MARCH 2007 33

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MARCH 2007 36 World Fields Study Shows Trends Giants Like Stable Environments By DAVID BROWN Paul Mann will present the paper EXPLORER Correspondent “Emerging Trends form 69 Giant Oil and It’s unusual for researchers to predict Gas Fields Discovered from 2000-2006” where future exploration will discover at 1:20 p.m. Monday, April 2, at the elephants, the world’s largest oil and gas AAPG Annual Convention in Long fields. Beach, Calif. It’s even more unusual when they turn His co-authors are Mike Horn and out to be right. Ian Cross. One of the industry’s most interesting The paper is part of a session on research projects deals exclusively with “Searching for Success: New Areas, the past and future location of giant fields. Concepts and Challenges.” Paul Mann will present a project update at the AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif., in the session “Emerging “The term ‘giant oilfield’ gets bandied Trends from 69 Giant Oil and Gas Fields around a lot. My interest was to remove Discovered from 2000-2006.” their mystique by taking the locations of all Mann is senior research scientist for the giant oil and gas fields and plotting them University of Texas Institute of Geophysics on geologic maps,” he added. (UTIG) in Austin. That required (a) valid information on He collaborates on the giant fields known giant fields, and (b) an adequate project with Mike Horn, a Tulsa consultant and reliable geologic world base map. and a past AAPG editor, and Ian Cross, a Information on existing giants came vice president for IHS in Houston. from Petroconsultants, later part of IHS. For Their work locates and types giant the base map, Mann chose Exxon’s world fields around the world and relates them to geologic map compiled in the 1980s, their basin settings. By definition, a giant “since it’s a global map with a standard field contains at least 500 million barrels of Map courtesy of Paul Mann color and symbol scheme,” he noted. ultimately recoverable oil or gas “We are merging state-of-the-art equivalent. up to 2000, Mann and his colleagues back to a series of World Oil articles production and discovery information with Horn said recent work indicates that predicted that new giant discoveries for published in 2001. Another descriptive the latest thinking on basin-forming about 40 percent of world hydrocarbon 2000-09 would occur primarily in passive paper appeared in AAPG Memoir 78, mechanisms,” he said. resources comes from giants. margin and rift environments, especially in Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade As he plotted the known giants, many “Traditionally, people have been saying deepwater basinal settings. 1990-1999. showed up in proximity in “clusters” of that 50-60 percent of ultimate recovery is They also projected the addition of That monograph was edited by the late large field groups. found in giant fields,” he said. “I think that giant fields in known areas, including Michel Halbouty, who had prepared “The advantage of this approach was figure is down to about 40 percent now.” hydrocarbon provinces of the Persian Gulf, previous volumes tracking decadal giant that it took a global look at these 23 West Siberia and Southeast Asia. discoveries starting in 1960. cluster areas,” Mann said. “We also A Good Start So far, those predictions have been “What I found lacking in the previous classified the types of basins in which spot on. giants literature was a global and tectonic After analyzing giant fields discovered Mann said the giant fields project dates scale of observation,” Mann said. See Giant Fields, page 38

MARCH 2007 37

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Has Another Giant Been Found? The first giant field discovered since the University of Texas-Austin. 2006 may already have been found. “This is an old rift-passive margin According to Russian press reports, a setting now in an interior cratonic area – new giant field with as much as 42 trillion most don’t make it this far given the cubic feet of recoverable gas was deformation events that get discovered in eastern Siberia, near the superimposed on top of the margin existing Kovykta supergiant throughout its history and its gas/condensate field. amalgamation into the craton,” he noted. “It’s an interesting (giant fields) cluster Mann and his colleagues who map area because this is the only cluster on giant fields expect about 33 giants to be earth that is derived from upper discovered worldwide in the period Precambrian source rocks,” said Paul 2007-09. Mann of the Institute of Geophysics at – DAVID BROWN

can be the reservoir,” he said. Giant Fields Another example of rift-like settings are failed rifts, where separation failed to from page 36 occur – in the North Sea or Australia’s Bass Strait, for example. these fields occur.” “We also use the term second-chance That also proved challenging. Mann re- giants. Faulting may breach a lower examined previous basin classifications reservoir but the upwardly migrating oil is devised since the 1960s and ‘70s, and trapped in an overlying reservoir,” Mann updated basin nomenclature to be more in said. “An example is migration out of the line with current thinking on modern plate Eocene of Lake Maracaibo and into the tectonics and subsurface geology. Miocene in the Bolivar coastal fields. As a result, patterns began to emerge. “The more stacking and redundancy of “We found out that there were two reservoirs, the more opportunities for basin types, which account for 60-plus second-chance giants,” he added. “The percent of all the giants that exist,” he Persian Gulf is our densest giant cluster, in said. part because of multiple reservoirs and Generally speaking, those are basins seals allowing little escape.” with rift or passive margin settings. “The reason is that these passive Basin Instinct margin and rift environments are very stable. If you think of a collisional or a Clusters can occur in other types of strike-slip environment, it’s an unstable settings. The collisional basins of western and unpredictable tectonic environment China, where one new oil and three new for a large oil or gas reservoir to survive,” gas giants have been found, represent a Mann said. promising area. “The preservation potential of giants is “Occasionally you also find what we greatly enhanced in passive margin and call lock-box giants, like the Permian rift environments, especially when they are Basin, that got sealed over by evaporites distant from active plate boundaries,” he and left alone in a cratonic area as plate observed. boundaries moved away,” Mann said. An example is the Gulf of Mexico, he Those exceptional giants are more said, “which was largely bypassed by the likely to be encountered in cratonic areas lithospheric-scale tectonic deformation like central Russia, he added. associated with its unstable neighbor to Understanding basin characteristics the south, the Caribbean plate.” will be key to finding future giants. On Mann’s map, the North Slope of ‘An Exciting Database’ Alaska appears promising for a giant-field cluster. Mann’s research identified 863 giant But “northern Alaska does have its fields discovered through 1999. Since problems. It’s a foreland basin and those then, another 33 new oil giants and 36 are always riskier since they’re an open new gas giants have been found. system at the updip end, so harder to “It’s an exciting database that allows us seal. There’s also a lot of Tertiary faulting to sort on various properties of the giants, that’s breached reservoirs and allowed including tectonic setting, reservoir type, loss of oil,” he said. source rock, discovery year and many That reflects the relative other variables,” Mann said. unattractiveness of older basinal settings “We can also place the giants onto disrupted by more recent activity. Older plate tectonic reconstructions produced basins have the same problem as old oil. by UTIG’s ‘PLATES’ project and track them “The longer it sits around, the more that through time and space – for example, all can happen to it, in a negative sense,” giants that share the same late-Jurassic Mann observed. source rock,” he noted. Conversely, some areas may become Mann said plots of discovery year show more promising than they first appear. a century-long march of exploration from “There are examples where you had North America and the Persian Gulf to relatively poor onshore deposits and very Asia and the Southern Hemisphere. rich offshore. I think the eastern margin of “The oldest giant in our list is from India is an example of that trend,” Mann 1868,” he said. “Many fields achieve giant said. status long after their original discovery. “Unlike the Gulf of Mexico, where there For example, Ghawar in Saudi Arabia has been a steady march from onland to reached giant status in the 1990s but was shelf to slope to deepwater, eastern India originally discovered in 1940s.” has gone directly to deepwater,” he The largest single group of new giants observed. “Now other oil-poor countries was found in the rift/collisional setting of with deepwater areas are eager to prove the Persian Gulf – six oil and five gas. their potential.” Another three new oil and two gas giant The rate of giant field discoveries discoveries occurred in the rift/collisional peaked in the 1960s and ‘70s, then began setting of the Caspian Sea. a fairly steady decline. Mann said the The sag-rift combination appears significant number of new giants found in especially promising for giants, Mann the past five years is an exception. noted. “During this period we’ve had a “We classify them as rift basins reversal of the trend. It’s exciting to see because they look to be sag basins that the 2000-06 giant discoveries show a overlying older rift basins. It works well small upward spike in the overall because the sag basin either acts as a trap or seal to keep oil in the rift basin, or it See Field Clusters, page 51

MARCH 2007 39

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MARCH 2007 40 Seminars, Field Trip, Reception Events Aimed at Young Geologists

Are you a student who’s anxious to geoscientists come from? methods of sequence stratigraphy. kids – and proceeds benefit AAPG have a good start in your petroleum ❐ What is expected from the future student chapters. career? geoscientist (major oil companies and Monday, April 2 A recent hire who’s anxious to step to independents). ❐ The AAPG Member Plaza and ❐ Student Lounge (sponsored by the next level? ❐ Education/tools/qualifications for the Bookstore/General Store, both in the Chevron), also on the exhibits hall floor, A corporate recruiter who wants some next generation geoscientist. AAPG Center in the exhibits hall, will offers complimentary refreshments each insight into today’s young geologists? Other student activities set for Long open for business. day during exhibition hours. If so, a seminar set for the AAPG Beach include: For students, the Member Plaza is the Annual Convention should be among place to familiarize yourself with AAPG ❐ The AAPG/SEPM Student Reception your top priorities of things to do in Long Friday, March 30 benefits and services, and to meet the will be held from 6-9 p.m., at the Hyatt Beach, Calif. Imperial Barrel Competition – A membership staff. Apply for membership, Regency. “The 21st Century Geoscientist: student competition that boasts a 30-year pay dues, change your address – and All students and faculty attending the Developing Interest and Skills for the Next tradition at Imperial College in London purchase member jewelry. convention are invited to enjoy hors Generation of Geoscientists,” is a comes to the AAPG Annual Convention, You also can learn about: d’oeuvres and refreshments; meet and student/new hire development seminar as invited teams from universities around ✓ AAPG divisions (Division of hear from a ExxonMobil representative; that will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the world compete in a contest to assess Environmental Geosciences, Division of and watch the presentation of the Sunday, April 1, at the Long Beach the petroleum potential of a specific Professional Affairs and Energy Minerals Schlumberger-sponsored Outstanding Convention Center. basin. Division). Student Chapter Award, the Jim Hartman It’s one of several activities for ✓ AAPG student benefits, student Service to Students Award, the Imperial students that are planned for the annual Saturday, March 31 chapters and Student Expos. Barrel Award and the top three poster meeting. The SEPM short course on “Sequence ✓ The Visiting Geologist Program. awards from the Shell-sponsored This seminar is open to all experience Stratigraphy for Graduate Students,” from At the Bookstore you can buy onsite or “Selected Academic Research Topics: levels – undergraduate and graduate 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (continuing on Sunday, order material for home delivery; all Student Presentations.” students, recent new hire professionals, April 1), at the Westin Hotel. Instructors books have AAPG member prices, and experienced professionals and corporate Vitor Abreu and Jack Neal, with more than a dozen new publications have Wednesday, April 4 representatives looking to better ExxonMobil Exploration in Houston, lead been released in the last 12 months. The AAPG/SEPM Student Chapter understand recruitment, early skill a course designed to teach graduate At the General Store you can field trip, “Rifting, Transpression and building and discussion of the issues students the principles, concepts and purchase AAPG apparel and gifts for the Neotectonics of the Salton Trough, faced by today’s petroleum industry. Southern California,” will begin at 3 p.m., In the next 10-15 years over 70 and conclude at 6 p.m. Friday, April 6. percent of the petroleum industry’s Spring Student Expo Set March 15-17 The trip, limited to students and faculty geoscientists are expected to retire; this advisers, visits two world-class geologic seminar will focus on the key strategies The AAPG-SEG Spring Break of Oklahoma’s School of Geology and exposures in the tectonically active Salton that academia and the petroleum industry Student Expo, an annual job fair that Geophysics in Norman, Okla. Trough – the remarkable geologic need to take to ensure the replenishment brings students and industry-related There’s free registration for AAPG structure of the Mecca Hills and the of skilled geoscientists. companies together for formal and SEG members. starkly beautiful Split Mountain Gorge. Four formal morning talks, followed interviews and informal networking, will To register online, and for more with discussions, will concentrate on: be held March 15-17 at the University information, go to http://geology.ou.edu. Information on all of the student ❐ The Aging Work Force. activities can be found online at ❐ Filling the Gap – where will future www.aapg.org. ❏

MARCH 2007 41

MARCH 2007 42

Price Isn’t Driving Exploration ‘Unconventional’ Depends on View By LOUISE S. DURHAM number of high risk prospects drilled EXPLORER Correspondent “There are a lot of hydrocarbons – they due to that price,” he said. “Then we Recent, somewhat dramatic price wondered why there were so many dry swings in oil and natural gas futures just tend to be a little different from what holes. have done little to dampen the overall “But the industry is smarter,” he optimistic outlook pervading the industry. we typically thought of in the past. The sky noted. “When asked now if we can Still, volatility historically has been an increase exploration drilling and indigenous component of the business, is not falling.” investment above current levels, I and a tad of caution is a good thing. answer ‘not necessarily, as exploration is In fact, you might say cautious a learning business and has its own optimism will be a central theme of the pace.’ DPA luncheon talk, “Mapping the Global the past because of the unconventional “You can’t make exploration decisions Robert N. Ryan Jr., vice president of Route of the Energy Industry,” to be component.” based on the ebb and flow of oil prices.” global exploration for Chevron Corp., presented at the AAPG Annual will be the featured speaker at the DPA Convention by Robert Ryan, vice The Price of Price-Watching NOT Your Father’s Career Luncheon, at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April president of global exploration at 3, during the AAPG Annual Convention Chevron. If the energy demand forecasts hold Given the dearth of university in Long Beach, Calif. “We tend to hear that the easy oil and true, the industry will be successful in students opting to concentrate in the Ryan’s talk will be on “Mapping the gas has been found,” Ryan said. “But meeting those forecasts when the earth sciences curricula, it comes as no Global Route of the Energy Industry.” that comment usually focuses on what is unconventional becomes conventional, surprise that this industry veteran considered conventional oil and gas. according to Ryan. expressed concern about the future of “When you consider the current list of He noted a time in the past when the where the challenges often extend the industry. unconventional hydrocarbons, heavy oil deepwater was included on the beyond acquiring permission to stake a Specifically, the question is begged: and oil sands, for example, there is a unconventional list in some circles. claim in a specific locale – extremely Who’s going to be around to make it tremendous resource base in the world,” Ryan also emphasized that it’s naïve high lease bids, low contractor takes happen? he noted. “In fact, a survey of to think one energy source sets the and the potential for nationalization “I asked a freshman engineering government, academic and industry course for the future, noting that oil and present their own kind of thorny access student what the talk was amongst the reports might lead you to the conclusion gas (both conventional and challenges. newly arriving engineering students in that trillions of barrels of oil have already unconventional), coal, nuclear and Although commodity prices always relation to the oil and gas industry,” Ryan been found and are just waiting to be renewable fuels all play a role. impact projects, Ryan emphasized the said, “and she answered, ‘It’s what our developed. Relative to oil and gas, access can industry isn’t letting high prices drive the fathers did.’ “There are a lot of hydrocarbons – be a big issue. exploration business. “We need to make sure the next they just tend to be a little different from For instance, many prospective areas “Oil price doesn’t change the rocks,” generation of potential earth scientists what we typically thought of in the past. are off limits to drilling in the United he said. “If a prospect is poor from a and engineers understand this is an “The sky is not falling,” Ryan added. States, making it difficult to increase the technical perspective, oil price doesn’t extremely high tech business that’s full of “I believe the industry is fully prepared to domestic supply and achieve the stated make a difference – it doesn’t change great professional challenges,” he said. meet the challenges of the world’s goal to reduce the volume of imports. the quality of the prospect. “We have an obligation to make sure energy needs – we just probably have to Access looms as a growing problem “Years ago as an industry we reacted the industry has the technical talent it look at it through a different lens than in in far-flung parts of the world as well, to high prices, and increased the needs going forward.” ❏

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MARCH 2007 43 Resource Commodities Under Pressure China, India Demands Hit Home

By DIANE FREEMAN Vince Matthews, state geologist and director of the Colorado Geological Survey, Both China and India are drastically EXPLORER Correspondent will speak on “China and India’s Ravenous Appetite for Natural Resources” at the increasing their use of all natural resources. As the massive economies of China and Energy Minerals Division Luncheon during the AAPG Annual Convention and Although China has large resources of its India tap into valuable mineral resources Exhibition in Long Beach, Calif. own, they are insufficient to fill the internal worldwide, the fallout is stretching far The EMD luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 4. demand, he said. beyond the Asian geographic sphere of Since 2001 the price of nearly every influence. Skyrocketing Demands are by far the leading producer of nuclear natural resource commodity has escalated How far? Think the U.S. West. power in the world. That means we’ll be enormously to meet the demand of these Specifically, those needs mean that In his EMD luncheon talk Matthews will doing even more nuclear power. However, two countries’ exploding economies, he communities in Colorado and other states show statistics and give examples of the there’s a shortage in uranium and the price said. are confronting mineral shortages, skyrocketing demand for minerals. keeps growing. Matthews has served as an executive in according to Vince Matthews, state “There are a lot of things people aren’t “Very few people are aware of this,” he the natural resources industry for Amoco, geologist and director of the Colorado aware of,” he said. “In the U.S. we have continued. “They’re aware that there’s a Lear, Union Pacific and Penn Virginia, Geological Survey. increased our generation of nuclear power shortage of oil and natural gas, but they’re exploring for oil and gas in virtually every Matthews, an AAPG member, said he in the last 10 years but we haven’t built any not clear why there’s so much drilling in basin in the United States. ❏ first began to notice the impact of China’s new plants. Most people aren’t aware we Colorado.” and India’s demands on Colorado a couple years ago. “There are some startling statistics on recent mineral prices and I began to follow those, Matthews said. “I had also given a talk on energy and thought it might be fun to pull some of these numbers. But the more I looked at it, the more shocking the effect I found. “It has adverse effects on Colorado and every other state,” he said. Matthews will be speaking on this subject at the AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif., as the guest speaker for the Energy Minerals Division luncheon. As the state geologist, Matthews and his office is charged with promoting responsible production of mineral resources here. “That means that anything that affects demand affects us,” he said. “We have communities on the western slope of Colorado that are being told they won’t be able to get rural electricity because of a shortage of core steel due to China,” he added.

The Big Driver

In the last 15 years the world has increased its use of electricity by six terrawatts (a trillion watts); according to Matthews, China, India and the United States account for 3.4 terrawatts – more than half – of that amount. “China is the big driver in this,” he said. “Yet there’s another half that comes from the rest of the world, from Bangladesh to Africa. The population keeps growing everywhere, although China has put some limits on its population growth. “It’s ironic that there is a shortage of molybdenum here, yet Colorado is the major producer of molybdenum in the nation,” he said (it’s used as a hardener for steel). “There are companies here that have trouble getting it because China needs it.” A cement shortage in Colorado also is due directly to the demands of China, and “many other things like that are affecting us as well,” Matthews said. Although China’s growth has been fairly steady, there has been a huge increase in demand since 2003. “We’ve seen a real explosion in China in their use of raw materials and global shortages,” he said. “When you look at prices of virtually every commodity from selenium to titanium, all have exploded since then. Some have dropped back in price to where they’re only seven times what they were in 2003. But I certainly think in the next decade it will be a tight market in all of these.” Because the demand is worldwide it affects raw materials in Colorado and every other state, he said. “In Colorado we particularly need to think about it because we’re so rich in natural resources,” he said. “There’s a global shortage of minerals, and people are looking here.”

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‘One Big Dude’ TOTY Won Taking It to the Streets By SUSIE MOORE taught at the Lake Fayetteville EXPLORER Staff Writer Environmental Study Center, as well as at Tulsa native Ryan Henry made history in the Springdale Public School District in two ways when he was recently named the Arkansas. winner of the 2007 AAPG Teacher of the With the guidance Year. of his advisers, Henry The first way is biographical: At 27, came out of the UA Henry is the youngest person ever to MAT program “like a receive the TOTY award, which is veteran teacher,” he sponsored annually by the AAPG said. And when he Foundation to promote earth sciences landed the science education. teaching position at And in keeping with his age, he had the Street School back in perfect phrase when told he was the his hometown he “was youngest recipient ever. “That’s awesome!” on fire for teaching!” he laughed. Henry Street School is an The second way, however, is perhaps alternative school of even more unusual: Henry is being choice program for Tulsa youth ages honored for his efforts while teaching at 14-19, providing “at risk” students an Street School in Tulsa – not a typical setting opportunity – one they otherwise might not when one thinks of earth sciences. get – to receive a high school diploma. Henry, who recently moved with his Henry, who uses expressive words such family to teach in Denver, was nominated as “cool,” “neat,” “amazing” and by the Tulsa Geological Society (TGS) and “awesome,” said he kept his students will be honored on Monday, April 2, during motivated by teaching them things that the All-Convention Luncheon at the AAPG were relevant. Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif. “I tried to make a connection to their He will be honored for teaching all life,” he said. “I probably spent 40-50 science classes offered at Street School, percent of class, especially my geology including: physical science, biology, earth classes, in the field studying the things we science and geology. had talked about in class. “Holy cow! I’d like to thank you guys for “I spent a lot of time focusing on natural recognizing teachers,” he said. “I mean, resources.” this is the kind of thing that keeps people Always the grateful student, Henry fired up!” implemented into his classroom teaching As Teacher of the Year, Henry will the theory from his former UA professor, receive $5,000 from the AAPG Foundation; Walter Manger: “Geology is learned by the $2,500 goes to Street School in Tulsa for soles of your shoes, not by the seat of your educational use under Henry’s direction, pants.” and the other half is for his personal use. “Street School was a perfect place for He also receives an all-expense paid trip to blending my love of hands-on inquiry- the annual convention in Long Beach, Calif. based science,” he said, “and my love for Born and raised in Tulsa – in a nature experiential outdoor learning.” boy sort of way – Henry grew up backpacking, canoeing, swimming in ‘A Positive Difference’ creeks and going on family ski trips in Colorado. And, like a lot of teenagers, his While at Street School, Henry started outlook on school, higher education and life and wrote a grant for a program he named was an aimless trajectory – he was going “Wilderness Adventures.” This program somewhere, he just didn’t know where. provided all Street School students the “What got me through high school was chance to enjoy climbing, canoeing, basically sports and art,” he said. “It was camping and mountain biking over one- to the active things.” four-day expeditions. That all changed when he began taking In fact, the day after he married his wife, geology classes at the University of Katie, they led a group of students they Arkansas in Fayetteville, and he recalled had been working with all year on a three- geology professor Ronald Konig day canoe trip on the Buffalo River in connecting to him with the words, “The Arkansas. earth is one big dude.” Last summer, Henry moved to Denver “From then on,” Henry said, “I was to teach his “one true love,” earth science, hooked on geology.” as part of the seventh grade curriculum for Graland Country Day School. ‘On Fire for Teaching’ Is there hope for the future of education? Henry eventually received both his Henry thinks so – and he’s committed to bachelor’s degree in earth science (2003) the cause. and master’s degree in secondary science “I knew I wanted to make a positive (2004) from UA, and he credits geology difference in the world,” Henry said. with being the inspiration for his entire “We (teachers) are more than just education. purveyors of knowledge,” he added. “We “Every class had a field trip,” Henry as a country need to reprioritize our said, ”and we would actually study the commitment to education. Education is the things outside that you talked about in the only way to get better and it’s sad there’s classroom. That was really kind of the point not more emphasis.” where I was like, ‘Wow, this is what learning Since the birth of his newborn son, Lief, is like!’ And, learning can be so much fun!” Henry has pondered the idea of getting a Still, Henry didn’t put much thought into master’s in geology and working summer teaching earth science until he was invited internships in the industry as a geologist. to help teach a fourth grade class about “I’d love to maybe get out and actually minerals and volcanoes during AGI’s Earth work as a geologist for a while,” he said, Science Week. “and go back to teaching once my son “I had a great time!” he said. gets to that age where we can start taking During his master’s program, Henry big, fun family summer trips.” ❏

MARCH 2007 45 Agendas Taint Climate Debate Gerhard Urges a Look At the Facts

By KEN MILAM Lee Gerhard will present the talk EXPLORER Correspondent “Energy and Environmental Lee Gerhard has a challenge for you: Challenges of the 21st Century” at the “Defend the sciences … Do a better job Division of Environmental Geosciences of critical reading and analysis. Separate luncheon during the Annual fact from agenda.” Convention in Long Beach, Calif. Gerhard is speaking about “Energy and The luncheon will be held at 11:30 Environmental Challenges of the 21st a.m. Wednesday, April 4, at the Hyatt Century,” which happens to be the title of Regency Hotel. his upcoming luncheon address to the Gerhard, an AAPG Honorary Division of Environmental Geology at Member of AAPG, is a founding AAPG’s Annual Convention in April at Long member and past president of DEG. Beach, Calif. “We deal too much with public myth and energy resources for them and maintain not enough with hard data,” Gerhard said. adequate standards of living, despite With more than 40 years in geology and declining resources – all within acceptable environmental studies – including helping environmental impacts. develop DEG – Gerhard is not shy of “The human ‘footprint’ is unique among controversial topics or opinions. animals,” he added. “We have the ability to “The sciences and the public are modify our environment and to tap and use imbued with computer models instead of resources no other animal can use.” observational data,” Gerhard said of the Gerhard’s third major challenge to ongoing climate change debate. AAPG and DEG in particular: Heed the Models, he said, often include “Law of Unintended Consequences.” assumptions that may or may not be “Political choices often ignore the long correct. term,” he said. “This is a huge issue in anything we look For example, in the search for alternate at,” he said. energy sources, ethanol is popular but not Some examples: always cost-effective. ✓ Polar bears are proposed for listing on In Bolivia, crushed sugar cane is used the Endangered Species List because of to produce ethanol. “It’s a very efficient way apparent climate and environmental factors to produce fuel using a spent product … – but their numbers are as high as at any waste,” Gerhard said. point in history, he said. In contrast, ethanol produced in the ✓ Radon gas was trumpeted as a threat United States may have only a slight cost in home basements across the United advantage, “depending on how you count States when studies showed the only cattle feed, increased food costs” and population experiencing adverse effects other factors, he said. was quarry workers who smoked tobacco – “In western Kansas we’re using valuable a group already at risk of lung problems, he water … (and) growing produce to produce said. energy,” the former Kansas state geologist Upstream presentations on ✓ All types of asbestos were called risky and head of the Kansas Geological Survey and subject to expensive cleanup regimes said. “It’s a great farming program” – but and litigation, Gerhard said, though ignores the long-term consequences of Northwest Europe, South America, research showed clear differences in the draining the Ogalala Aquifer, increased effects of different types of the material. erosion from irrigation and other concerns. While “public myth” often pictures In the debate over drilling in Alaska and Africa, Middle East, Russia, Asia, mankind as losing the global environmental offshore United States, we must make a battle, Gerhard said that “from the 1960s choice of “adequate vs. inadequate onward, we have improved the U.S. and supplies and the consequences of both,” Australia, India and China. global environment – otherwise we’d still he said. have a flaming Cuyahoga River,” a “We have to find out if there’s any oil reference to a heavily polluted river through there,” he said of the debate over drilling in Cleveland, Ohio, that occasionally caught Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. SHORT COURSE BY Synthesize the key concepts and applications fire. Looking ahead, he cautioned that “we DR. PETE ROSE The planet’s growing human population have to focus our decision-making.” of RA as a profitable long-term business. is another main theme for Gerhard. Gerhard urged DEG “to look at bigger Management of Geared for organization upper echelons. “We are facing a 10 billion population issues – educate the public and our future world,” he said. “We must supply decision makers.” ❏ E&P Risk Analysis (separate registration – see APPEX website) ONLINE REGISTRATION OPEN! http://appex.aapg.org AAPG INTERNATIONAL PROSPECT PROPERTY EXPOSITION 20-22 March • London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel

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MARCH 2007 46 Once Again, A Winner NAPE Crowd Shows ‘Savvy’ Side By LOUISE S. DURHAM of prospect expos – but that’s only part Promotion Forum. The day concluded financially and technically savvy about EXPLORER Correspondent of the respected role it plays in the with an Icebreaker, which was “jam- the industry,” Billingsley said. “It’s not Once again, the North American industry. packed, shoulder-to-shoulder”, like a bunch of ‘shoe salesmen’ wanting Prospect Expo can be declared a “NAPE is the networking event of the according to geologist Gerritt Wind of to do deals in the mid-1980s. These are winner. petroleum industry,” said Lee Billingsley, Wind & Associates. financially knowledgeable people trying The early February event at the AAPG president and vice president of The crowd in the prospect exhibit hall to make good investments.” George R. Brown Convention center in exploration at Abraxas Petroleum Corp., was the expected mix of E&P Houston, sponsored by the AAPL and its which has had a booth at NAPE companies, service companies and ‘Very Upbeat’ NAPE partners, AAPG, SEG and IPAA: occasions from the get-go. financial entities. A flock of small, newly ✓ Drew a record crowd of 14,482 “The people attending represent so formed E&P companies was evident, Although prospects do get sold on attendees. many aspects of the business – land, which is typical when times are good in the spot at NAPE, usually the deals are ✓ Had 885 exhibiting companies money, geoscience – it’s really a hugely the industry. cut later after a thorough review in an (including a number of international important networking event,” he said. This time around, however, the new office setting. firms). The expo kicked off with the IHS- entrants themselves are not necessarily On the other hand, a number of deals ✓ Attracted 1,450 exhibit booths. sponsored International Forum, which typical. have been known to close before The event is the undisputed kingpin included an International Prospect “These small companies now are making it to the show – using what Billingsley refers to as the “NAPE Stick.” “If you say you’re going to show your prospect at NAPE, then you’re using the threat of a NAPE-like stick,” he said. “That’s one of the values of the expo – you can show prospects ahead, and just the mention of showing it at NAPE will force a decision.” One of the smaller companies that first hit the scene at NAPE with a booth a couple of years ago continues to have a presence there. They call themselves The Unconventionals, and they zeroed in on the potential for shale gas several years ago before it became the really cool thing to do like today. “We’re doing very well,” said Frank Maio, who bills himself as “head honcho” of this band of geologists, geophysicists and engineers. “We have some deals here we generated in the Antrim shale in Michigan, the Marcellus in Pennsylvania and the Floyd in Alabama. “There’s been an evolution in who might buy a deal,” Maio said. “New companies are wanting shale gas, and everyone – big and small – wants resource plays. There’s a whole new tier of potential buyers.” It’s noteworthy that NAPE has the potential to cause companies to become interested in prospects in a region that previously held no interest for them. For instance, Benchmark Oil & Gas was showing its first Alaska-based prospect, and company president Robert Pledger noted a large public company came by and was evaluating A world of opportunities, the prospect, whereas they wouldn’t have considered Alaska before that. revealed. Some of the prospects on display each year reveal more than a tad of humor – Oakmont Minerals, for Imagine the ingenuity it would take to create and and services makes us the provider of choice example, was showing its Dumbo conduct seismic data acquisition programs in even when you need 2D/3D seismic data acquired prospect. When queried about the the most difficult-to-access areas of the world, from and/or processed from land, Transition Zones or name, petroleum consultant Dan Muth replied “We’re looking for elephants, British Columbia to Bangladesh. Imagine the depth shallow water regions anywhere on earth. With 20 and who’s the most famous elephant of expertise necessary to identify and quantify experienced seismic crews who excel at transporting you know?” potential opportunities, cost-efficiently apply and operating sophisticated man- and heli-portable So what can be expected for an encore after this record-breaking NAPE? innovative technologies and techniques, while over- equipment in areas that would otherwise be inac- “This was our fifteenth show,” said coming the challenges posed by severe topography, cessible, we can go wherever your opportunities Robin Forte, executive vice president of ocean currents, tides or extreme weather. Now imagine lead you. And bring back the seismic data that AAPL,” and it’s grown each year in attendance. “This time, we had 11.5 it all being available at a single company, Geokinetics: reveal those that are worth developing. Count on percent growth in attendees over last a global leader dedicated to responding to your Geokinetics for whatever it takes to reveal the true year, and we think it will grow again next immediate needs and achieving your strategic goals. potential of your next energy opportunity, no matter year. “It’s big enough that having it go well Our expanding array of specialists, methodology where in the world it may be. and smoothly is a big deal to us,” Forte said. “The response from the Ingenuity. Expanding. Worldwide. www.geokinetics.com participants was ‘great traffic, lots of deals bought and sold, lot of networking accomplished, very upbeat.’” ❏

For more information on this subject, visit the AAPG Web site.

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Why Do P-Wave Wipeout Zones Occur? (The Geophysical Corner is a regular A simple Earth model consisting of a column in the EXPLORER, edited by shale layer atop a sand layer can be Bob A. Hardage, senior research used to evaluate P-P and P-SV scientist at the Bureau of Economic reflectivity behaviors for the types of Geology, the University of Texas at siliciclastic rocks that occur across the Austin.) Gulf of Mexico, where P-wave wipeout zones are common. By BOB HARDAGE Two pore-fluid situations will be MICHAEL DeANGELO considered: and DIANA SAVA ✓ Both layers have 100 percent brine One hydrocarbon exploration saturation. application that has caused multi- ✓ Both layers have a mixed pore fluid component seismic data to be acquired of 80 percent brine and 20 percent gas. across several offshore areas is the Well-established rock physics theory ability of the converted-S mode to image can be used to determine seismic geology inside broad, thick intervals of propagation velocities and bulk gas-charged sediment where P-P densities for these fluid-sediment seismic data show no usable reflections. conditions. The term P-wave wipeout zone is often used to describe this imaging * * * problem. Numerous examples of P-wave and P-P and P-SV reflectivity curves S-wave images across P-wave wipeout calculated for typical pore-fluid zones have been published, but the conditions are shown in figure 2. rock physics cause of the P-P imaging When the pore fluid is 100 percent problem usually is not discussed. brine, P-P and P-SV reflectivities have opposite algebraic signs but are * * * approximately the same average magnitude (about 5 percent) for One example of differences between incidence angles ranging from 0 to 25 P-P and P-SV images of stratigraphy degrees (panel a). When the pore fluid and structure inside gas-charged changes to 20 percent gas (panel b), sediment is shown in figure 1. P-SV reflectivity is unchanged, but P-P The P-wave wipeout zone shown here reflectivity has a smaller magnitude and extends about two kilometers (from CDP undergoes a phase reversal that 10,000 to CDP 10,150) and is small essentially eliminates the P-P response compared with some P-wave wipeout across the first 30 degrees of the zones, which may span several tens of incidence-angle range. kilometers. P-SV imaging, thus, is not affected by Visual inspection of these images the gas-charged sediment, but P-P shows that the P-P mode provides poor, imaging is seriously degraded. The limited information about geological effect on P-P and P-SV images would be structure, depositional sequences and similar to that exhibited by the data in sedimentary facies inside the image Figure 1 – P-P image (a) and P-SV image (b) across gas-charged Gulf of Mexico figure 1. space dominated by gas-charged sediments that are lithified and stratified. P-P horizons P-H1 through P-H5 are Simple reflectivity analysis thus often sediment between coordinates 10,000 interpreted to be depth equivalent to P-SV horizons S-H1 through S-H5. A P-wave explains much of the reason for and 10,150. wipeout zone extends from CDP coordinates 10,000 to 10,150. P-SV data (b) image degradation of P-P signal inside regions Conventional seismic stratigraphy geology quite well inside this zone. of gas-charged sediment and for the (P-P mode only) would have little lack of negative impact of gas-charged success in analyzing geological sediment on P-SV signal. conditions within this poor-quality P-P One conclusion is that image area. In contrast, the P-SV mode multicomponent seismic data and provides an image that is sufficient for elastic wavefield stratigraphy are not just structural mapping, as well as for helpful for studying geological analyzing seismic sequences and conditions across P-wave wipeout seismic facies. zones; they are essential. These increased interpretation options are obvious advantages of multicomponent seismic data and (Editor’s note: Hardage, DeAngelo elastic wavefield stratigraphy over and Sava are all with the Bureau of single-component seismic data and Economic Geology, the University of conventional P-wave seismic Texas at Austin.) stratigraphy in regions where gas- charged sediments are common. Figure 2 – P-P and P-SV reflectivities for (a) brine-filled and (b) gas-charged sediment.

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Students, Schools Aid Get Push

By DON JUCKETT 110th Congress. The group agreed to ✓ Don Paul, vice president for (CVD), when AAPG members will visit GEO-DC Director initiate their activities with two significant research for Chevron and the chairman elected law makers in Washington as This month I want to highlight three activities. The first is to assemble a of the current National Petroleum part of the Annual Institute of Electrical items for member attention. catalog of briefing material reflecting the Council’s Global Oil and Gas Study. and Electronics Engineers Science, state of the institutions and disciplines ✓ Dan Tearpock, AAPG member and Engineering & Technology event. ❐ The first is to frame an effort by a potentially impacted by the legislative CEO of Subsurface Consultants and This year’s theme is “Science, group of organizations concerned about initiatives. Associates, who will provide a view of Engineering and Technology: Fueling the long-term prospects of faculty and This will require significant work not national and global manpower issues, America’s Innovation.” students in the natural resources only in preparing succinct one page analyzing past trends and events and AAPG’s GEO-DC office became a geoscience and engineering universities. summaries of the state of various projecting the future needs and issues. sponsoring organization for the CVD As we think about what it will take to disciplines and institutions, but also ✓ Michelle Foss, chief energy event last year, and this year we sustain and grow our profession – and some serious analysis of demographics economist and head of the Center for anticipate that twice as many members with it, professional associations like and projections of future needs. Energy Economics at the University of will participate as were present for the AAPG – we must consider what is The group of universities and Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology and 2006 event. required to attract the brightest and the associations will be reaching out to their a past president of the International best students into the established members as the effort matures for active Association for Energy Economics, will ✓ June 24-26 we’ll have the institutions of higher education. support. I hope that AAPG members will address market-related influences that AAPG/SPE Multidisciplinary Reserves This effort began in earnest in the continue to grow their effort. impact the ebb and flow of world energy Conference, at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel in 109th Congress, when the Energy and markets. Washington, D.C. Mining School Reinvestment Act ❐ Back-to-back sessions on ✓ A representative from the SPE Oil The purpose of this conference is to (EMSRA) was included as part of the Wednesday morning, April 4, at the and Gas Reserves Committee will speak engage the users of reserves and House language H.R. 4761 – Domestic AAPG Annual Convention in Long Beach, about the new reserves definitions and resources data – corporate management, Energy Production through Offshore Calif., will focus on issues that affect the guidelines adopted by the SPE/ accounting, banking, investors and Exploration and Equitable Treatment of Association. AAPG/WPC/SPEE in an effort to government – in active discussions with State Holdings Act of 2006. An AAPG Forum: The Washington, standardize practices within the technical professionals who define and While parts of H.R. 4761, including D.C., Office, will explore the first 18 international community. generate these estimates. EMSRA, had strong bipartisan support, months of our GEO-DC office and The “Beyond the Science” session will other more controversial parts and late provide an opportunity to discuss its conclude a panel/audience discussion ✓ Please take a look at a new feature introduction in the 109th Congress future. and a question/answer session of the added to the GEO-DC page on AAPG’s precluded any action on the EMSRA The session that follows, “Beyond the material presented. Web site titled “Recent Events.” We will legislation. The Senate legislative Science: Geopolitics and the Energy Throughout the sessions participants be using that site to keep members language, which dealt only with Sale Industry,” will explore the role of will be treated to the scope and impact of informed of breaking news and events in Area 181, passed as part of the larger geopolitics and its influence on energy these activities and will have the Washington. tax bill H.R. 6111. markets through the eyes of several opportunity to see where AAPG In late January a group of association invited speakers addressing resources, members have made contributions to and university representatives, including reserves, industry manpower and each of these important areas. (Editor’s note: Don Juckett, head of AAPG and AGI, gathered to initiate security, climate change and political AAPG’s Geoscience and Energy Office in strategy discussions on the price premiums in the market. ❐ Finally, don’t forget about these: Washington, D.C., can be contacted at reintroduction of EMSRA legislation in the Invited speakers include: ✓ May 1-2 is Congressional Visits Day [email protected], (703) 575-8293.)

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OUR CHILDREN’S LEGACY: Copyrights Serious THE ENVIRONMENT HELP KEEP IT SAFE Matter for AAPG By BEVERLY MOLYNEUX The American Association of Technical Publications x Petroleum Geologists has announced Quarterly, Peer Reviewed Journal: Managing Editor an agreement with a major E&P vendor Did you know that the U.S. Constitution ‘Environmental Geosciences’ outlining terms of use for AAPG’s addresses the concept of copyright copyrighted publications. protection as being important in order to Specific terms of the agreement x Special Publications: “promote the Progress of Science and were not disclosed; however it does useful Arts”? allow for the vendor to make very broad ‘Field Safety in Uncontrolled Environments’ Copyright, a form of intellectual property use of material from AAPG’s law, protects original works of authorship publications in the development of its x Conference Sessions: including literary, dramatic, musical and commercial products and services. artistic works, such as poetry, novels, ‘The Dynamic Earth: Earthquake Risks and AAPG Executive Director Rick Fritz movies, songs, computer software and stated that, “such an agreement is architecture. Geohazards’ (oral & poster) important to maintain the integrity of How does that apply to petroleum copyrights that have been entrusted to geology? ‘Tsunamis and Hurricanes: The Geologic us by our members and others within AAPG’s own constitution dictates we the global scientific community. AAPG’s Record and the Pending Threat’ (poster) facilitate the dissemination of petroleum underlying mission is to advance the geology knowledge – and one of the best science of petroleum geology, (and) we ‘CO2 Budgets and Greenhouse Gasses: ways of fulfilling that dictate is to assist do this through many means – scientists in the authorship and publishing Generation and Sequestration’ (oral & poster) including publications.” process. U.S. copyright law protects your written x Safety Training expression of facts, ideas, systems or so what we are reprinting is done with x methods of the geology you study and permission of the copyright holder Member Networking – website/meetings work with. While every country’s copyright addressing the rights of the original laws are different, if you author an article or authors. paper, in the United States you are considered the owner of your material. ✓ Second, with the registration of There are a few exceptions to this copyright, AAPG is able to oversee the use COME JOIN US generalization, though, such as authors by others of material contained within who write material at the behest of their AAPG copyrighted publications. http://deg.aapg.org employer or government. After you have created your paper or We encourage the use of material Division of Environmental article and if you want to publish your contained within AAPG publications by Geosciences of the AAPG material, the vast majority of publishers will authors in order to disseminate scientific ask you to transfer copyright ownership information, bearing in mind all material is over to them prior to publishing. properly acknowledged. AAPG does this itself; the reasons for AAPG considers fair use to be a single that are two-fold. figure, a brief paragraph or a single table from an AAPG publication in a paper in ✓ First, AAPG asks authors to sign a another print publication, provided proper transfer of copyright form so the collective citation appears with the reproduced item work – whether it is an issue of the crediting the original authors. BULLETIN or Environmental Geosciences Electronic use of author work published or a Memoir – can be registered with the with the AAPG, such as inclusion in Register of Copyrights at the U.S. Library presentations, does require contacting the of Congress. The entirety of the work is AAPG. We are able to provide digital then protected under U.S. law. copies of most published items – however, AAPG also protects its publications by permission should always be sought prior requesting that authors working on papers to use. for AAPG seek written permission from If you as an author plan on using any copyright holders for any material material from AAPG publications that falls contained in the paper that has been outside fair use, simply submit a written previously printed elsewhere. A request that includes your contact Permissions Request Form is located information, identification of what you wish online at www.aapg.org/pubs/index.cfm to use and details about your intended use and must be forwarded to AAPG once of the material. permission has been obtained. (For specifics on the process go to When AAPG is considered to be the www.aapg.org/pubs/aapgcopyright.cfm.) author, such as with any of our printed or The U.S. government provides digital Reprint Series, we also go through information about copyright in the United this request process with other publishers, States at www.copyright.gov. ❏

GEOSCIENCE STUDENTS: COMPANIES: Go to http://geology.ou.edu and click on Review resumes & abstracts “2007 Spring Break Student Expo” online. Contact Niki Chapin, to register online! [email protected] to register. Booth space will be provided for FREE REGISTRATION FOR company exhibits and rooms for AAPG AND SEG MEMBERS! private interviewing.

I 2 Days of Interviewing I Company Exhibits I Scientific Poster Contest I Library Book Sale I Two sets of cash prizes for Geology I Networking Opportunities and Geophysics: • 1st place = $500 I Make New Friends • 2nd place = $250 • 3rd place = $100 I Great Food I SEG Student Challenge Bowl I Lots of Fun! I Short Courses & Field Trip For more information and details, visit http://geology.ou.edu

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“The real frontier seems to be the Field Clusters continental margins,” he added. Eliminate the huge area covered by the from page 38 ocean floor and you find almost all the petroleum clustered into just 30 percent of the Earth’s land surface. discovery curve that has been in decline That brings up a sad fact about global since the 1970s,” he said. oil and gas resource distribution. Horn said other trends in giant field Them that got it, got it. discoveries include more gas giants in Them that don’t, won’t. relation to oil giants, a shift to more “The unfortunate truth is that oil and stratigraphic plays and a move to deeper gas is unevenly distributed over the water marine environments. Earth’s surface,” Mann said. “Gas giant field discoveries have now “It would be great if every country had surpassed oil giant fields, and that trend is its own cluster, but it didn’t work out that continuing. We’re discovering more gas way.” ❏ now,” he said. One positive sign comes from new giants found in eastern China, India and Myanmar, which could lead to more success, Mann said. “Just in the past few years they’ve made some giant field discoveries, so Warren Jackson Cage Jr., 80 these could be new clusters emerging,” Georgetown, Texas, Nov. 13, 2006 he explained. Willis Mansfield Decker, 91 Mann and his colleagues project the discovery of another 33 new giant fields Roswell, Ga., Jan. 10, 2007 during the rest of the decade. That would Anthony Michael Evans, 57 make 2000-09 the third-highest discovery Reading, England, Dec. 30, 2006 decade in history. William Sweitzer King,80 But the overall decline in the discovery Bakersfield, Calif., Dec. 11, 2006 rate for giant fields continues, he noted. Theodore David Lee, 56 And few large frontier areas remain for Puyallup, Wash., Oct. 24, 2006 giant-sized elephant hunting – Antarctica Marvin Lee Oxley, 72 and the Arctic, Mann suggested. Jackson, Miss., Oct. 18, 2006 “Overall, the globe is shrinking under Fred Lee Stricklin, 81 this latest wave of exploration, so we may The Woodlands, Texas be reaching the end of the rope as to Dec. 25, 2006 where the new clusters may be,” he said. For the industry, elephant-hunting Wayne Elwyn Swearingen, 82 involves a choice between established Tulsa, Nov. 13, 2006 cluster areas of large fields and promising Robert Kruse Taylor, 78 new areas not fully developed. Dallas, Jan. 9, 2007 “You don’t want to give up finding new giants, but you also don’t want to give up (Editor’s note: “In Memory” listings exploring these known clusters,” Mann are based on information received from said. the AAPG membership department.)

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More Information, Easier to Access Libraries Changing With the Times

By KAREN PIQUNE governmental (including the U.S. and jeopardy. Even if a company is willing to variety of names. Energy libraries are AAPG Geoscience Librarian state geological surveys) and corporate donate its accumulated geoscience open to the geologists regardless of Old school tradition: A “library” is a libraries. repository, the recipient institution may corporate affiliation but require physical place where you can find Corporate libraries house much of a not have the financial or physical membership fees to use. These libraries information on a specific topic, by a company’s propriety data as well as resources to house the material. are geographic specific in the extent of particular author or fictional literature. published data collected for the use of (In 1994 Shell Oil donated its core materials they house. (See December New world reality: Who needs a employees. Including corporate facility to the University of Texas at 2006 EXPLORER, page 40-41). physical place? produced reports and derived data Austin – along with a cash sum to help The fact is, for now anyone may still resulting from exploration and house the material. Perhaps this can AAPG Resources need the physical place, depending on production efforts, a huge volume of serve as a template for future donations what’s being sought. subsurface data belongs to major oil of privately held data to public With all these resources it is easy to But with the advent of multi-media, and gas companies. institutions.) see why petroleum geologists could get digital data, the Internet, online access, Unfortunately, periodic shake-ups Derived data libraries are sometimes confused. etc., libraries are redefining and going plus company mergers and demises referred to as well log libraries, or energy The AAPG Foundation Energy far beyond the traditional definition. This, have put much of this information in libraries, but they can come with a Resources Library was established in understandably, has caused some 1978 to help geologists find the confusion as to what “library” has, information and materials they need. physically available, what kind of data is Geoscience Data Categories Within our books, journals and digital available and how these resources are archives are petroleum geology articles accessed. Media: The physical material on which data is stored with worldwide coverage. Paper/film Digital Physical The core of our collection are the Utilizing Geoscience Information AAPG publications, both digital and Examples hardcopy books, journals, reports, CD-ROMs, DVDs, well cores, hardcopy. Branching from here are Geoscience data can be grouped by well logs, lithology logs, scout tickets, Online data sources well samples, publications of our sections, affiliated media (paper/film, digital or the physical seismic lines, maps, photographs, fluid samples, societies and associated societies. objects); the physical material on which tabular & graphic production data, rock samples (See October 2006 EXPLORER, page the data is housed; or by context, films, videos, sound recordings, slides 53; or visit our Web page at relating to how and why the data was http://foundation.aapg.org/library.) created (see accompanying table). Context: The how and why the data was created AAPG Datapages, which digitizies all Today’s geologists can utilize the of AAPG’s publications and many other resources of three basic types of Published Data Derived Data Objects sources from other publishers, is in the libraries – traditional libraries, libraries process of digitizing the publications of housing derived data and libraries Examples hardcopy or digital books, journals, Hardcopy or digital well well cores, many of AAPG’s affiliated societies. housing the physical data. articles & reports (with included logs, lithology logs, scout well cuttings, (Note we are still a long way from the Traditional libraries consisting illustrations, maps, cross sections, tickets, seismic lines, thin sections “Star Trek” accessibility of all data. primarily of published data are the seismic, sections, photographs, and drilling and completion libraries many of us grew up with. tabular data) maps, videos, sound reports, production Examples are public, university, recordings, slides histories, maps continued on next page

MARCH 2007 53 The Changing Faces – and Roles – of Libraries

Examples of Geoscience Libraries Energy Libraries ✓ OCGS Resources Library – The ✓ Laurence S.Youngblood Energy (aka well log libraries – derived data) OCGS (Oklahoma City Geological Conventional Libraries Library – Part of the University of ✓ Midland Energy Library – Houses Society) houses logs, scout tickets, ✓ AAPG Foundation Energy Oklahoma Libraries, this geology derived data for the Permian Basin. lithologic logs and production data from Resources Library – Specialized library research facility supports the curriculum Data includes well logs, sample logs, wells drilled in Oklahoma and with a collection and services and research programs of OU School of mud logs, scout tickets, subscription to surrounding states. supporting the efforts of petroleum Geology & Geophysics. IHS drilling reports and completion (http://www.ocgs.org/library.asp) geologists; funded by the AAPG (http://libraries.ou.edu/info/index.asp?id cards – and much more. Foundation. =19) (http://www.midlandenergylibrary.com) ✓ Austin Core Research Center – (http://foundation.aapg.org/library) Contains cores from wells drilled ✓ USGS Library – Possibly the ✓ Oklahoma Petroleum Information throughout Texas, the United States and ✓ Houston Research Center Library largest earth science library in the world Center – This repository houses the the world. Donations have built this – Formerly Unocal’s Exploration and this system of libraries, it contain OGS (Oklahoma Geological Survey) facility into a major core research Production Library, this collection now publications of the U.S. Geological Well Data Library and the OGS Core establishment. exceeds 80,000 volumes. It is available Survey and library serves the public and Sample Library. (http://www.beg.utexas.edu/crc/ for on-site use only. and USGS geologists. (http://www.ogs.ou.edu/opic.php) austin.htm) (http://www.beg.utexas.edu/mainweb/ (http://library.usgs.gov/) services/hrc_library.htm) continued from previous page

A popular misconception is that all information on the shelves of libraries is available at no cost via the computer. But until everything is digitized in a stable format and can be freely accessed, hard copy equivalents need to be protected and preserved.) At times Datapages products have been referred to as a library – but to lessen the confusion it should be thought of as a collection or a digital archive. This collection has advantages over print publications in that terms or phrases occurring in titles or text can be searched. Once found, articles can be downloaded instantly. Active and Associate AAPG members can access at no charge the entire collection of the AAPG BULLETIN, from 1917 to present. Corporations can purchase a subscription to access all or part of the digital archives consisting of the BULLETIN, AAPG Special Publications and publications from other publishers. Anyone with an interest, can access the entire AAPG Digital archive on a pay as you go method. To check this out visit the pay-per-view Web page at http://payperview.datapages.com. AAPG’s electronic journal, Search and Discovery, is available through AAPG’s Web site and is an example of a digital source with no print equivalent. With no cost attached, it is a gold mine of geological information. Articles are worldwide in geographic coverage and available to anyone with Internet access. Log on to http://www.searchand discovery.com. ❏

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The AAPG Foundation has added a alma mater. new named grant, funded through a Additional information regarding the generous contribution from AAPG AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid Honorary Member and Trustee Program is available from Rebecca Associate Edward B. Picou of New Griffin at 1-918-560-2644. Orleans. In other Foundation news, two new The Edward B. Picou Jr. Named members have become Trustee Grant will provide a $1,000 grant Associates. They are: annually to a graduate student in the ❐ Lance Ruffel, of Oklahoma City. geology and geophysics department at ❐ Richard Beardsley, of South Louisiana State University, his Charleston, W.Va.

Foundation (General) Michel T. Halbouty Barry Gager Jeffrey Brooks Aldrich Memorial Leadership Colleen A. Barton Award Edward C. and Caroline Eric Christopher Beam James Michael Party Beaumont Named Grant Richard S. Bishop Edward A. Beaumont In memory of Bob Continuing Education Sabaté and Fund Classen Family Marcus Milling Paul F. Hoffman Named Grant Herbert Lee Brewer James S. and Jacqueline Janet Sue Brister Digital Products Fund Classen Christopher Alan Cade Beloit College In memory of J. Don Paul Henry Carter Jr. Marta S. Weeks McClelland Manetta K. Dillingham In honor of Martha Paul H. Dudley Jr. Peterson Fred A. and Jean C. Dix In memory of Clyde Named Grant Becker Baylor University James E. Briggs Franklyn R. Engler John Wayne Shelton In memory of Fred A. In honor of Sherry Hyer Dix Fidelity Charitable Gift San Diego State University Fund Leonard Irwin Eisenberg Robert K. Goldhammer Donor advised gift from In honor of Don Ptacek Memorial Grant Donald W. and Leonel Augusto Gomez Susan E. Lewis University of In memory of Robert Marco Antonio Gheno Southern California Goldhammer Andreas Hoie Anonymous Donor Wilson Humphrey John E. Kilkenny In honor of Paul M. Distinguished Lecture Memorial Grant Strunk Fund Pacific Section, AAPG Abdullah H. Ibrahim Brian R. Greenhalgh In memory of John E. Susan M. Landon In memory of Karl J. Kilkenny Andrew Latham Schmid Thomas Mairs Mruk Family Jack Philp Martin Jr. Michel T. Halbouty Named Grant Larry Nation Lecture Fund Denise M. Cox Arne Rudolph Nielsen Kehinde Olafiranye James Larkin O’Neill Glenn Pool Museum In memory of Earl K-12 Fund Fund Griffith Ray Albert Burke Lisa Hynne Schleiss James M. Randle Marshall C. Crouch III Melvin Erwin Rauch Jr. Raymond A. Donelick Public Service Majorie E. Reid Christine B. Gaynor Named Fund Patrick Joseph Ryan Julius Horner Johnson James A. Gibbs Richard Steinmetz Sandra Meyer In memory of Robert Raymond Tracy Stotler Jr. Kehinde Olafiranye Sabaté In memory of David Gene E. Richards Powley In memory of E.T. Hill Publication Pipeline Earl V. Tessem William Lawrence Scott Fund In memory of Robert K. Harold Robert Beaver Taylor Grants-in-Aid Fund Mark Dale Wilson Raymond A. Donelick E.F. Reid Scouting Richard D. Fritz Endowment Fund Awards Fund Jeffrey A. May and Karen Brian Haws Robert Berg Outstanding Crossen Ronald L. Hart Research Award Whiting Petroleum Corp. Ernest A. Mancini Matching gift from

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Exhibits Hall Already Filled Online Registration Open For APPEX London Online registration Forum (five talks is now available for detailing financing of APPEX London 2007, upstream an exhibition and exploration). forum that is attracting ✓ European Basin the industry’s top Ranking Review (Tom decision makers. Ahlbrandt). Already called by ✓ Pannonian Basin many as the premier Potential (Hungary). European prospect ✓ Norway – The and property expo, APPEX 2007 will be Growing Opportunity (Andrew Armour, held March 20-22 at London’s Royal Revus Energy). ✓ Photo by Gil Mull Lancaster Hotel on the north edge of International Deal Flow (Joe Hyde Park – a new location for the Staffurth, JSI Services). The scenic beauty of Alaska’s Antigun Gorge (above) is among the highlights slated for event, with easy access from Heathrow ✓ Colombia – An Update and the the new AAPG Geo Tour trip, “Geological Tour Through Alaska: A Trans-Alaskan Airport via the London Underground to Opportunities (M. Weibe, Solana). Transect, Gulf of Alaska to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean,” set June 2-11. Designed Lancaster Gate or Paddington Station. ✓ Present and Future Opportunity in for geologists as well as “nature-lovers,” the trip will visit three national parks, active The popular event offers prospect Russia (John Dolson, TNK-BP). glaciers, the Prudhoe Bay field and then end with an aerial crossing of the Brooks Range. exhibits and upstream activity ✓ Future of Offshore Gas-Australia Tour details are online at www.aapg.org/education/fieldseminars/details.cfm?ID=2. presentations that span the world – and (Ian Longley, Woodside). this year’s exhibits hall is already filled to ✓ Pakistan – Past, Present and capacity. (A waiting list has been Future (Bernhard Krainer, OMV started.) Exploration). Perth Technical Winners Announced A new addition to this year’s line-up is ✓ Sub Saharan Africa, Bruno (Pierre Technical award winners have been Controls of Reservoir ‘Sweet Spots’ in the AAPG International Pavilion Soulhol, Total). announced for presentations at last Coastal and Shelf Deposits – Cretaceous program, which offers information and ✓ Deepwater Africa for the year’s AAPG International Conference Guadalupe Formation, Colombia.” exploration opportunities from a Independents (Alan Stein, OPHIR and Exhibition in Perth, Australia. Leckie’s co-authors were Elvira multitude of national oil companies, Energy). The Dengo and Beydoun winners will Gomez and Miguel Jose De Armas, both highlighting such global targets as ✓ East Africa: Opportunity in receive their awards at the AAPG Annual with Nexen Inc., Bogotá, Colombia. China, Nigeria, Colombia, Indonesia, the Tanzania and Madagascar (M. Rego, Convention in Long Beach, Calif. Middle East and Asia. Aminex). The Perth award winners are: Ziad Beydoun Award Also new this year will be a short For more information, to register The best poster award goes to Jonny course on “Assessing Risk in online (and avoid the crowds) or to Gabriel Dengo Memorial Award Wu, Royal Holloway University of London Exploration Prospects,” offered by Peter reserve a spot on the exhibition waiting The best paper award goes to Dale A. (UK), for “4-D Analogue Modeling of R. Rose. list, go online to http://appex.aapg.org; Leckie, with Nexen Inc., Calgary, Transtentional Pull-Apart Basins.” ❏ Other confirmed forum presentations or contact Peggy Pryor, AAPG meetings Canada, for “Sequence Stratigraphic include: manager, at 001-918 584-2555; ✓ ABN-AMRO-sponsored Finance [email protected]. ❏

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AAPG, European Region Join Hands for Athens (Editor’s note: Regions and Sections consequences for exploration and is a regular column in the EXPLORER production if this concept were just an offering news for and about AAPG’s six established truth, just something we international Regions and six domestic have taken for granted since we were Sections. taught at university? Could this concept News items, press releases and other be a myth? information should be submitted to the This also is the right conference to EXPLORER/Regions and Sections, P.O. attend for everyone seeking an update Box 979, Tulsa, Okla. 74101. on recent exploration and production Contact: Carol McGowen, AAPG’s outcomes within key petroleum regions Regions and Sections manager, at in the Mediterranean, North Africa, 1-918-560-9403; or e-mail to Middle East, Caspian, Black Sea, [email protected]. Russia, North Sea, Norwegian Sea and This month’s column, a look at this the Barents Sea. year’s European Region Energy What about an update on carbonate Conference and Exhibition in Athens, and clastic reservoirs, structural Greece, was written by Geir Lunde, geology, heavy oil, unconventional general chairman; Gerry P. Lourantos, resources, resource estimation and the general vice chairman and social energy supply and demand picture? program chairman; and Rudy Swennen, Could we even manage to get student activities chairman.) geologists to mingle with professionals Photo by Rusty Johnson who specialize in CO2 management? By GEIR LUNDE The Acropolis hill, the most important cultural site in Greece’s famed city of Athens. Would something valuable come out of GERRY P.LOURANTOS This year’s European Region Energy Conference and Exhibition – the first joint that? and RUDY SWENNEN venture between AAPG and the AAPG European Region – will be held Nov. 17-20 in Maybe we will move from political On behalf of the Athens 2007 Athens, built on the theme “Challenge Our Myths.” statements to practical solutions – from Organizing Committee we want to myth to new understanding. personally invite all AAPG members to Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, TGS- program committee, headed by Bjørn join us for the unique occasion of this NOPEC, PGS, Hellenic Petroleum, Wandås and Vlasta Dvorakova, are Spotlight on Students year’s European Region Energy SAGEX and Concedo, all of which have assembling a strong international Conference and Exhibition – the first joint given valuable, early support – a program. Many cornerstones of our society can venture between AAPG and the AAPG fantastic exhibition is planned in the The theme not only reminds be traced back to Greek culture, and European Region. beautiful, white marble Megaron conference goers to question with this meeting new milestones will The conference, built on the theme International Conference Centre in the assumptions, it is an invitation to undoubtedly be added in the field of “Challenge Our Myths,” will be held Nov. heart of Athens. speakers and poster presenters to take geoscience. 17-20 in Athens, Greece, and it promises risks and present challenging ideas. For that reason alone, Athens is the to be an inviting combination of excellent Challenging Our Myths For example, a session on place to be for students and young technical sessions from the Circum- “Untraditional Theories and Ideas in professionals, as this meeting will bring Mediterranean – and well beyond – and Our theme “Challenge Our Myths” Global and Large Scale Geology” will together people from industry and uniquely Greek social activities. sets the stage for the technical program, examine the basis for the concept of Thanks to our sponsors – including and the session chairs and technical subduction zones: What would be the continued on next page

MARCH 2007 57 continued from previous page ✓ Visits to archaeological and Byzantium museums, as well as art galleries such as the National Gallery This Myth Has Real Meaning academia, old and young. and Vorres Gallery. With direction from Student Activities ✓ Visits to high-tech locations at the Every theme has a story, and the Prometheus, the Titan who taught Chair Rudy Swennen, the conference will Hellenic Centre, planetarium and Athens conference theme “Challenge humans all the secret sciences of the allow students to acquire the latest Olympic Complex Centre. Our Myths” is no exception. gods, could be the conference symbol. inspiring information on future trends in ✓ Day trips and excursions to nearby It dates to February 2006, when The connection was clear: It was geoscience and give a forum to young islands of Aigina and Spetses. Gerry Lourantos, Geir Lunde and Prometheus who stole from Zeus the researchers to present their findings to a ✓ Trips to vineyards and wineries in meeting contractor Bruce Lemmon most valuable element – fire – and gave broad audience. Attica. were walking down the streets of it to the humans. Apart from a students reception, there ✓ Food and wine tasting sessions. Athens near the Acropolis, shining The mythological Prometheus risked will be several events conducive to ✓ Street walks and exciting shopping bright in the morning sun. a lot for mankind. As geoscientists, establishing contacts with many sessions. And in the windows of the travel should we too be ready to take some experienced geoscience-industry ✓ A golf tournament and unique spa agencies they saw a slogan in Greek risks? Is it not individuals who take risks professionals. sessions. letters that read, “Live Your Myth.” that advance all of mankind? And certainly, attending this ✓ Dancing sessions. They thought, what about a symbol Before reaching the Acropolis, the conference is a must if you are looking So start making plans now to join us for the conference with some relation to slogan for the conference comes into for challenging job opportunities; the for the European Region Energy myths? Myths, after all, may inspire us focus. As geoscientists, we should not industry is now recruiting and eager to Conference and Exhibition, presented by and may also contain some very settle for just living our myths, but sponsor students with fresh, new AAPG and the AAPG European Region. valuable truths. always be ready to challenge the perspectives. For more information go to the AAPG Walking a few blocks further down established truths – we must challenge Web site at www.aapg.org/athens. ❏ the street, the answer became clear: our myths. ❏ The Spirit of Zorba

Technical sessions are just a part of a meeting’s lure; Greece’s multi- dimensional history and culture, equally matched by multi-faceted social traditions and lifestyles, make it a place to enjoy. Greeks love to eat, drink, dance and, in general, be merry as often and as intensely as they possibly can! It is no coincidence that in the famous book “Alexis Zorbas,” written by Nikos Kazantzakis (and then the Hollywood film “Zorba the Greek”), when Zorba meets the English gentleman on a lovely sandy beach and tries to express his intense happiness, he says, “Sir, I may not be able to fully express my feelings in words, but I can certainly dance them for you!” The Athens social program will include many diverse activities, all designed to expose modern Greece to our valued visitors and to invite all our As part of our extensive portfolio friends to “become Greek” – and even of seismic data frfromom the East “Zorba” – if only for a few days! Join us in Athens and “feel” a different Mediterranean, GGS–Spectrum, Greece from the one that casual tourists inin partnershippartnership withwith FugroFugro MultiMulti normally see. You can enjoy the classical sites and famous museums even as you Client Services, are offering a sample the modern galleries and new high-tech settings. high-quality 2D dataset. Visit relaxing islands and interesting vineyards, sample local foods and taste The reprocessing sequence exciting new wines. Walk through includesincludes PSDMPSDM whichwhich benefitsbenefits picturesque lanes around the Acropolis and enjoy shopping, playing golf and the evaluation of offshore relaxing at a spa – and then dance away your cares well into the late moonlit Cyprus and Syria in advance of nights. the recently announced licensing To help you, the Social Program Committee has organized several rounds. activities, including: ✓ Visits to classical and historical The survey was acquired to locations in and around Athens – including the Acropolis and Agora – as 12 seconds, a longer record well as sites away from Athens including Products Available lengthlength thanthan competingcompeting surveys.surveys. Cape Sounion and Delphi. G PSTM SEG-Y and PSDM SEG-Y G Well Study Report AAPG 2007 G Seismic Evaluation Report CONVENTION G Multibeam Seabed Mapping Dataset over Eratosthenes LONG BEACH, CA G The Levantine Continental Margin and GGS–SPECTRUM: Booth 1255 Eastern Mediterranean Deepwater, FUGRO MCS: Booth 1639 A Regional Overview

GGS–Spectrum Fugro Multi Client Services Sara Stephens Zyg Sarnowski

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] www.spectrum-eit.co.uk www.fugro.no

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Bobby H. Bammel, to geologic Colo. Previously president, Petrex Asia, geosteering consultant, BHL Consulting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tyler, Texas. Previously senior petroleum geological consultant-geosteering, Saudi Marc Croes, to senior staff Geophysical, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. geophysicist, El Paso E&P, Houston. Previously geophysicist, Transworld E&P, Tom Berkman, to senior staff geologist, Houston. Anadarko Petroleum, Denver. Previously senior geological specialist, Kerr-McGee, Terry Davidson, to senior geologist, Houston. Tristone Capital, Houston. Previously senior geologist, El Paso Production, Daniel S. Bryant, to geological, drilling Houston. and completion consultant, Daniel S. Bryant Consulting, Richmond, Ky. Dennis Giovannetti, to senior geologist, Previously senior geologist, Daugherty SPN Resources, Houston. Previously Petroleum, Lexington, Ky. geologist, Newfield Exploration, Houston.

Paul Crevello, to director and chief Tom Gundersen, to president, operating officer, BPC Limited, Boulder, Petroleum Synergy Group, Reno, Nev. Previously vice president/general manager, Petroleum Synergy Group, Reno, Nev.

Robert Handford, to president and consulting geologist, Strata-Search, Bryson City, N.C. Previously president, Strata-Search, Austin, Texas.

Bruce Handley, to program director, Handley Consultants, Houston. Previously senior project manager, The Benham Companies, Houston.

Roseleen Kelly, to senior geoscientist, Dansk Shell, Denmark. Previously senior seismic interpreter, Shell UK, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Jack Kerfoot, to vice president exploration-Gulf of Mexico, Murphy E&P, Houston. Previously general manager- exploration Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tom Lenney, to geological adviser, HESS, Houston. Previously senior geologist, EnerVest, Houston.

Tim Lindsey has been appointed to the board of directors, Daybreak Oil and Gas, Spokane, Wash. Lindsey is a principal with Lindsey Energy and Natural Resources, Houston.

Mitch Meyer, vice president- exploration, Fidelity E&P, Denver. Previously exploration director, Fidelity E&P, Denver.

David A. Miller, to senior staff geophysicist-international new ventures, El Paso E&P, Houston. Previously senior geoscientist, Transworld E&P, Houston.

Scott Edward Moravec, to president, Eagle Information Mapping, Houston. Previously vice president of operations, Eagle Information Mapping, Houston.

Robert W. Richardson, to senior landman, Rosetta Resources Operating, Denver. Previously land manager, Infinity Oil and Gas of Wyoming, Denver.

Bob Stancil, senior vice president- exploration, Ignis Petroleum Group, Dallas. Previously vice president- exploration, Anadarko Petroleum, The Woodlands, Texas.

(Editor’s note: “Professional News Briefs” includes items about members’ career moves and the honors they receive. To be included, please send information in the above format to Professional News Briefs, c/o AAPG EXPLORER, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, Okla. 74101; or fax, 918-560-2636; or e-mail, [email protected]; or submit directly from the AAPG Web site, www.aapg.org/ explorer/pnb_forms.cfm.)

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Need a receipt? AAPG has added a new online service to help with that documentation: Members or customers may select up to three items at a time from a list of their transactions with AAPG (figure 1); those items are then displayed in a receipt format (figure 2) for a printable record.

Needing BECAUSE YOU WANT A Receipt? TO GIVE YOUR FAMILY Go Online FINANCIAL SECURITY... By JANET BRISTER Web Site Editor One of the greatest benefits that AAPG AND YOURSELF offers to our members lies behind your individual login through “Members Only.” Displayed prominently on the page is PEACE OF MIND. the recently updated “Geographic Search,” a map-based interface on the BULLETIN archive database – it’s another way of helping you find the information you need from the massive data provided through the AAPG BULLETIN. And recently added to the list of shortcuts under your welcome line is “Print Receipts.” The AAPG Accounting Department is often asked to provide receipts for purchases made and gifts given over the past year. Well, now you don’t have to hunt down the AAPG phone number; you don’t have to wait for someone to answer the phone; you don’t have to find time while you are at work to make your request. You may simply logon to your AAPG page and use this handy feature. When you click “Print Receipts” it opens a new window (figure 1) that displays your purchase activities with AAPG. Simply mark a box on the left to select the item for which you need your THE GEOCARE BENEFITS INSURANCE PROGRAM. A WIDE RANGE OF AFFORDABLE COVERAGES BACKED BY receipt. (You are limited to three items at any EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE. Wouldn’t it be great if you had access to a full range of quality insurance plans, one time.) available at very affordable group rates and backed by a commitment to providing you with exceptional Next, locate the print preview button at the bottom of the window. When this is service? You do. That’s what the GeoCare Benefits Insurance Program is all about. Whether you need clicked it will open a separate page health, life, disability or a variety of supplemental plans, GeoCare Benefits can help meet those needs. (figure 2) displaying your receipts. If these are what you are looking for, you may print And, every plan has been researched, approved and endorsed by AAPG’s Committee on Group Insurance. these receipts and that button will return GeoCare Benefits. It’s insurance you can trust. you to the receipt manager window for further selections. Should you need additional receipts, THE GEOCARE BENEFITS INSURANCE PROGRAM. QUALITY, AFFORDABLE COVERAGE FOR YOUR FAMILY. PEACE OF simply deselect your initial selection(s) MIND FOR YOU. CALL 1-800-337-3140 OR VISIT US ON THE WEB AT WWW.GEOCAREBENEFITS.COM FOR MORE and check new ones. INFORMATION, INCLUDING ELIGIBILITY AND RENEWAL PROVISIONS, EXCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RATES. Wasn’t that easy?

Stop By Our Booth GeoCare Benefits Insurance Program, P.O. Box 9006, Phoenix, AZ 85068, Email: [email protected]. The Health, Life, and Disability Plans are And now, a reminder for those who will underwritten by New York Life Insurance Co. (51 Madison Ave., New York, be attending the upcoming AAPG Annual NY 10010). Coverage is subject to approval by New York Life. The Medicare Convention in Long Beach, Calif. – the Supplement Plans are underwritten by Life Investors Insurance Company of AAPG Center in the Exhibit Hall includes America, Cedar Rapids, IA; Transamerica Life Insurance Company, Cedar the EXPLORER/www.aapg.org booth, Rapids, IA; Monumental Life Insurance Company, Baltimore, MD; and in NY, where questions about the Web site’s Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company, Purchase, NY. The Cancer features can be answered. Expense, In-Hospital, and High Limit Accident Plans are underwritten by See you there. Monumental Life Insurance Company, Baltimore, MD. 500276 Good browsing! ❏

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The following candidates have submitted Boyd, A.R. Close, J.J. Blaylock); Johnson, applications for membership in the Joni Gayle, consultant, Missouri City Association and, below, certification by the (reinstate); Langford, Richard, University of Division of Professional Affairs. This does not Texas-El Paso, El Paso (W.C. Cornell, G.R. constitute election, but places the names Keller Jr., K.C. Miller); Shahzad, Muhammad before the membership at large. Any Shafqat, LMKR, Houston (K.M. Javaid, M. information bearing on the qualifications of Najeeb-uz-Zaman, A. Iqbal, Afzal); Via, these candidates should be sent promptly to Rachael K., ExxonMobil, Houston (M.R. the Executive Committee, P.O. Box 979, Weaver, J.R. Markello, J.K. Matoush); Wardle, Tulsa, Okla. 74101. (Names of sponsors are Sara Michelle, Range Resources, Fort Worth placed in parentheses. Reinstatements (M. Candelaria, M. Emery, R.D. Heckelsberg); indicated do not require sponsors.) Young, Stephen Robert, TXCO, San Antonio Membership applications are available at (L.T. Billingsley, R.J. Scott, L.G. Nyland) www.aapg.org, or by contacting headquarters in Tulsa. Australia Palmer, Saxon Matthew, BHP Billiton, Perth For Active Membership (G.B. McMurtrie, P.G. Carroll, R.A. Hill)

California Canada Hogan, Phillip J., Fugro West, Ventura (D.M. Abbas, Ghulam, Saudi Aramco, Calgary (A. Sackett, K.H. Peace, M.D. Wracher); Thomas, Garg, A.Q. Hameda, M.Y. Al-Shobaili); Clark L., retired-Chevron, Palo Alto (reinstate) Skinner, James Clayton, Bear Ridge (L. Funkhouser, W.E. Crain, A. Martini) Resources, Calgary (C.E. Jaycock, D.C. Hibbs, R.K. Sullivan); Wang, Xiang, Trident Colorado Exploration, Calgary (S.W. Burnie, D.W. Heerschap, Lauren Kim, Oso Energy Hume, K. Rakhit) Resources, Durango (B.C. Boyce, K.H. Smith, V. Matthews III) continued on next page Kansas Knapp, Steven M., National Fuel, Topeka (D. Thompson, E. Kaszubski, M. Cochran) Certification Mississippi The following are candidates for Schmitz, Darrel W., Mississippi State certification by the Division of University, Mississippi State (R.L. Ericksen, Professional Affairs. B.L. Kirkland, J. Harris)

Oklahoma Petroleum Geologist Hansen, Carl Douglas, Unit Petroleum, Tulsa (T.H. Adkins, L.D. Gerken, R.L Perkins) Texas McCall, Ernest Porter, consultant, Texas Boerne (reinstatement); Wind, Gerrit, An, Linji Y., AERA Energy, Irving (R.K. Davies, consultant, Houston (D.M. Stone, W. Schuman Wu, B. Carnahan); Blaylock, Phebe M., EOG Resources, Houston (M.W. M.M. Cassidy, G.R. Bole)

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DL Speakers on Tour in March

Four AAPG Distinguished Lecturers His topic is “Intrusion, Deformation – three domestic and one international and Degassing at the Yellowstone – will be on speaking tours in March. Caldera.” Information on the speakers, their topics and their schedule can be found ❐ Jean-Laurent Mallet, professor at online at www.aapg.org. the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Touring in March are: Géologie, Nancy France, and this year’s Allen P. Bennison Distinguished ❐ Steve Bachtel, carbonate Lecturer, will be speaking to groups in research specialist with ConocoPhillips, North America from March 5-16. His Texas, will be speaking to groups in the stops will be in Newfoundland, western United States through March 9, Canada, Colorado, Oklahoma, with stops in Colorado, Idaho, Alaska, Missouri, Houston, Wyoming, Montana Montana and New Mexico. and northern California. His topic is “Seismic Stratigraphy of His topic is “Integrated Earth the Miocene-Pliocene Segitiga Modeling: From Seismic Interpretation Platform, East Natuna Sea Indonesia: to Flow Simulation in Reservoirs.” The Origin, Growth, and Demise of an Isolated Carbonate Platform.” ❐ James R. Markello, supervisor and adviser for ExxonMobil Upstream ❐ Jacob B. Lowenstern, with the Research, Houston, will be on a tour of U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, the Middle East through March 13, Calif., and the scientist-in-charge of the speaking to groups in Dhahran, Saudi Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, will Arabia; Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, UAE; be speaking to groups in western North Cairo, Egypt; and Ankara, Turkey. America from March 12-23, with stops His topic is “The Carbonate Analogs in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Montana, Through Time (CATT) Hypothesis – A Saskatchewan, Washington and Systematic and Predictive Look at California. Phanerozoic Carbonate Reservoirs.” continued from previous page Jakarta (reinstate) Saudi Arabia Colombia Arouri, Khaled R., Saudi Aramco, Dhahran (J. Jimmy, Ardila, Saudi Aramco, Bogotá (J. Al-Dubaisi, P.D. Jenden, H.I. Halpern) Melvin, J.J. Faulhaber, S.A. Hassani) Scotland India Scott, David Thompson, HRH Geological Varghese, Jose, Shell Technology India, Services, Aberdeen (J.F. Brown, D. Harrison, Bangalore (B. Ratha, N. Vashist, S.M. A.J. Grindrod) Chowdhury) South Africa Indonesia Roux, Jacques, Petroleum Agency SA, Parow ❏ Chakraborty, Subrata Kumar, Schlumberger, (D. Broad, J. Malan, J. Aldrich)

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Graduated Dues Editor’s note: Letters to the editor should include your name and address and Delegates. Regarding the proposed plans to should be mailed to Readers’ Forum, c/o AAPG EXPLORER, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa, AAPG should not subsidize new restructure AAPG dues: As readers of Okla. 74101, or fax (918) 560-2636; or e-mail to [email protected]. Letters may be memberships to anyone other than this forum and the EXPLORER may edited or held due to space restrictions. students who are just starting their know, I opposed the Pete Rose proposal careers. If some leaders want to help because it was geographic-based. The pay for the memberships of new non- new proposal by Larry Jones’ special increase membership. Nothing seemed industry. Right now, things look great for student recruits or members, they committee makes the graduated dues to work. Perhaps the graduated dues everyone I know. It may not always be should set up a separate, outside charity structure across the board for ALL structure will make a difference. that way. So if another bust comes (and I and AAPG will be happy to work with AAPG members, so I support it. Finally, let me ask this question: If a hope it is later than sooner if it has to them to identify needy members for that If you think about it, we have always graduated dues structure had been in happen as a reality check), perhaps group’s support. had a graduated dues structure. Recall place in the mid 1980s when we had the membership retention will be better if a To institutionalize this welfare system that students pay a lower rate. This just oil bust, would AAPG’s membership graduated structure is in place. into AAPG’s cost/revenue structure, with changes the graduated scale that retention rate have been better? I George Devries Klein full voting rights to the subsidized already exists. suspect it might. Certainly members of Sugar Land, Texas members, is grossly unfair to all full- I served for six years on AAPG’s the House of Delegates would not be paying voting members, whose voices Membership Committee and recall reviewing so many reinstatement I continue to have major objections to will be diluted (yet paying even more via sitting around watching people wringing applications, some of which had a gap the proposed graduated dues structure. dues increases). More dues increases their hands and contemplating their in membership over 15 years! It contains significant financial risks, and on those that have the “ability to pay” navel trying to come up with ways to AAPG members work in a cyclic should be rejected by the House of seem inevitable under this structure. Discount members will NOT boost net income in future years, and just the opposite will be true, as they ask that more funds and services be dedicated to them as their numbers grow, especially overseas. Here are my most significant objections: ✓ Cheapens membership: By making it significantly cheaper for many recruits and members, and basing it socialistically on their income, we demean and cheapen membership in AAPG to all the rest of us. ✓ Dilutes voting rights: It is offensive to many voting members to grant voting rights to discount dues members, who have not otherwise earned those rights through the discounted honorary or emeritus status. ✓ Fails to verify income: We live in a world that does not share common values and definitions of honesty and integrity. To propose this without a document-required, income verification system, is reckless. ✓ Endangers essential dues revenue: AAPG dues are the most essential revenue in our budget at about $1.8 million, and they pay for all of the basic, non-program designated HQ operations. ✓ Will cause member conversions: The loss in existing dues revenue from this structure as a result of the incentives to convert to a discount level could exceed the revenue gain from adding discount members. ✓ Future EC subsidies: Instead of the HoD, it empowers all future ECs alone, with the power to giving the paper copies of the BULLETIN and EXPLORER back to all discount dues members. ✓ Missing cap and sunset provision: The ability to amend this structure declines with discount member growth, because every 70 discounted members gets a delegate in the HoD. At best, a maximum cap of 500 discount members should have been proposed, with a sunset-dissolution provision for the entire structure in three years, so it would have to be reconstituted by the HoD at that time. Most of the advocacy for this new dues structure comes from political motivations to increase international membership at almost any cost, regardless of the potential negative long-term financial and existing member loyalty impacts on the organization. Those discounted dues members will still expect AAPG to spend budgetary funds on them, without paying for much of any of it. Leadership needs to find other ways to encourage membership instead of proposing we give away 50 and 75 percent discounts on dues and mortgaging our future to a potentially continued on next page

MARCH 2007 63 continued from previous page examined by many who participated in Illinois almost 60 years ago. community, let alone in the community of the AAPG survey and who then pointed It took AAPG decades to adopt the all scientists.) out fundamental flaws and mistakes Wegenerian-based “new geology” in Will Gerhard be satisfied when the large number of virtually non-paying inherent in that work. These comments later exploration successes in major only AAPG members left are adherents members. were clearly communicated back to the discoveries of petroleum and natural gas to his brand of global warming denial? If Dwight “Clint” Moore AAPG in unmistakable terms. in basins all over the world. you haven’t noticed, the world isn’t just Houston What is Gerhard talking about when Does history repeat itself? You bet it laughing at us anymore. It’s even worse; (Editor’s note: Moore was AAPG he asks for members to become did, when AAPG adopted the same non- the AAPG is being ignored. treasurer for 2004-06.) interested in his information in support of science based arguments in “trashing” There’s still time if actions are soon this flawed climate change policy? What the responsible science of climatology taken to reverse the current ill-conceived Drill the Well was the AAPG survey all about if not to and misinterpreting paleoclimatology, AAPG climate change policy. Even the The proposed “graduated dues” honestly report feedback to members? which is certainly an important part of biggest supporters of global warming structure does contain future financial It would serve Gerhard and the geology. denial, like ExxonMobil, have backed off uncertainty. But AAPG members are very current Executive Committee well to Many current AAPG members of long their extensive counterproductive efforts familiar with the analogy used by AAPG recall the earlier, monumental scientific standing – like myself, an Emeritus to destroy legitimate science telling us Secretary Mike Party, who likens it to the blunder that the AAPG committed more member who has been active since that humans are directly responsible for uncertainty of drilling a well. However, in than 75 years ago in its rejection of 1955 – are agonizing over whether to most of global climate change and this case it is more like drilling a Alfred Wegener and his pioneering resign over the AAPG’s mishandling of warming. The consequences are development well. We cannot predict the theories of continental drift and plate climate change and global warming becoming increasingly severe, if not exact outcome, but we feel good about tectonics. This rejection, although with issues. catastrophic. it. some scientific rationale, was based (I’m staying put for the time being in When will AAPG ever learn? Here is the “back of the envelope” primarily on ideology and not on the hope that AAPG will soon come to its J.R. “Jack” Century risk analysis: Dues only account for 13 science. I can well recall this happening senses and try to regain some Calgary, Canada percent of AAPG’s revenue, and we as a geology student at the University of semblance of credibility in the geology ❏ estimate less than 10 percent of current members are even eligible for reduced dues. If you assume all 10 percent took the reduction, that could decrease overall revenue by about 1 percent. Even that would be partly offset by decreased costs for hardcopy BULLETIN and/or EXPLORER. That is the downside. When we propose a well we also estimate the upside. In this case the upside is increasing membership and their involvement in AAPG goods and services. SPE’s experience provides a good analogy. AAPG is not the first society to try this graduated dues system. SPE has used a similar structure to lead it to tremendous growth. Dues revenue declined slightly the first year or two, but increased in subsequent years. More importantly, overall society revenue grew, as the increased membership bought more books, attended more conferences, etc. While SPE’s model is mainly based on geographic location, AAPG’s proposed model is not geographically based. It is based on the individual member’s ability to pay. It is not a “give away” plan, but rather a “you get what you pay for” option. As far as future costs are concerned, the major goods and services we offer our membership are continuing education, conventions and publications. All of these are PURCHASED. We hope these new members DO demand such increased goods and services. Concerning voting rights, any new member is not automatically an Active (voting) member. They must qualify for Active membership with sponsors and experience. We cannot base our right to vote on whether you pay full or reduced dues. We changed those kinds of laws in the United States several decades ago. Let’s try this new structure. We have been talking about it for several years. It is time to drill the well. Lee T. Billingsley AAPG President

Agonizing All Lee Gerhard’s commentary “Climate Statement as a Result of Study” (January EXPLORER) seems to say is those in the AAPG responsible for creating the AAPG climate policy statement worked harder than other professional societies. He totally missed the point of those AAPG members who made their positions abundantly clear through the recent AAPG climate change discussion Web site that the policy was clearly wrong, not that the AAPG Executives didn’t work hard enough. The information in Gerhard’s Internet PowerPoint presentation was carefully

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research and graduate training, an ongoing industry- POSITION AVAILABLE funded M.S. program in Applied Depositional Geosystems, and a strong alumni base. The successful candidate will become part of a broader geosciences UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS community within LSU, which includes faculty within the DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND Department of Petroleum Engineering, the Department of ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, the Louisiana Geological Survey, and the Department of Geography TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION and Anthropology. For more information, see our website: http://www.geol.lsu.edu. PETROLEUM GEOLOGIST The review process will begin March 15, 2007 and The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences continue until a candidate is selected. Nominations or (EES) at the University of New Orleans invites applicants inquiries should be directed to Professor Jeff Hanor, to fill a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor in Harrison Search Committee Chair, at 225-578-3418 or the field of Petroleum Geology anticipating starting in the [email protected]. An offer of employment is contingent on 2007 calendar year. Commensurate with this position, a satisfactory pre-employment background check. the successful candidate could also be awarded the Applicants should send a copy of their curriculum vitae Braunstein Professorship in Petroleum Geology reflecting (including e-mail address), a statement of their research the successful candidate’s distinguished career in the and teaching interests, and the names, addresses, petroleum geosciences. The mission of EES is to build a phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least three center of excellence in earth and environmental sciences references to: Harrison Chair Search Committee, in the heartland of America’s energy coast, Louisiana’s Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State Mississippi River delta. University, Ref: #006147, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. UNO is seeking an experienced petroleum geologist LSU IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS with broad experience in the Gulf of Mexico Basin. EMPLOYER Previous experience within the oil and gas industry is highly desirable. Other desirable talents and expertise * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * we seek in a candidate include: As one of the largest energy consultancies in the • Structural geology-tectonics, world, RPS Energy is breaking new ground and • Sedimentary basin analysis, expanding our domestic and international • Subsurface exploration, and onshore/offshore wellsite geology teams. • Reservoir characterization-evaluation. As a vital member of our wellsite team, you will possess good oral and written communication skills, This position is well-supported with start-up funds be well organized, able to provide wireline logging commensurate with the successful candidate’s quality control supervision and geological advice to experience, publication record and funding record. the oil company representatives. Research facilities will be available for the successful If you are looking for an excellent rate, interesting candidate in the UNO Geology Building and/or UNO projects and continuous work, locally or around the Research and Technology Park. EES is well-endowed world, please contact [email protected] or with field and laboratory resources. We seek an [email protected]. individual committed to research, teaching and graduate training. A PhD is required. Interested applicants should submit a curriculum vita, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES a statement of research and teaching interest, selected publications and three letters of reference by March 30, Allegheny GeoQuest offers geological services for the 2007 to: petroleum industry, including paleontological Dr. Shea Penland, Chair stratigraphic correlations, sequence stratigraphy Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences analysis, petrographic thin section point counts and University of New Orleans descriptions (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary) 2000 Lakeshore Drive and mineral identification (hand sample, and transmitted New Orleans, LA 70148 light specimens). 504.280.6325 Principals hold PhD degrees in geology, and have [email protected] over 20 years experience in the petroleum exploration industry. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and The University of New Orleans, a member of the Ukranian. Please contact 412 681 9606. Louisiana State University System, is an EEO/AA employer. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology Centenary College of Louisiana Mudlogging units with easy to learn software. Very reliable, full featured, portable units. Contact Automated Centenary College of Louisiana invites applications Mudlogging Systems for a two-year position at the assistant professor or (303) 794-7470 www.mudlogger.com University of Leoben, Austria instructor level in the Department of Geology, beginning August 2007. We are seeking candidates who are * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * interested in teaching geology in a liberal arts BOOKS. Rare and out-of-print books and periodicals environment and involving undergraduate students in on geology and related sciences. Large stock on all research experiences. Recent Ph.D.’s and ABD’s are phases of the oil industry, domestic and foreign covering Full professor (tenure track) encouraged to apply. The teaching responsibilities will geology, history, engineering, logging, geophysics, etc. depend on the background of the successful candidate Catalogs available. The Hannum Company. Box 1505-B, but should involve some subset of Physical Geology, Ardmore, OK 73402. [email protected] Petroleum Geology Environmental Geology, Historical Geology, and * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sedimentary Geology; a special topics course in the successful candidate’s field of interest is also a AAPG Bulletins 1923 to present. Approximately one possibility. Centenary College (www.centenary.edu) is a half are hard bound (brown with gold letters) including selective liberal arts institution with a student/faculty ratio Index to 1965. (303) 433-4111 The Department of Applied Geosciences and Geophysics at of 12 to 1 and is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South (www.acs.org). The college has a $100 million the University of Leoben seeks applicants for the position of endowment and is located in a metropolitan area with a MISCELLANEOUS population of more than 350,000. To apply, send a letter full professor of Petroleum Geology. of application, statement of teaching philosophy, vita, SAMPLES TO RENT copies of transcripts, and three letters of International Sample Library @ Midland – recommendation to: formerly Midland Sample Library. Established in 1947. The candidate is a personality of international standing who Dr. Scott Vetter, Chair, Department of Geology and Have 164,000 wells with 1,183,000,000 well samples and Geography, Centenary College of Louisiana, P. O. Box covers this field in research and teaching and has gained cores stored in 17 buildings from 26 states, Mexico, 41188, Shreveport, LA 71134-1188. Review of Canada and offshore Australia. We also have a applications will begin March 1. Centenary College of experience managing teams in the oil industry or in industry geological supply inventory. Louisiana recognizes that diversity is essential to its goal related research projects. of providing an educational environment where students Phone: (432) 682-2682 Fax: (432) 682-2718 explore the unfamiliar, invent new approaches to understanding, and connect their work and lives to the Requirements for the position are a university degree and a world at large. We thus welcome applicants who would Open Position: Senior Geophysicist add to the college’s diversity of ideas, beliefs, doctoral degree in a relevant field; the habilitation or experiences, and cultural backgrounds. EOE William M. Cobb & Associates, Inc.

equivalent scientific qualification is a prerequisite; teaching * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * William M. Cobb & Associates is a geological, experience and didactic qualification are necessary. Lectures BILLY AND ANN HARRISON ENDOWED CHAIR geophysical, petrophysical, and reservoir engineering consulting firm specializing in reservoir studies on a Department of Geology and Geophysics are to be held in German and English. worldwide basis. We seek a senior geophysicist to The Department of Geology and Geophysics at LSU perform integrated seismic and geological evaluation. invites nominations and applications for the Billy and Ann The University of Leoben has a strong commitment to Harrison Endowed Chair in Geology and Geophysics. Required: 10+ Years Petroleum Industry Experience We seek an outstanding individual with an internationally Geophysics, Geology, Physics, Math or increase the number of female academic staff and recognized scientific reputation who will develop a Engineering Degree strong, externally-funded research program in the field of 2D & 3D Interpretation Experience encourages applications from women. sedimentology and who will complement existing faculty Carbonate & Siliciclastic Experience expertise. The successful candidate will be expected to Land & Offshore Evaluation Experience Applications, including relevant documents and copies of up publish in highly ranked journals, teach undergraduate Legally Entitled to Permanently Work in and graduate courses in his or her area of specialization, the United States to five most characteristic publications, should be sent fivefold and develop strong M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in geological sciences or another Desired: Expertise with Kingdom Software (SMT) before March 30, 2007 to The Rector, University of Leoben, relevant discipline; a strong record of published research Expertise Integrating 3D Seismic Attributes in topics of relevance to sedimentology; demonstrated in Complex Multi-Well Projects Franz-Josef-Straße 18, A-8700 Leoben, Austria. ability to attract funding. This appointment would Advanced Geoscience Degree normally be made at the rank of Full Professor. However, Salary: Competitive Compensation Package exceptional candidates at the Associate Professor level Additional information can be obtained from the chairman of will be considered. Location: Dallas, Texas The Department of Geology and Geophysics consists the search committee, Prof. Karl Millahn (Tel.: +43 3842 402 of 18 tenured and tenure-track faculty members having a Contact: Phone: 972-385-0354 2600, Email: [email protected]) wide range of expertise and offers B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. Fax: 972-788-5165 degrees in geology. The department has excellent E-mail: [email protected] analytical and computational facilities, a strong record in Website: www.wmcobb.com

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Race to the Long Beach Convention By RICK FRITZ consider joining a committee of your It’s that time of year again – time for interest. the annual convention, AAPG’s main APPEX London Exhibits Sold Out! Also, in Long Beach the House of Delegates will be considering the issue event for the year! APPEX London, which will be held page 55). As a result, we have sold of a “graduated dues structure.” The Anticipation, Achievement, March 20-22, has a new, improved look every inch of exhibit space – and are proposal is for a system of dues that is Appearance, Aspiration and Amusement this year – for starters, it has moved to looking for more. fair for all members and based on a are the five “A”s for convention time. On the Lancaster Hotel across form Hyde Make plans to come to for this member’s or potential member’s ability to achievement Thomas Edison said that Park. singular exploration/exploitation event pay (see page 26). there are three great essentials to Thanks to a very hard working with global applications. I hope to see achieve anything worthwhile – “hard organizing committee it also has a new, you there. ❏ * * * work, stick-to-itiveness and common incredible three-day program (see sense.” Many members and staff have been “working hard’ to make this one of Long Beach is turning out to be an the best conventions and exhibitions ✓ Stratigraphy and Sedimentology. Michael Economides will be the speaker extremely popular meeting. Hotels have ever. ✓ Structural Innovations and for the All-Convention Luncheon (see filled-up fast, but we can still find you a “Understanding Earth Systems – Applications. page 24). place to stay. Recently, we contracted Pursuing the Checkered Flag” is the ✓ Global Exploration Portfolio. We also have a complete slate of with the Queen Mary for premium hotel theme for the conference – referring, of ✓ Maximizing our Potential; Reservoir short course offerings and, of course, space. Most of the hotels are within course, to the Long Beach Grand Prix Characterization and Modeling. many excellent field trips in sunny walking distance of the Long Beach that will take place immediately after the ✓ Geoscience Tools. California. convention center. Please fax your hotel annual meeting. ✓ Unconventional Reservoirs and On the final day of the meeting, we request form to: +1 330 963 0319. Long Beach has a lot to offer. It has a Resources. have borrowed a tradition from our Networking, continuous technical reputation as one of the most ✓ Hydrocarbon Systems and Basin Australian “mates” – AAPG will hold its sessions, training, technology and an international cities in America. The Analysis. first “Sundowner” at an annual meeting. Icebreaker thrown in for good measure. Organizing Committee, led by Dalton ✓ The New Oil Business. This will be an end of convention For the price, AAPG’s Annual Convention Lockman as general chair, has had the ✓ Astrogeology and the “Bigger” reception on the final evening open to all is one of the best values for professional “stick-to-iveness and common sense” to Picture. attendees. development. Long Beach promises to develop a very comprehensive global ✓ Geoscience and Public Policy. be no exception from that rule. California event. As you can see there is something for * * * meetings are always unique and fun. everyone with one of our most diverse Long Beach will be a great meeting. * * * programs ever developed for an annual Annual meetings are when almost all Don’t miss out. meeting. of AAPG’s standing committees meet, As always, the key part of the All three AAPG Divisions have and many key decisions will be made in convention is the technical program. provided input into the program and, in Long Beach for the Association. The Both oral and poster sessions in Long addition, they are sponsoring lunches decisions they make and the programs Beach are based on the following topics: with excellent speakers. And AAPG they initiate will influence the ultimate ✓ Deep Water Reservoirs. award-winning journalist and author direction of the Association. Please Five Technical Sessions, Luncheon DEG Getting Ready for Long Beach By JANE McCOLLOCH These are presented for outstanding Immediate Past President Steven P. DEG President contributions to understanding and Tischer is committee vice chair. This year’s DEG program at the AAPG communication of efforts to produce ✓ The Environmental Geophysics Annual Convention in Long Beach, Calif., energy, minerals and water with minimal Committee, chaired by Bruce D. Smith, includes five technical sessions and the impact on environment; and for has six members. DEG luncheon and awards ceremony. contributions to public understanding of ✓ The CO2 Sequestration Committee The technical sessions are: our professional responsibility, whether by (Ad Hoc), co-chaired by Hannes E. ✓ The Dynamic Earth: Earthquake members of DEG or others. Leetaru and Matthias Grobe, has five Risks and Geohazards (oral session). members. ✓ The Dynamic Earth: Earthquake ✓ Category II Awards, comprising the Risks and Geohazards (poster session). President’s Award, Honorary Membership * * * ✓ Tsunamis and Hurricanes: The and Certificates of Merit, are for DEG Geologic Record and the Pending Threat members. An online version of DEG’s quarterly, (poster). The President’s Award is presented in Matthias Grobe, Craig M. Dingler and peer-reviewed journal, Environmental ✓ CO2 Budgets and Greenhouse recognition of contributions for the Gerald R. Baum. Geosciences, is now available to DEG Gasses: Generation and Sequestration advancement and betterment of the Nominations are being accepted for members and non-member subscribers. (oral). science and profession of environmental 2007-08 DEG awards; visit the DEG Web Please visit the “Members Only” area of ✓ CO2 Budgets and Greenhouse geoscience; Honorary Membership site at http://deg.aapg.org for a the AAPG Web site at www.aapg.org and Gasses: Generation and Sequestration recognizes distinguished service and description of the awards, a list of past select the gold button “SEARCH (poster). devotion to the science and profession of recipients and a PDF of the nominations Environmental Geosciences Journal.” environmental geoscience and to the form. Issues for 2005 and 2006 are Lee C. Gerhard, a DEG past president Division; and Certificates of Merit honor downloadable as zipped PDFs, and who has more than 40 years of outstanding contribution to and * * * individual articles can be viewed online experience in geology and environmental meritorious service for the betterment of and as page images in PDF format. The affairs, will present the DEG luncheon the Division and its membership. The DEG Executive Committee Search feature provides access to address titled “Energy and Environmental recently approved the formation of two articles from 2001 to present that can be Challenges of the 21st Century” (see The 2006-07 DEG Awardees are: standing committees and one ad hoc viewed as page images in PDF format. page 45). ✓ DEG Public Outreach Award – committee. Inaugural conference call These articles are also available to DEG would like to acknowledge International Petroleum Industry meetings for these committees are non-members in Datapages Pay-Per- Tidelands Oil Production Co. for its Environmental Conservation Association planned. View. sponsorship of the DEG luncheon, and (IPIECA). The missions of these committees This new membership benefit, thank them for their generous support of ✓ DEG Research Award – Joanna include developing programs for AAPG facilitated by AAPG Divisions Manager this event. Thamke. annual, sectional, regional and Norma Newby, is in response to a DEG The DEG awards ceremony will be ✓ DEG Teaching Award – Wayne international meetings, as well as member’s request for online journal held in conjunction with the DEG Pettyjohn. lectures, short courses, and publications access. luncheon. The DEG has two categories of ✓ DEG Corporate Award for in each committee’s respective area of awards: Excellence in Environmental Stewardship expertise. * * * – U.S. Department of Energy. Vice president Michael Jacobs has ✓ Category I Awards, which comprise ✓ DEG President’s Award – Robert J. been instrumental in the formation of DEG recently received an AAPG the DEG Public Outreach Award, DEG Menzie Jr. these committees. They are: Foundation grant to help fund production Research Award, DEG Teaching Award ✓ DEG Honorary Membership – ✓ The Hydrogeology Committee, costs of Environmental Geosciences, and and DEG Corporate Award for Excellence Steven P. Tischer. which has eight members. The committee we are most appreciative of their in Environmental Stewardship. ✓ DEG Certificate(s) of Merit – chair is to be announced. DEG support. ❏

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