HGS Volume 58, Number 7 BulleHoustont Geologicalin Society March 2016 Regional Interpretation Across the Entire Gulf of Mexico Basin– A New Perspective Page 31 Chicontepec Formation Outcrop in Eastern Mexico Reveals Further Evidence for a Paleocene/Eocene Evaporative Drawdown of the Gulf of Mexico Page 35 Getting Started as a Self-Employed Geoscientist Page 41 TheBulletin Houston Geological Society Volume 58, Number 7 March 2016 In Every Issue Technical Meetings 19 HGS Environmental & Engineering Dinner Meeting Applied 5 Your Board in Action Independent Assessments of Gold, Silver, Uranium, by Deborah Sacrey Phosphate, Potash, and Rare-Earth Deposits Geoscience 7 From the Editor 23 HGS General Dinner Meeting by Jon Blickwede The Crude Oil Export Ban – Mudrocks 38 GeoEvents Calendar What, Me Worry About Peak Oil? 27 HGS Northsiders Luncheon Meeting Conference 55 HGS Membership Application Sub-seismic Resolution in the Eagle Ford Enabled page 4, 13 by Multi-Attribute Analysis Using Instantaneous, 56 HPAC Geometric, and Spectral Decomposition Self 57 Professional Organizing Maps Directory 31 HGS Joint International and North American Dinner Meeting Houston Geological Society Regional Interpretation Across the Entire Gulf of OFFICERS Mexico Basin – A New Perspective Deborah Sacrey President John Jordan President-elect 35 HGS General Luncheon Meeting Cheryl Desforges Vice President Compelling Evidence from Eastern Mexico for a Gulce Dinc Secretary Late Paleocene/Early Eocene Isolation, Drawdown Larry Quandt Treasurer and Refill of the Gulf of Mexico Bryan Guzman Treasurer-elect page 23 Jon Blickwede Editor Tami Shannon Editor-elect Other Features DIRECTORS 11 Letter to the Editor Jim Grubb Penny Patterson 13 HGS Applied Geoscience Mudrocks Conference Justin Vandenbrink Provides a Low Cost, High Quality Training and Annie Walker Networking Opportunity HGS OFFICE STAFF Mike Effler and Frank Walles Andrea Peoples HGS Office Director John Tubb, Jr. Office Management 41 Getting Started as a Self-Employed Geoscientist EDITORIAL BOARD Thom Tucker, Cheryl Desforges, Robert Pledger, Susan S. Jon Blickwede Editor Nash, PhD, Bryan Flynn Tami Shannon Editor-elect It’s not important whether this is the final, maximum world production peak or not. Richard Li Advisory Editor It is43 a signalGeological/Paleontological about a trend that needs Internship/Fellowship to be acknowledged and incorporated into Ed Marks Advisory Editor our evolvingat Big paradigm Bend National about Park, oil supply. Texas Advisory Editor page 27 Charles Revilla Jill Kimble Advertising Editor 45 Who Was That Roughneck? Stories from Raccoon Lisa Krueger Design Editor Peak oil isBend not Oilabout Field, running Austin and out Waller of oil. Counties, It is about Texas what happens when the supply of conventional oil begins to decline. Once this happens, higher-cost, lower- The Houston Geological Society Bulletin (ISSN-018-6686) is Jeff Spencer published monthly except for July and August by the Houston quality sources of oil become increasingly necessary to meet global demand. Geological Society, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, 49 Remembrance Houston, Texas 77079-2916. Phone: 713-463-9476; fax: 281-679-5504 Those secondaryCharles R. “Chuck”sources Noll of Jr. oil include unconventional (oil sand and tight oil) Editorial correspondence and material submitted for publication should be addressed to the Editor, Houston Geological Society and53 deep Government-water production. Update The contribution of unconventional and deep-water Bulletin, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, Texas 77079-2916 or to [email protected]. productionHenry has M.grown Wise andfrom Arlin about Howle 15% in 2000 to approximately one-third of total Subscriptions: Subscription to this publication is included in the membership dues ($28.00 annually). Subscription price for supply today, and it will probably represent more than 40% by 2030. nonmembers within the contiguous U.S. is $50.00 per year. For those outside the contiguous U.S. the subscription price is $75.00 About the Cover: Scanning electron microscope image of Fe and Al rich chlorite from the per year. Single-copy price is $8.00. Periodicals postage paid in StrzegomDespite pegmatite, a popular Poland. The belief field of viewthat is approximatelytight oil 200is pricemicrons- wide.competitive Photo with conventional oil Houston, Texas. byproduction, Michal Skiba, Institute it is ofnot. Geological The Sciences, economics Jagiellonian of University, tight Kraków.oil plays Image require spot oil prices that POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Houston Geological reproduced from the “Images of Clay Archive” of the Mineralogical Society of Great Society Bulletin, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, are double and wellhead prices that are triple current face values. Excluding new Texas 77079-2916 Britain & Ireland and The Clay Minerals Society (www.minersoc.org/gallery.php?id=2). page 31 SAGD projects, tight oil is the world’s most expensive, and therefore marginal barrel of oil, and its cost of production today is more than $70. March 2016 Houston Geological Society Bulletin 1 2 Houston Geological Society Bulletin March 2016 Board of Directors 2015–16 President (P) Deborah Sacrey Auburn Energy 713-468-3260 [email protected] President-Elect (PE) John Jordan Anadarko 832-636-2471 [email protected] Vice President (VP) Cheryl Desforges Consultant 713-816-9202 [email protected] Secretary (S) Gulce Dinc ION Geophysical 713-231-2803 [email protected] Treasurer (T) Larry Quandt Consultant 713-206-0389 [email protected] Treasurer Elect (TE) Bryan Guzman Ingrain Inc. 832-270-5842 [email protected] Editor (E) Jon Blickwede Statoil 832-228-6593 [email protected] Editor-Elect (EE) Tami Shannon Oxy 361-563-2523 [email protected] Director 15-17 (D1) Annie Walker ION Geophysical 832-854-6989 [email protected] Director 14-16 (D2) Penny Patterson ExxonMobil 713-553-8779 [email protected] Director 14-16 (D3) Jim Grubb White Marlin Oil & Gas LLC 713-591-1155 [email protected] Director 15-17 (D4) Justin Vandenbrink Weatherford Inc. 832-205-4063 [email protected] Committee Chairperson Phone Email Board Rep. 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