Explorer Policy Watch

The long-term projections have changed little in the year since this column last reported on the annual International Energy Agency (IEA) “World Energy Outlook,” but the tone is much different. Last year’s report was concerned about finding the investments to meet demand; now the world has surpluses of oil and gas and a booming renewables industry.  

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column DPA

In the interest of continuing my theme of “Spreading the Word” about AAPG’s Division of Professional Affairs, here’s an update on some exciting events organized by DPA members for the spring of 2016. Many of you may be familiar with the Playmaker concept, as we have previously held five very successful events.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Since shale plays began revolutionizing the oil and gas industry, North America has been the dominant continent in making them successful. But a strong contender some 5,000 miles south of the U.S. border is beginning to turn heads.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

While many are working to forecast when the price of oil might reach $80 a barrel again, renowned international strategist and geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, the author of “The Accidental Superpower,” predicts in stunning detail the rising and declining energy plays of 2025 and the countries that will ultimately triumph as the world’s leading producers.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Policy Watch

For over two years Congress has complained about delays in the government permitting process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, and several bills were introduced to accelerate the processing of natural gas export applications.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

The shale boom has propelled the United States oil and gas industry to a leading position, not just in production, but also in navigating the perilous waters of public opinion.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Division Column EMD

Natural gas hydrate (NGH), a crystalline compound of water and natural gas, has been recognized as a vast potential energy resource for over two decades, but its commerciality has persistently remained beyond the horizon due to technical and economic hurdles.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

While exploration has slowed in many parts of the world in response to the industry’s lagging downturn, India is moving full steam ahead to encourage exploration and production on a domestic and international scale.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Emphasis Article

Utah-based professional geologist and AAPG member Gary Player is the inventor and owner of a patent-pending process for extracting commercial quantities of dissolved natural gas from ground water existing in deep, saline aquifers.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

There's long been much ado about the ongoing loss of coastal wetlands in south Louisiana. Not surprisingly, many fingers point to the oil and gas industry with its several thousand linear miles of pipelines in the region.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Hot Items

Explorer Geophysical Corner

Advancements in processing and imaging techniques have continued over the last several decades, which have gradually improved the quality of the processed surface seismic data. When the quality of the existing seismic data is not adequate to perform an interpretation task reasonably, then the interpreter looks for other options. Is it feasible to acquire a new survey? In the absence of an improved survey, will reprocessing of seismic data be a good option?

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Historical Highlights

The Casablanca oil field, discovered in 1975 and located on the Mediterranean shelf edge, has been greatly significant in the world’s offshore oil industry activity, besides being by far the biggest oil field in Spain.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

It isn’t news to anyone that prediction is difficult, especially when it’s the future (as a great man once said). Uncertainty and unpredictability are just a part of the job of tracking and predicting the future supply and demand of energy. That being the case, when energy analysts say that the current level of uncertainty is particularly high, it might be easy to dismiss it as a “dog bites man” story. It isn’t.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Article

A new type of buoyancy model can be used to understand the source of residual oil zones, both thick and thin, to help determine the likelihood that economically viable recoverable oil resides in transition zones of imbibition reservoirs. Application of a buoyancy and breech model will fill a void in reservoir characterization. It will help distinguish between TZs and ROZs, the first of which allows application of primary and secondary (waterflooding) oil recovery methods and the second of which requires more difficult CO2-enhanced oil recovery projects.

Show more
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Explorer Director’s Corner

Perhaps you did a double take pulling the April issue of EXPLORER from the mailbox. What is this? If you joined AAPG in the last 40 years, you’ve only known EXPLORER in its long-standing tabloid format. It worked well for many years as our advertisers – particularly seismic companies – loved the large format and the ability to display their data on a sweeping canvas. For readers, it was a little more awkward.

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)

Headquarters Contacts

Susan Nash
Susan Nash Director, Innovation and Emerging Science and Technology, AAPG +1 405 314 7730