2009 Annual Report - American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Russell E. Stands-Over-Bull,
Denise M. Stone, Laird B. Thompson,
Qingming Yang, and Scott S. Young.
Research
The function of the Committee on
Research is to monitor activities in
geoscience research that relate to the
exploration and production of petroleum
and other energy minerals; to promote
the interchange of research ideas
through conferences and symposia; to
assist other AAPG committees with
matters pertaining to research activities;
and to initiate, sponsor, and/or cooperate
with organizations in gathering data and
preparing reports on subjects of high
interest to geoscientists.
The committee consists of two
subcommittees (Hedberg Conference
and Academic Geoscience Survey) and
two research groups (Reservoir
Deformation and Unconventional
Petroleum Systems).
Among the most important activities of
the Research Committee is development
and sponsorship of AAPG’s Hedberg
Conferences and Research Symposia.
Hedberg Conferences held since the
last report include:
• Heavy Oil: Origin, Production in Deep
Waters: October 8–10, 2006, Veracruz,
Mexico; organizers J. Antonio Escalera,
Nahum Schneidermann, Barry Katz,
Javier J. Meneses, and Ulises
Hernandez; 106 participants with
6 nations represented.
• Understanding World Oil Resources:
November 12–17, 2006: Colorado
Springs, Colorado; organizers Richard
Nehring, Tom Ahlbrandt, Dick Bishop,
Pete Stark, and Jim Emme;
75 participants with 17 nations
represented.
• Basin Modeling Perspectives:
Innovative Developments and Novel
Applications: May 6–9, 2007, The
Hague, The Netherlands; organizers
Hanneke Verweij, Stephen
Duppenbecker, Sierd Cloetingh, Marek
Kacewicz, Johannes Wendebourg, and
Gareth Yardley; 181 participants with
19 nations represented.
Hedberg Conferences approved and
planned at the time of the preparation of
this report are:
• Heavy Oil and Bitumen in Foreland
Basins: Sept. 30–Oct. 3, 2007,
Calgary, Alberta; organizers John Suter,
Dale Leckie, and Steve Larter.
1758 Annual Report
Hedberg Conference in planning
stages include:
• Sediment Transfer from Shelf to
Deepwater – Revisiting the Delivery
Mechanisms: March 3–7, 2008:
Ushuais, Patagonia, Argentina;
organizers Carlos Savala, Stanley
Wharton, Ronald Steel, Roger Slatt,
and 8 others.
• The Geologic Occurrence and
Hydraulic Significance of Fractures in
Reservoirs: tentatively July 13–18,
2008, Casper, Wyoming; organizers
Peter Hennings, Paul LaPoint,
Laird Thompson, Chris Zahm, and
Mark Zoback.
• Variations in Fluvial-Deltaic and Coastal
Reservoirs Deposited in Tropical
Environments: tentatively September
2008, in Malaysia or Singapore;
organizers Bob Shoup, Joe Lambiase,
and Andrew Cullen.
• Deepwater Fold and Thrust Belts:
tentatively Spring of 2009, possibly in
Italy or France; organizers Trey Meckel,
Gillian Apps, Frank Peel, and
Rob Butler.
On July 1, 2007, President Will Green
appointed Dr. Ken Peters, U.S. Geological
Survey, to chair of the Research
Committee.
John M. Armentrout, Chair
Committee members:
John M. Armentrout (chair),
Edward Denman, John Dolson,
Bernard Duval, Brett Edwards,
Remi Eschard, Jim Garrison, Jose Guzman,
Mitch Harris, Peter Hennings, John Hogg,
Barry Katz, Lee Kristinik, Stephen Laubach,
Susan Longacre, David McGee,
Larry Meckel, Don Medwedeff,
Dag Nummedal, Ken Peters,
Henry Posamentier, Brad Prather,
Andy Pulham, Dave Sanders,
Eugene Shinn, Roger Slatt,
Mark Stephenson, Bruce Trudgill,
Montserrat Valencia, John Wagner,
Joann Welton, and Leslie Wood.
Resource Evaluation
The function of the Committee is to
provide input and facilitate U.S.
Government agencies and other
appropriate agencies in performing
assessments and monitoring the status
of U.S. and international hydrocarbon
resources. The Committee may publish
resource estimates only if they are fully
documented with appropriate maps,
statistics, and explanation of
methodology.
Meetings
The Committee on Resource Evaluation
met once during this fiscal year, that being
at the annual meeting in Long Beach,
California. Although we usually meet twice
each year, schedule demands prevented
Tom Ahlbrandt, the then chairman, from
being able to convene a fall meeting.
Chairmanship
Tom Ahlbrandt was chairman of the
committee as the year began. A change in
employment and concomitant increase in
travel prevented him from being able to
convene a fall meeting. Tom requested
that Rusty Riese be appointed to replace
him as chair, and that appointment
became effective in January.
Projects
• Hedberg Research Conference on
Understanding World Oil Resources—
Committee member Richard Nehring
initiated and organized the captioned
conference. The meeting was held in
Colorado Springs, Colorado, in
November. An AAPG publication on
the results is planned, and member
Pete Stark is assisting with that effort.
• Review of U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) Methods for Predicting
Growth-to-Known Reserves—A review of
USGS proposed methods for predicting
growth-to-known reserves was
conducted as the reporting year began.
Committee recommendations for how
this works and analysis might be
performed were conveyed verbally to
survey personnel during the course of
the review. A summary report was
compiled and reviewed in final form by
the quorum of the committee, which
met at the Long Beach meeting. A final
draft will be sent to the Executive and to
the U.S. Geological Survey as soon as
the chairman can get it recompiled.
Members who contributed to this effort
were Jeff Brown, John Curtis, Ben Hare,
Naresh Kumar, Pete Stark and Rusty
Riese. Ken Logan of TransCanada
Pipeline and the Canadian Gas Potential
Committee also participated. Follow-up
reviews are anticipated for this fall.
• Review of Minerals Management Service
(MMS) Resource Forecasts and
Methods—A review of MMS methods
of resource assessment was conducted
approximately four years ago. The
results of that review were formally
conveyed to the MMS only after
considerable delay. This is important
because the reviewing subcommittee
expressed concern about the methods
being employed and made a number
of recommendations to the MMS for