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May Bulletin Deadline

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:00:00 GMT

May Bulletin Deadline
Start Date: 15-Mar-10 5:00 PM
End Time: 15-Mar-10 5:00 PM
Event Details:

Last Day to Submit Material for the

May 2010 Bulletin!

AAPG / HGS Deepwater Technology Workshop

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT

AAPG / HGS Deepwater Technology Workshop
Start Date: 16-Mar-10 7:00 AM
End Time: 17-Mar-10 5:30 PM
Location: Norris Conference Center/City Centre, Houston, TX 77024
Speaker: Mike Hudec-Keynote Speaker

Event Details:

GeoscienceTechnology Workshop: Deepwater and Ultra-Deepwater Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico

Space is limited, so sign up early!

To Register click link below:

http://www.aapg.org/gtw/houston03mar162010.cfm

The event will be held March 16-17, in Houston and registration is now available.
The cost of the conference is $695 for AAPG members and
$795 for non-members if you sign up before February 22– after that the price goes up!

Special Deal for HGS Members!

** One free AAPG webinar (an archived one) -- $145 value (email snash@aagp.org)
** HGS members receive AAPG member discount

The goal of this meeting is to develop knowledge that can enhance exploration, production, and appraisal efforts in deepwater reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico. Experienced practitioners and researchers will participate in lively discussions to share both personal experiences and best practices in applying geology, geophysics, and engineering data to the challenges of exploration, appraisal, development drilling, and reservoir characterization and simulation. Sessions will include results of studies on existing fields, as well as exploration frontiers, geophysical issues, and emerging technologies for imaging and data acquisition. The workshop will conclude with “big picture” discussions in which lessons learned are applied to future endeavors. Check the AAPG Learn! Blog http://blog.aapg.org/learn/ for updated program information! To facilitate the exchange of ideas, there will be no abstracts or publications released from this symposium, much like the very successful SPE Applied Technology Workshops. Participants will have many opportunities to network and to discuss practical issues.

Come be part of the exciting and dynamic new meeting format!

Attendees may earn up to 1.5 CEUs by attending the Deepwater / Ultra Deepwater GTW

**Approved Training Provider -- Texas Workforce Commission -- you may be eligible for tuition reimbursment **

Norris Conference Center/City Centre

803 Town and Country Ln., Suite 210

Houston, TX 77024

HGS Northsiders Lunch: Geologic Controls on Shale Oil

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:30:00 GMT

HGS Northsiders Lunch: Geologic Controls on Shale Oil
Start Date: 16-Mar-10 11:30 AM
End Time: 16-Mar-10 1:00 PM
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (formerly Sofitel), Houston, TX 77060
Speaker: Aris Pramudito

Event Details:

Understanding the Geologic Controls on “Shale Oil Play”: Lessons Learned from the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Elm Coulee Field, Montana

The Bakken Formation is a subsurface formation in the Williston Basin that is divided into three informal members: upper, middle and lower. Upper and lower Bakken consist of dark grey to black pyritic and finely laminated mudstones. The middle member of the Bakken is composed of various lithologies including siltstones, sandstones, limestones and dolostones. Total thickness of the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin ranges from 0 ft – 110 ft with the upper member ranges from 0 ft - 30 ft, the middle ranges from 0 ft - 92 ft, and the lower ranges from 0 ft - 46 ft.

The upper and lower mudstones are world-class petroleum source rocks with TOC range from 8% to 36% wt. with average of 25% to 28% wt. across large areas of the basin, and can be easily identified by their high radioactive signatures (GR > 200 ^oAPI). The Bakken was estimated to have generated 200 – 400 billion barrels, low sulfur (< 0.1%), 40 – 45 ^oAPI gravity oil in place.

The lower Bakken is absent in the Elm Coulee Field. Source of petroleum in the middle Bakken is primarily from the upper Bakken mudstone with TOC varies from 8% - 15% wt. with estimated initial TOC ranges from 12% – 25% wt., increasing towards the basin center (northwest to the Elm Coulee).

The total thickness of the Bakken Formation in the Elm Coulee field 10 ft - 50 ft with the middle Bakken ranges from 5 ft – 45 ft. Low permeability rocks characterize the overall middle Bakken member lithologies. The accommodation space for the Bakken in the Elm Coulee field is believed to be developed by the dissolution of the evaporite Prairie Formation to the north of Elm Coulee or by basement related structures or both.

The upper Bakken mudstone is dark-grey to black, hard, siliceous, slightly calcareous, pyritic, and fissile. The mudstone consists of dark organic kerogen, minor clay, silt-size quartz, some calcite and dolomite. The kerogen consists mainly of amorphous material and the organic material is distributed evenly throughout the mudstone interval. The middle Bakken in the Elm Coulee Field consists of dolostones with 3 identified lithofacies: calcareous dolomudstones, bioturbated dolomudstones and sandy dolostones. Identified lithofacies represent different rock properties of the middle Bakken. Sandy dolostone lithofacies has the greatest porosity and permeability both calculated from core analysis and wireline logs (5% - 10% porosity and 0.05 – 0.2 mD of permeability). The pore network development in the middle Bakken is the function of degree of bioturbation, mineralogical-depositional fabric, and diagenesis. Permeability is highly dependant by matrix porosity from intergranular and intragranular from the dissolution of dolomites, with less of natural fractures involved based on core observation in the field.

Due to the simplicity of structural deformation in the Williston Basin, the oil generated by the upper and middle Bakken remains in the system. Therefore Bakken petroleum system is a self-sourced system. The middle Bakken in this field is oil saturated. Both fractures and pore network are the important factors in controlling petroleum charge access from the upper Bakken source to the middle Bakken tight reservoir.

The middle Bakken fairway boundaries in the Elm Coulee field were defined using porosity from neutron-density logs with cutoff of 5%, and true resistivity above 20 Ohm-m. Net thickness of saturated oil zone within the middle Bakken ranges from 5 ft to 25 ft. The Bakken in the field is slightly overpressured due to petroleum generation. The over-pressuring and middle Bakken reservoir quality are the important factors in understanding the oil production rates in the Elm Coulee Field. The middle Bakken is a brittle dolostone, which is fracture-able for hydraulic fracturing completion. Long-lateral horizontal drilling and multi-stages hydraulic fracturing of the middle Bakken dolostones are keys of success in the Elm Coulee Field development area.

Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (formerly Sofitel)

425 North Sam Houston Pkwy

Houston, TX USA 77060

HGS Environmental & Engineering Dinner: Ethanol-Blended Fuels

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:30:00 GMT

HGS Environmental & Engineering Dinner: Ethanol-Blended Fuels
Start Date: 16-Mar-10 5:30 PM
End Time: 16-Mar-10 8:30 PM
Location: Black Lab in the Churchill Room, Houston, TX 77006
Speaker: Brent P. Stafford, PhD, PG

Event Details:

Fate and Transport of Ethanol-Blended Fuels
Brent P. Stafford, PhD, PG

Concerns regarding potential impacts to environmental resources from releases of ethanol-blended fuels have increased due to the rise in use and transport of ethanol fuel blends. Potential release scenarios include ethanol-blended gasoline (10-20% v/v ethanol) or E85 (85% v/v ethanol) leaking from underground storage tanks at service stations, and fuel grade (denatured) ethanol (95-97.5% v/v ethanol) spills during transport or after reaching bulk terminals.

The hydrophilic properties of ethanol drive the environmental transport of these fuels and influence the locations and geometries of generated non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) secondary source zones from the gasoline or denaturant fuel fractions. Also, due to the ability of highly concentrated ethanol to dissolve NAPL, large releases of fuel grade ethanol may exacerbate impacts to groundwater or surface waters at sites with pre-existing NAPL in soils or sediments. As a result, commonly understood and utilized conceptual models used as tools for site management for released (non-ethanol blended) fuels may be inadequate for some ethanol fuel blends.

This study presents and overview of the state of knowledge on the fate and transport of released ethanol-blended fuels. Included are recent quantitative results from bench- and pilot--scale experiments that simulated releases of fuel-grade ethanol near the water table, highly concentrated ethanol in the capillary zone upgradient of a pre-existing residual NAPL, and dissolved ethanol and aromatic hydrocarbons from a steady-state simulated gasohol source in groundwater. The results show (1) fuel ethanol releases that reach the water table will be largely confined to the capillary zone due to ethanol’s physical properties. As a result, generated secondary NAPL sources from gasoline fuel fractions in fuel grade ethanol will largely form within a collapsed capillary fringe. (2) The mass transfer of ethanol from the capillary zone will determine the resulting ethanol concentrations in groundwater; thus, surface recharge, water table fluctuations, and groundwater seepage velocity and dispersion, and position within and down-gradient of the source will be important determinants of aqueous ethanol concentration; and (3) pre-existing residual NAPL may be mobilized by ethanol in the capillary zone closer to the water table, which would increase hydrocarbon concentrations in neighboring groundwater.

Collectively, there have been recent significant gains in the state of knowledge on the fate and transport of ethanol-blended fuels. These compiled results from recent research and field investigations provide insight for evaluating or managing potential risks to environmental resources.

Black Lab in the Churchill Room

4100 Montrose Blvd.

Houston, TX 77006

Thirsty Thursday

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Thirsty Thursday
Start Date: 18-Mar-10 6:00 PM
End Time: 18-Mar-10 8:00 PM
Location: Cedar Creek Cafe Bar & Grill, Houston, TX 77008
Event Details:

The March Edition of Thirsty Thursdays is being held at Cedar Creek Cafe, Bar, and Grill. We'll be there from 6-8 pm so bring a friend and join the NeoGeos for an after work brew.

Cedar Creek Cafe Bar & Grill

1034 W 20th St

Houston, TX USA 77008

HGS Int''l Explorationists Dinner: Understanding the Deep Crust

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:30:00 GMT

HGS Int'l Explorationists Dinner: Understanding the Deep Crust
Start Date: 22-Mar-10 5:30 PM
End Time: 22-Mar-10 8:30 PM
Location: Westchase Hilton, Houston, Texas 77042-3802
Speaker: Dr. Walter D. Mooney

Event Details:

From the Bay of Bengal and Beyond!

Using seismic techniques to understand the earth's crust beneath sedimentary basins.

Dr. Walter D. Mooney

United States Geological Survey

Understanding how sedimentary basins evolve is an exciting but difficult task. Seismic reflection data do a marvelous job of imaging the internal structure of sedimentary basins. There is no better technique. However, we often want more than just a detailed image of the basin. Of particular interest are the physical properties within the basin and below it, within the crystalline crust. For example, seismic P- and S-wave velocities are closely tied to lithology, and hence crustal type (oceanic versus continental). Consequently, seismic reflection studies are complemented by seismic velocity studies. Such velocity information is very effective in determining basin geometry, and can be used to determine Poisson’s ratio, an important parameter for determining the kind of source rocks, crustal type, as well issues related to the Law of the Seas convention.

One good way to obtain reliable deep seismic velocities is to shoot wide-offset seismic refraction profiles. Actually, this technique is a classical one that every student encounters in their first course about the Earth’s crust. Indeed, seismic refraction profiles formed the basis for the early exploration of hydrocarbon resources. Today, high resolution seismic refraction profiles are recorded one land and at sea using a wide variety of techniques.

In this talk I will present a global synthesis of what we have learned from deep crustal seismic velocity profiles, from the Gulf Coast to the Bay of Bengal, and beyond. A very extensive literature search has been undertaken to track down as many of the seismic refraction publications as possible. The resulting database contains over 10,000 one-dimensional P-wave and S-wave profiles, making it the largest such catalog in existence. These data, especially when examined as complete crustal cross sections, reveal a number of surprising results, such as the discovery of highly thinned continental crust extending 100’s of km offshore; serpentinized peridotite (rather than basalt) right at the sea floor, and evidence that deep, highly metamorphosed sediments that mimic crystalline basement rocks, thus confounding traditional basin interpretations. Indeed, many of these results challenge conventional views of “how the Earth works”. That’s just what makes this investigation so exciting!

Westchase Hilton

9999 Westheimer

Houston, Texas 77042-3802

HGS N. American Dinner: Hydrocarbons Associated With Igneous Rocks

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:30:00 GMT

HGS N. American Dinner: Hydrocarbons Associated With Igneous Rocks
Start Date: 29-Mar-10 5:30 PM
End Time: 29-Mar-10 8:30 PM
Location: Westchase Hilton, Houston, Texas 77042-3802
Speaker: Steven Schutter

Event Details:

Hydrocarbons Associated With Igneous Rocks (N. America & Worldwide)

Explorationists generally disregard igneous rocks and their immediate surroundings, condemning the surrounding sediments as overmature and the igneous rocks themselves as nonporous crystalline masses. However, these are misconceptions, and there is opportunity in moving beyond them. The maturation effects of the igneous activity are often overrated. Most shallow igneous intrusions are volumetrically too small to affect a large volume of rock, and even flood basalts cool too quickly to have a marked effect. Most thermal effects are due to regional heating or hydrothermal circulation.

Porosity in igneous rocks may be due to fracturing, particularly due to cooling. Some extrusive rocks are also vesicular or may have a clastic texture. However, retrograde metamorphism can also provide significant porosity; essentially a vuggy texture. Combinations of these can produce effective reservoir rocks.

Igneous rocks can also provide their own traps. Variations in porosity can produce a pseudostratigraphic trap; however, thick intrusive bodies (such as laccoliths and plugs) and volcanic cones can also provide trapping structures. Dikes can block hycrocarbon migration pathways. Syndepositional sedimentary and igneous facies may also provide traps, as well as post-emplacement draping over noncompacting igneous bodies.

While generally not considered to be source rocks, extrusive igneous terrains are often lake-prone, and thus may provide source rocks for subsequent igneous rocks.

Migration in igneous areas is predominantly normal, but both CO₂-dominated systems and those subject to supercritical steam may be present and they may have distinctive favorable peculiarities. Since they are nonpolar fluids, they are considerably more effective than water-dominated systems at mobilizing hydrocarbons, and the conventional “rules of thumb” for organic matter type, richness, and maturity may not apply.

Exploration methods need to be as variable as the igneous reservoirs. Some igneous rocks contain abundant iron, and have a strong magnetic signature. Others do not. Some igneous rocks are much denser than the surrounding rock; others are not. Notably, one of the earliest plays in Texas, the “serpentine” trend, was instrumental in developing many of the early geophysical techniques. Likewise, log results may be so variable as to be ambiguous. Some characteristics may be recognizable, but the nature of the igneous rocks and their relationships must be considered.

Due to the lack of “rules” and systematic study, currently the best approach to exploration in and around igneous rocks is to look for analogs. The search for analogs cannot be limited to one area or continent, but a global view is needed. Analogs from around the world have applicability to possible plays in North America. Thus, an extensive reference list of possible analogs should be considered.

More broadly, the presence of hydrocarbons in or around igneous rocks in a basin may be a sign for an effective hydrocarbon system in that basin. There are still basins in the world where leaking hydrocarbons may indicate the potential of the basin. Also, large areas of productive sedimentary basins are covered by volcanics, both flood basalts and ash-flow tuffs. Exploration models can complement and enhance geophysical methods in such areas.

Useful References

DeJarnett, B. B., 2007, Oil in a basaltic reservoir? West Rozel Field, Box Elder County, Utah: Houston Geological Society Bulletin, v. 50, n. 3 (November), p. 35, 37.

Schutter, S. R., 2003, Hydrocarbon occurrence and exploration in and around igneous rocks: in Petford, N., and McCaffrey, K. J. W., eds., Hydrocarbons in crystalline rocks, Geological Society of London, Special Publication 214, p. 7-33.

Discussion.

Schutter, S. R., 2003, Occurrences of hydrocarbons in and around igneous rocks: in Petford, N., and McCaffrey, K. J. W., eds., Hydrocarbons in crystalline rocks, Geological Society of London, Special Publication 214, p. 35-68.

List of occurrences.

Westchase Hilton

9999 Westheimer

Houston, Texas USA 77042-3802

ETGS Tech 2010 and Prospect Expo

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:30:00 GMT

ETGS Tech 2010 and Prospect Expo
Start Date: 30-Mar-10 8:30 AM
End Time: 30-Mar-10 4:30 PM
Location: Tyler's Harvey Convention Center, Tyler, TX
Speaker: H. Craig Clark / Rick Turner

Event Details:

Tyler's Harvey Convention Center

2000 W. Front St.

Tyler, TX

HGS General Lunch: Boquillas (Eagle Ford) Outcrops, South Texas

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:30:00 GMT

HGS General Lunch: Boquillas (Eagle Ford) Outcrops, South Texas
Start Date: 31-Mar-10 11:30 AM
End Time: 31-Mar-10 1:30 PM
Location: Petroleum Club of Houston, Houston, Texas 77002
Speaker: Lauren Peschier

Event Details:

The Boquillas (Eagle Ford) Formation of South Texas: Potential Outcrop Analogs for Nonconventional Eagle Ford Shale Reservoirs in the Subsurface

The Eagle Ford Shale (and the laterally equivalent Tuscaloosa Shale) of the Gulf Coast Basin has long been considered to be a source rock for Mexico, Texas, and northern Louisiana production but is now drawing interest as a resource play. With industry focus on non-conventional reservoirs and advancements in multilateral horizontal completion technology, fractured bituminous shales have become viable exploration targets. Well known examples of shale reservoirs include Bakken Shale (Mississippian of Williston Basin), Barnett Shale (Mississippian of Forth Worth Basin), Woodford Shale (Late Devonian/Early Mississippian of Arkoma Basin), and Marcellus Shale (Middle Devonian of Appalachian Basin). The Cretaceous experienced three major Oceanic Anoxic Events, including one at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary, represented by the Eagle Ford, and it is not surprising that exploration interest is now being attracted.

The current study is concerned with outcrops observed along U.S Highway 90 in Val Verde and Terrell counties, Texas, where the Eagle Ford (locally called the Boquillas Formation) lies on the northern margin of the Maverick Basin. The Boquillas Formation (Cenomanian-Turonian) is about 200 ft thick in this area but thickens ten-fold in northern Mexico. It was deposited during a time of exceptionally high sea levels and represents a transgressive-regressive sequence. For the purpose of the study, the formation was divided into three members based on lithological differences, including limestone to shale ratio. Attention was focused on the lowest member, which has characteristics of slope depositional conditions. Features seen in this member contradict previous interpretations of the Boquillas in this area, which had been thought to be composed of tidal-flat or shallow shelf sediments. The sedimentary features of the lower member include slump folds, debris flows, probable turbidites, and possible contourites (previously interpreted as hummocky cross bedded grainstones). The strata consist mainly of interbedded limestone and calcareous shales. These sediments were probably once black and organic-rich, but there are no exposures where the lower member is sufficiently unweathered. Diagenetic differentiation, the repartitioning of carbonate from the shales into the limestone, has selectively exaggerated the geometry of the contourites and caused their resemblance to hummocky cross-stratification. When freshly broken, the limestone beds emit a hydrocarbon odor. The faunal assemblage of the lower and middle members consists mainly of planktonic foraminifera, calcispheres, and ammonites. Bottom dwelling fossils are less common and are mainly found in the matrix of debris flow deposits, with the exception of Inoceramus sp. This bivalve genus has species that are adapted to low oxygen conditions. The lack of bioturbation and scarcity of fossils suggests deep water and possibly anoxic bottom conditions. The combination of lithofacies observed in outcrop, and the fauna, suggest that the lower member of the Boquillas represents the beginning of sea level rise with sediment accumulating on the upper margin of the basin’s slope, in moderately deep water.

The transition between the lower and middle members is marked by the abrupt end of the unstable slope features and a much higher proportion of organic-rich shales to limestones. At the base of the three deepest road cuts along Highway 90, fresher rock is exposed. When freshly broken, these shales are black. They are very finely laminated on a millimeter scale, and contain planktonic foraminifera and calcispheres. Coarser laminae, ranging from millimeter to centimeter thick, consist of microfossil concentrations that are thought to be a product of winnowing by bottom currents. Inoceramids are also present in the middle member. Some of the interbedded limestones are laterally continuous while others are more nodular in appearance. The preservation of fine laminae, with little to no bioturbation, combined with the fauna present, indicate anaerobic to dysaerobic conditions with a total lack of infauna during the time of deposition. Water depth for the majority of the middle member was probably deeper than for the lower member, with sediment being deposited on the middle to lower basin slope. Nearing the top of this member there is an increase in limestone beds suggesting a decrease in water depth, consistent with the interpretation of a transgressive-regressive cycle.

The upper member consists mainly of somewhat bioturbated limestones that are much thicker than those of the other two members. Trace fossils include Chondrites, which still suggests relatively low oxygen levels. The upper member appears to lack the high organic content present in the rest of the Boquillas. This top unit represents a progressive return to shallower, better oxygenated conditions. Along with pyrite-filled burrows, an abundance of regular and irregular echinoids supports this interpretation.

Petroleum Club of Houston

800 Bell St., 43rd Floor

Houston, Texas USA 77002

HGS General Dinner: GOM Hydrates

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:30:00 GMT

HGS General Dinner: GOM Hydrates
Start Date: 5-Apr-10 5:30 PM
End Time: 5-Apr-10 8:30 PM
Location: Hilton Houston Westchase, Houston, Texas 77042
Speaker: Dan McConnell

Event Details:

The Discovery of Rich Gas Hydrate Accumulations in Sand Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico: Results from DOE-Chevron Joint Industry Project Drilling

Dan McConnell, AOA Geophysics;

Ray Boswell, U.S. Department of Energy;
Timothy S. Collett, U.S. Geological Survey;

Matthew Frye and William Shedd, Minerals Management Service;

Stefan Mrozewski, Gilles Guerin, and Ann Cook, Columbia University;

Dianna Shelander and Jianchun Dai, Schlumberger;

Paul Godfriaux and Rebecca Dufrene, Minerals Management Service;

Emrys Jones and Rana Roy, Chevron

In April and May of 2009 the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrate Joint Industry Project realized its second field program (Leg II) with the semi-submersible Helix Q4000 drillship. The three week, $11.5M expedition drilled seven logging-while-drilling (LWD) holes at three sites that tested a variety of geologic/geophysical models for the occurrence of gas hydrate in sand reservoirs in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Over 17,000 ft of sedimentary section were logged using a state of the art bottom hole assembly. The three sites drilled were Walker Ridge (WR) 313, Green Canyon (GC) 955, and Alaminos Canyon (AC) 21. The expedition was completed on-time and under budget. The locations for JIP Leg II drilling were the result of an integrated geological and geophysical prospecting approach that considered direct geophysical evidence for gas hydrate-bearing strata in the context of evaluation of indicators for gas sourcing, gas migration pathways to the shallow section, and occurrence of sand reservoirs within the gas hydrate stability zone. High saturation gas hydrate deposits in sands were found, where predicted, at four of five holes at two sites, WR313 and GC 955. The third site, AC 21, indicated low to moderate gas hydrate saturation in extensive shallow sands. The full research-level LWD assembly deployed for Leg II collected gamma-ray, neutron and density porosity, neutron spectroscopy data, as well as full azimuthal resistivity and acoustic velocity, including both compressional and shear-wave measurements.

Leg II was clearly a high-risk proposition, as despite the drilling of a large number of industry wells in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, there had been only one prior instance (at Alaminos Canyon block 818) in which gas hydrate had been reported to occur in sand. Nonetheless, the potential for gas hydrate at high saturation in sands was large; an assessment conducted under the leadership of the Minerals Management Service produced a mean estimate of 6,700 tcf gas-in-place in gas hydrate-bearing sands in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Perhaps the primary scientific objective of the Leg II program was to provide ground truth data to test the soundness of the prospecting techniques developed with the JIPs site selection team. One part of this approach was pre-drill inversions of seismic data to estimate areal variations in gas hydrate saturation.

The two wells in WR 313, in the Terrebonne Basin, confirmed the pre-drill models. The main gas hydrate targets were approximately 2,700 ft below the seafloor. The first well WR 313 G had a predrill prediction of 57% gas hydrate in the target sand. LWD indicated a net of ~30 ft of sand containing gas hydrate at saturation of 70% at the target horizon. The second well approximately 0.6 miles east and updip, WR 313 H, tested a similar, but stratigraphically deeper target. The pre-drill saturation was 53% at the primary target. Results show two lobes of very clean sand with over 90% gas hydrate saturation in the upper lobe. Saturations in the lower lobe ranged from 50% to 60%. In addition, both holes revealed a shallow unit with 350-500 ft of grain-displacing fracture fills gas hydrate in clays beginning approximately 600 ft below the sea floor.

Three holes were drilled in GC955 just outboard of the Sigsbee Escarpment, where a wide and thick late Pleistocene channel complex has been fractured and uplifted by a shallow salt stock. A highly faulted four-way closure with numerous amplitude anomalies at the base of gas hydrate stability is near-to but west of the channel axis. The first well GC955 I was closest to the industry well that penetrated thick sands. As expected, the “I” well encountered a thick sand section but the sands contained primarily water – with only a few feet of potential gas hydrate.

The next two wells, GC 955 H and GC 955 Q, targeted the sand at the four-way closure approximately 0.7 miles proximal to the youngest well preserved channel axis in the depositional sequence. The LWD data obtained at this location indicate over 100 ft of gas-hydrate-bearing zones within a single sand-rich unit with saturations estimated to be over 70%. This accumulation is overlain, underlain, and most surprisingly, interbedded with gas-hydrate-free, water-bearing sands. In addition to the gas hydrate in the target sand, fracture fill gas hydrate was detected in the clay-prone section above the target. GC 955 Q is believed to have encountered at least 50 ft of highly saturated gas hydrate sand at the target, but drilling was aborted because of a potential gas hydrate dissociation event and subsequent gas flow. The LWD data, however, show complex acoustic responses and are still being analyzed before a confident interpretation of the pore fill in the drilled interval can be offered. However, it appears that gas hydrate occurrence at the GC 955 site, both in the sands and in the overlying clays, is highly complex, and potentially complicated by fault-controlled compartmentalization and related lateral variations in gas delivery, thermal gradients, pore-water salinities, and other phenomena.

The two wells drilled in Alaminos Canyon block 21 (AC21), in the vicinity of the Diana development, confirmed the pre-drill prediction of potential extensive occurrence of gas hydrates in shallow sand reservoirs at relatively low (<40%) saturations. However, further sample collection and analyses at AC-21 are needed to confirm the existence and quantity of gas hydrate.

The expedition demonstrated the ability to reasonably predict gas hydrate occurrence through seismic data in the absence of pre-drill well data. At WR313, the model linking aligned phase reversals at multiple levels with gas-hydrate bearing sands at the base of gas hydrate stability (BGHS) was confirmed. Furthermore, initial results suggest that gas hydrate has the potential to fully saturate reservoirs well above the BGHS, with the primary control being occurrence of reservoir quality facies. In addition, unexpected findings, such as the complex nature of the gas hydrate occurrence at GC955, and the discovery of the extensive, strata-bound shallow hydrate occurrence at WR313, raise exciting new questions.

The DOE and the JIP are committed to making these data publically available as soon as possible to support a wide range of scientific studies. The initial reports will be published shortly at http://www.netl.doe.gov/MethaneHydrates/JIPLegII-IR/

Hilton Houston Westchase

9999 Westheimer Road

Houston, Texas USA 77042

HGS Northsiders Lunch

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:27:20 GMT

Start Date: 20-Apr-10 11:30 AM
End Time: 20-Apr-10 1:00 PM

Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (formerly Sofitel)

425 North Sam Houston Pkwy

Houston, TX USA 77060

HGS Northsiders Lunch

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:27:20 GMT

Start Date: 18-May-10 11:30 AM
End Time: 18-May-10 1:00 PM

Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (formerly Sofitel)

425 North Sam Houston Pkwy

Houston, TX USA 77060

HGS Annual Guest Night - May 22, 2010 - Speaker Announced

Bill Osten — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:00:00 GMT

Announcing

2010 HGS Annual Guest Night

Saturday, May 22, 2010

"Big Bend

Where the Rockies Meet the Appalachians

Discoveries and Enigmas"

Guest Speaker:

Dr. Patricia Wood Dickerson,

The Geological Institute and Visiting Research Fellow,

Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin

The 2010 Houston Geological Society Guest Night program will be held on Saturday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. HGS members and their guests will have access to the first and second floors of the Museum for a fun and informative evening. Upon arrival and check-in, HGS members and guests will have about an hour and a half to enjoy the Museum’s spectacular collection of fossils, minerals, and oil and gas exhibits. Attendees will enjoy a delicious Texas-sized buffet dinner, beverages and dessert inside the Museum’s main hall. Following the social hour and dinner, guests will retreat to the IMAX Theater for a presentation by Dr. Patricia Wood Dickerson of the Jackson School of Geoscience at the University of Texas. Dr. Dickerson will present an intriguing geological analysis of the stunning and mystical Texas treasure.. The Big Bend!.

Dr. Pat Dickerson was born (at a very early age) in Waukegan, Illinois. She has worked as a geologist, editor, photographer, writer, dance instructor and apricot cutter for a California fruit-packing firm (not in that order).

Her research in rifts and mountain chains of the world, including doctoral studies (University of Texas-Austin) in the Big Bend of west Texas, has provided opportunities for wide-ranging explorations: the Rocky Mts., Rio Grande rift, Iceland, Norway, the Cordillera of western North America, Mexico, Belize, Argentine Precordillera, Appalachian chain from the Canadian Maritimes through west Texas, and the Southern Alps of New Zealand. She has drawn from those investigations in petroleum, gold, and water resource assessments and now applies those passions in astronaut crew training, in academic teaching, and in leading natural history field seminars for students, professional scientists, and nonscientists. For her efforts in astronaut training in field geophysics and geology, she was recently awarded the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal.

Always a sell-out, the 2010 HGS Guest Night program will limited to 400 people due to seating capacity limitations of the IMAX Theatre. Prepayment is required, and tickets will NOT be available for walk-ins. On-Line registration will be open on April 1, 2010. For more details, click here.

15-Feb-10 7:00 AM

2009 HGS Holiday Party Featured Door-Prize Give-Away

Tarek Ghazi — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:00:00 GMT

55 revellers gathered at Sullivan's Steakhouse on December 21, 2009 for the annual HGS Holiday Party. This year's event, sponsored by RPS and Star Creek Energy, featured gift basket give-aways to eight lucky attendees, who were selected at random by HGS President Elect John Tubb and Kelly Limbaugh of Global Geophysical.

The winners of the gift baskets were Larry Rairden, Walt Wornardt, Scott Thornton, Mike Tribble, Donna Fouch-Flores, Terry Mattalino, Joy Badger and Tim Kiley. Thanks to Linda Sternbach for the pictures of the winners and other partiers shown below. The people are named left to right.

Part of the crowd at Sullivan's Steakhouse

Larry Rairden and Kelly Limbaugh	John Tubb, Walt Wornardt, Kelly Limbaugh
John Tubb and Scott Thornton	Mike Tribble and Kelly Limbaugh
Donna Fouch-Flores and Kelly Limbaugh	John Tubb, Terry Mattalino and Kelly Limbaugh
John Tubb, Kelly Limbaugh and Joy Badger	John Tubb and Tim Kiley
Dawne Jordan and Thom Tucker	Tom Riley and wife dancing

5-Jan-10 1:00 PM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

January 4, 2010

The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists TBPG failed to adopt the proposed amended §851.30, as published in the June 12, 2009, issue of the Texas Register (34 TexReg 3913), within six months and so has been withdrawn. The proposed rule was in regards to firm registration. The proposed amendment cleaned up wording related to firm registration, clarified exemptions for engineering firms, and allowed the TBPG to issue certificates of registration on a non-annual basis. The proposed amendment also exempted from registration engineering firms that perform services or work that is both engineering and geoscience as long as the geoscience work performed is incidental and specific to their work as an engineering firm. The original proposal can be found at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/archive/June122009/PROPOSED/22.EXAMINING%20BOARDS.html#337

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

The Wise Report

1/4/2010

4-Jan-10 8:00 PM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

December 25, 2009

The Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) proposes new §§850.100 - 850.105, regarding advisory opinions. These rules are being proposed to allow the Board to issue Advisory Opinions. Section 850.100 addresses subjects of Advisory Opinions and states that the Board shall prepare an Advisory Opinion regarding an interpretation of the Act or as an application of the Act regarding a specified existing or factual situation. Section 850.101 specifies the type of information that should be included on written requests for Advisory Opinions. Section 850.102 allows the Board to issue an Advisory Opinion on its own accord. Section 850.103 details the process for receiving, reviewing and processing requests for Advisory Opinions. Section 850.104 requires the Board to classify, number and compile a summary on the agency website of each final Advisory Opinion issued. Section 850.105 requires the Board to respond to requests for Advisory Opinions within 180 days after the Board receives the written request unless the Board affirmatively states its reason for not responding to the request within the time period or for not responding to the request at all. For more information go to: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/sos/PROPOSED/22.EXAMINING%20BOARDS.html#62
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The TBPG proposes new §§851.40 - 851.46 regarding the Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) program, an amendment to §851.80 concerning fees, and an amendment to §851.106 concerning responsibility to the geoscience profession.

New §851.40 is being proposed to establish a Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) designation and certification for individuals who meet the necessary education requirements and who have passed an examination on the fundamentals of geosciences. New §851.41 establishes the necessary qualifications for obtaining a GIT certificate, including educational requirements, passing a Board approved examination, a supporting letter of reference, and payment of the application fee. New §851.42 describes the process and submission requirements for GIT application and certification, including submission of the Board approved application, official academic transcripts, one letter of support attesting to the individual's moral character, and payment of the fee as established by the Board. New §851.43 addresses that the GIT certificate may be renewed annually for a period of up to eight years, unless granted at the discretion of the Board. New §851.44 describes the appropriate use of the "Geoscientist-in-Training" or "GIT" title, and that it is not to be used in conjunction with the word "licensed". New §851.45 describes the relationship of the GIT certification to licensure of Professional Geoscientists. New §851.46 describes the ability of the Board to take appropriate disciplinary action including the revocation of a GIT certificate.

An amendment to §851.80 is being proposed to establish an initial application fee of $25 and a subsequent annual renewal fee of $25 for a Geoscientist-in-Training (GIT) certificate. Section 851.106 is being amended to require geoscientists to report to the Board any known or suspected violation of the Texas Geoscience Practice Act or Board rules. For more information go to: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/sos/PROPOSED/22.EXAMINING%20BOARDS.html#71

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The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) adopts amendments to §12.108, relating to Permit Fees for coal or lignite mines, without changes to the version published in the November 6, 2009, issue of the Texas Register (34 TexReg 7744). The amendments implement provisions of Senate Bill 1, 81st Texas Legislature, Regular Session (2009), and, specifically, Article VI, Railroad Commission Rider 10, which makes the amounts appropriated from general revenue for State Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 to cover the cost of permitting and inspecting coal mining facilities contingent upon the RRC assessing fees sufficient to generate, during the 2010-2011 biennium, revenue to cover the general revenue appropriation.

The RRC amends the fees set forth in subsection (b) as follows. In paragraph (1), the RRC decreases the annual fee for each acre of land within a permit area on which coal or lignite was actually removed during a calendar year from the current $150 to $130. In paragraph (2), the Commission increases the annual fee for each acre of land within a permit area covered by a reclamation bond on December 31st of each year, as shown on the map required at §12.142(2)(C) of this chapter (relating to Operation Plan: Maps and Plans), from the current $3.75 to $5.50. Finally, in paragraph (3), the RRC increases the annual fee for each permit in effect on December 31st of a year from the current $4,200 to $4,250. The RRC anticipates that annual fees at these new amounts will result in revenue of $1,467,500 in each year of the 2010-2011 biennium.

Based on a formula and schedule agreed to by the coal mining industry and the RRC in 2005, every two years since 2005, the RRC has adjusted the surface mining fees based on that predetermined formula. This adjustment phases in fee changes based on bonded acreage for each permit as of December 31 of each year. At the same time, the fee for mined acreage correspondingly decreases and a revised annual permit fee is set based on this formula. This adjustment in fees is designed to take place over a ten-year period; this is the third adjustment to the fee schedule. For more information go to: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/sos/adopted/16.ECONOMIC%20REGULATION.html#315

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

The Wise Report

12/25/2009

25-Dec-09 9:00 PM

Wilcox Talk Draws Big Crowd at Nov. 9 General Dinner

Tarek Ghazi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:00 GMT

James Cearley delivered an outstanding talk on the scope and potential of the deepwater Wilcox oil play at the HGS General Dinner on November 9, 2009. HGS President-Elect John Tubb was pleased to announce to the crowd that turnout for the evening totaled nearly 200 geoscientists, according to Treasurer-Elect David Meaux. Vice President Art Donovan welcomed Cearley, who is General Manager of Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Exploration for Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company.

Cearley told the audience that the emerging Lower Tertiary Wilcox Trend of the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico is the latest exploratory trend since the deepwater sub-salt Miocene trend was ignited 10 years ago with large discoveries like Thunder Horse and Tahiti. The deepwater Miocene has delivered over 8 billion BOE to date, and the Lower Tertiary Trend has delivered over 3 billion BOE so far, with much of the trend yet to be explored. The Lower Tertiary Wilcox is a 300-mile-long, primarily sub-salt, trend in the ultra-deep water targeting some of the oldest and deepest clastic reservoirs yet developed in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Wilcox trend, the oil fields discovered to date have been very large with significant pay thickness. However, these discoveries have flow rate challenges created by lower permeability rocks and low mobility hydrocarbons.

Cearley discussed some of the geological surprises found by the Wilcox drilling including strange gumbo and rock inclusions inside salt, overturned beds and repeat sections of the Lower Tertiary above the main target, and the incredible challenge of drilling wells with up to 12 strings of casing in 8,000 feet of water. The HGS audience actively participated in a question and answer session with Cearley after the talk.

Pictured from left: Art Donovan (HGS VP), James Cearley (speaker), and John Tubb (HGS President-Elect)

Cearley's Wilcox talk drew a crowd of nearly 200 geoscientists.

Pictured from left: Oliver Geisler (Terrasys) and David Meaux (HGS Treasurer-Elect).

Pictured from left: Art Donovan (HGS VP), John Tubb (HGS President-Elect), and Richard Bishop (HGS Past President)

10-Nov-09 2:00 PM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

November 6, 2009

The following is an update on the elimination of the California Board for Geologists and Geophysicists (BGG), from Peter Thams, Chair, AEG Southern California Section.

The three California sections of AEG formed the California Association of Professional Geologists (CAPG) and filed a complaint against the Governor to stop implementation of ABX4 20 which eliminated the BGG.

The first hearing on the matter was set for October 20, and over 30 geoscientists showed up to support the action. Unfortunately, the hearing was continued to October 26 when the Attorney General (AG) complained they did not have enough time to review the filing and accused CAPG of waiting until the last minute to file the complaint. A supplemental brief was filed, wherein it was pointed out to the court that the AG had more time to review the filing than did the legislature before voting on ABX4 20, and that the complaint was filed in as timely a manner as possible. There were only 91 days to determine how to respond to the issue, gather support, declarations, etc., and prepare the pleadings – not a lot of time. There was in fact no public notice whatsoever of the actions taken in ABX4 20 and, therefore, no opportunity for the profession to point out the significant failings of this legislation.

At the October 26 hearing, which was also well‐attended by supporters, the court would not grant the temporary restraining order, but did set a date to hear the pleadings for injunctive relief on December 2nd. It was hoped that any action against BGG would be forestalled until the court could rule on the injunction, but this didn’t happen. The good news is that the court agreed to grant the December 2nd hearing.

In the meantime, changes are occurring at BGG and the offices may be moved to the Board for Professional Engineers and Land surveyors (BPELS) in early November. Remaining staff (some have already moved on) will be maintained for up to 120 days by civil service rules if they cannot find positions elsewhere in state employment. The board members and Executive Officer have been dismissed. If, however, we prevail in December, provisions of existing law allow for the reinstatement of conditions as they existed prior to the effective date of the legislation.

The other part of our effort, which is ultimately the most important regardless of what happens with the injunction, is meeting with legislators in both houses to get our message out, and even more importantly, building relationships and support among them. Key to this effort is having a strong and consistent message. Without getting into details of when and with whom we’ve met, one element that has come through very clearly from all is that a return to the status quo is unlikely, and quoting one person loosely “reform is like religion, if you don’t have your own, you’ll probably have to accept someone else’s.”

What we’re finding out through this process is that if whatever we propose does not have some element of consolidation, it will have little support. Everyone we’ve spoken with, including Assembly Members, Senators and/or their staffs, BPELS staff, and Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) staff, all recognize that process that got us where we are was flawed and the resulting legislation will not work. The key deficiency in the minds of most is the lack of geologic representation on BPELS. Even Land Surveyors have a board member.

The most comprehensive and specific advice we have received so far came from Senator Denise Ducheny, with whom we met on October 26th, coincidentally the same day as the hearing. Based on what she was able to recall about the details of the BGG's demise and our input, her recommendation was that we seek information from the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development (BPED) Committee staff and then ‐ hopefully ‐ enlist leaders of BPED to sponsor legislation to restore the BGG and consolidate with it jurisdiction over the Registered Environmental Assessors (REAs). She felt strongly that a BPED sponsor was the way to go. She said she would talk to Budget Committee staff to find out what she could about why things went the way they did in AB 4X‐20. She told us more than once that concessions were made to the Governor to keep him from cutting health insurance coverage for kids.

We have said from the beginning that any of three possible outcomes from our efforts would be acceptable, although some are more likely and desirable than others; (1) maintaining the BGG as is, (2) merging BGG with the State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB) or with BPELS but with appropriate representation, and (3) consolidating the BGG with other related programs, namely the REA program (and possibly other disciplines) and changing the name to something like the Board of Earth and Environmental Sciences. From what we are learning from meeting with legislators, it is becoming apparent that the third option is the most attractive. Our plan is to update the key messages to reflect this desired outcome and make the rounds with legislators to enlist support and sponsorship. We will continue to prepare materials for distribution and ask California geologists over the coming weeks to contact their local representatives and meet with them if at all possible. You will be asked to reach out not only to your local representatives, but your employers and colleagues, as well. Please forward this information to California Professional Geologists you know who are not AEG members.

As distasteful as the notion of pursuing the injunction to stop ABX4 20 is to many, it a critical tool to help ensure that even the minimal effort of cleanup legislation to allow geoscientists’ representation on BPELS. It provides real incentive and urgency to government leaders to fix the problem. Piecemeal, temporary solutions are seldom satisfactory, frequently undermine their purpose, and become permanent. We are gaining momentum, we are being heard, and our message is being accepted. We can’t let up now. We need your support. I want to thank the many of you who have given so generously and ask others to please realize the importance of what we are doing and contribute to the effort. Donations may be sent to:

California Association of Professional Geologists, Inc.

(formerly AEGSC‐Political Action Fund)

1772‐J East Avenida De Los Arboles, #304

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

With your help, the end result of this process will, at best, be a reconstituted board and an expanded mission and, at least, appropriate representation on a reconfigured BPELS that has the resources to accomplish its new mission.

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

11/6/2009

6-Nov-09 7:00 PM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

October 23, 2009

At conference on October 22, 2009, the Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) proposed some amendments to §12.108, relating to Coal Mining Permit Fees; and some repeals, amendments, and new rules in Chapter 11 relating to uranium exploration and surface mining activities pursuant to HB 3837 (80th Legislature). The Chapter 11 proposal also includes four new forms for uranium exploration permitting, and borehole drilling and plugging.

The deadline to submit comments on the Chapter 11 proposal and forms is December 7, 2009. The deadline to submit comments on §12.108 is November 19, 2009.

For more information on these and other rule proposals, or to access the online comment form, please see the Proposed Rules table at this link:
http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/rules/proposed.php

These proposed rules will be published in the November 6, 2009 Texas Register.

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

The Wise Report

October 23, 2009

23-Oct-09 9:00 PM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

October 6, 2009

They say it could never happen, but it has. Alison Steele Manadi, P.G., with Steele Environmental Services, LLC in Houston, Texas, informs me that the State of California has abolished the California Board of Geologists and Geophysicists (BGG), effective October 23, 2009. The Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (BPELS) will then assume "…all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction previously vested in the Board…" along with "…two personnel years…for performance of the board’s responsibilities..." under the Geologist and Geophysicist Act.

According to the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists - Southern California Section (AEGSC), "This action was taken by legislators under pressure to reach a budget compromise in the form of assembly bill AB 4X 20. This transfer, which had no impact whatsoever on the budget, was not accompanied by the resources or structure necessary for BPELS to fulfill its new mission. As it stands now, there will be no geologists or geophysicists on BPELS, there will be no name change to reflect its new mission, and BPELS will not have the manpower to perform its new functions - only two personnel years were reallocated from BGG. Early discussions with BPELS personnel indicated that none of the standing committees, including the Exam Committee, will be continued. BPELS has since declined to meet with us until after the October 23 elimination date to discuss the many serious issues that have not been addressed. The net effect of all this is that geologists will soon be regulated by an agency that is ill equipped to handle the responsibility and arguably hostile to its new licensees.

"The good news is that there is something that can be done - we can seek an injunction against implementation of AB4X 20. The BGG was abolished suddenly and without due process, eliminating any open, fair and transparent review of the potential consequences."

The AEGSC is requesting donations for their legal fight to re-institute the BGG. The estimated cost for this is $15,000 to get through filing the initial complaint and up to $100,000 to see it through to the end. If you would like to contribute, send it to:

AEGSC-Political Action Fund

1772-J E. Avenida De Los Arboles, PMB #304

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

This sets a very bad precident and shows how quickly things can change. It appears that California Professional Geologists and Geophysicists may have just lost control of their profession. This is why we need an organization here in Texas to protect our interests, or it could happen here.

To view the official California announcement of the BGG's abolishment go to: http://www.geology.ca.gov/forms-pubs/statement_092109.pdf

For the AEGSC Call For Action Announcement go to: http://www.sandiegogeologists.org/CallForAction_BGG.pdf

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

The Wise Report

10/6/2009

6-Oct-09 10:00 AM

The Wise Report

Henry Wise — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

September 11, 2009

Barbara Roeling, chairman of the TBPG, has informed me that my last Wise Report contained an error. I stated that all comments to the TBPG regarding the proposed increase fees were negative. The Texas Register stated that, of the 37 comments teceived during the comment period, three comments were in favor of the Board's decision. I try to be accurate, but sometimes I miss things. Thanks for the correction Barbara!

Henry M. Wise, P.G.

The Wise Report

9/11/2009

11-Sep-09 9:00 PM

Grand Canyon Geology Field Trip 2009: Whitewater and Tall Tales

Linda Sternbach — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:00:00 GMT

by Linda Sternbach, Charles Sternbach, Dave Lazor

Photos by Linda Sternbach and Kirk Cushing

Click here for details about the 2010 Grand Canyon trip, which is
scheduled for June 13-21. Hold your spot with a $300 deposit now.

The HGS 2009 Grand Canyon Geology field trip in June turned out to be another exciting trip down the mighty Colorado River! It was a “magic carpet ride into deep time,” according to one participant. The annual trip was once again organized by Dave Lazor, retired oil and gas geologist now living in Carbonado, Washington. Dave started arranging HGS field trips to the Grand Canyon in 1994 while he was living in Houston. This year’s trip involved 28 participants, including both geologists and non-geologists from Houston, Oregon, and Washington. The trip started in Las Vegas, Nevada, and traveled by bus to Marble Canyon, Arizona before setting out on the river at mile zero at Lee's Ferry. Our field trip ended pleasantly eight days later at mile 188, after descending nearly 1,500 feet in elevation down 50 rapids. At the end, the participants rode helicopters out of the wilderness, and took planes back to civilization.

Access to the Grand Canyon is highly monitored and restricted by the Park Service. Approximately 21,000 people are allowed to sign up for accredited raft trips down the Colorado each year. Some people, including people on our trip, wait for years to get a space on one of the permitted raft trips. Dave Lazor has been putting together geology raft trips for the HGS since 1994, making sure our society members can experience life on the river. For people interested in the next trip, please get your name on the waiting list by emailing Dave Lazor or Steve Earle (see the end of this article).

Dave Lazor loves the Grand Canyon, and spoke to this year’s trip members about the history and geology of the area during the eight-day trip. He wore two T-shirts, one with a map (Figure 1) and another with a stratigraphic column so that he could point to features while hiking.

Figure 1: Grand Canyon trip leader, Dave Lazor.

Dave has a PhD in geology from the University of Indiana, and has been, among many things, a university assistant professor during his career. He worked as a geologist with Texaco, Cities Service, Valero, and Beaumont Energy. He then did extensive oil and gas consulting along the Gulf Coast.

After picking up participants at the Las Vegas airport, we drove to Zion National Park for a quick stop, then to Marble Canyon (Figure 2). The next morning we boarded the rafts for the first time at Lee’s Ferry, mile zero, south of Lake Powell.

Figure 2: Map of the Grand Canyon National Park (Grand Canyon Park web site).

Our annual field trip is guided by Hatch River Expeditions, a company started by river pioneer, Bus Hatch, in 1934 and is still managed by the third generation of the Hatch family. The HGS field trip takes two large pontoon rafts to float the river with stops each day to view the rocks and scenery. Hatch’s three guides provided expert raft maneuvering, led hikes, and prepared incredible hot and cold meals during the trip.

The field trip participants on this year’s Grand Canyon trip included both geoscientists and non-geologist friends and family members (Figure 3). HGS members on this year’s trip included John Jordan (Anadarko), Dawne Jordan (BP), Tom Mather (retired), Dennis Ferstler (Alpine Resources), Scott Silver (Blackdog Exploration), Calvin Silver (U of H grad student), Linda and Charles Sternbach (Star Creek Energy), Steve Earle (Carrizo Oil and Gas), and Randy Schott (B&S Exploration). Some of the non-geologists included the Ferstler family (Dave, DJ, Tommy and Matt), Randy’s brother Gordon Schott, and Tom Mather’s brother-in-law, Tom Spaulding. The group was joined by Marv Rueck and Jay Brack, friends of Dave from Oregon and Washington State and others.

Figure 3: Grand Canyon geology field trip of HGS members, friends, and family (2009).

This field trip is a real adventure involving white water rapids and daily hikes into remote canyon country (Figure 4). Each day brings the opportunity to encounter wildlife, including big horn sheep, mule deer, beaver, and iguanas (while keeping an eye out to avoid scorpions). We camped out on tarps or in tents with sleeping bags, completely out of contact with phones and news for 8 days, eating the provisions brought on the rafts with no stops for supplies or fuel. This is a strenuous trip with physically challenging uphill hikes! Lucky for our group, the weather stayed cool at 70-80 degrees for a few days, but ended up over 100 degrees in the final days of late June.

Figure 4: Grand Canyon fun and challenges.

Immersion in Grand Canyon History

Dave Lazor made some great recommendations for pre-trip reading about the history of Grand Canyon exploration and geology. One book every participant should bring is Belknap’s Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide by Buzz Belknap (Westwater Books), which condenses the exploration of the Colorado, the geologic history, the flora, and the fauna into one booklet of 114 pages.

Our trip had a copy of Edward Dolnick’s Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy through the Grand Canyon (2002), which was read out loud during the camp nights (Figure 5). This book tells the day-by-day story of Powell’s difficult journey of ten months using wooden boats and limited supplies, trying to make the first white man’s documentation of the path of the Colorado River. John Wesley Powell (1834-1802) was a professor of geology, a Union Civil War veteran, and a key founder of the USGS and the Illinois State Geological Survey. Powell’s diary from his Grand Canyon trips is online on the USGS website at http://www.nps.gov/history/. Powell wrote on August 13, 1869, “We are now ready to start our way down the Great Unknown. We have but a month’s rations remaining. We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. With some eagerness and some anxiety and some misgiving we enter the canyon below and are carried along by the swift water.”

Figure 5: Photo by Kirk Cushing.

Highlights of the Grand Canyon Geo-Tour

The Grand Canyon’s walls are composed of Late Precambrian to Permian shales, sandstones and limestones (Figures 6 and 7). The interesting part of the geology is when the trip passes the outcrops of the older Paleozoic, where the Cambrian and Precambrian are exposed down near river level in the central part of the canyon. Because the present day surface has been rising relative to sea level for 6 million years, the Colorado River has been cutting down the canyon walls like a knife through butter since the end of the Miocene. This incision reveals ancient Cambrian and Precambrian stratigraphy that can’t be observed outside the canyon.

Figure 6. North Canyon, steep climbs, 1,000 year-old Indian sites, native plants and

Paleozoic fossils. Photo by Kirk Cushing.

Figure 7: Precambrian to Permian-aged limestones, sandstones and shales,

and waterfalls at Vasey’s Paradise (mile 32).

One of the field trip highlights is the exposure of a “Great Unconformity” where the Cambrian Tapeats Sandstone rests on the tightly-folded, metamorphic, 1.7 billion year-old Vishnu Schist. Our trip spent an hour at Blacktail Canyon (river mile 120) to investigate this legendary outcrop (Figure 8). A lecture was given by Dave Lazor as he sat on the famous unconformity, estimated to represent a 900 million year gap of time.

Figure 8: Blacktail Canyon exposure of Vishnu schist and Cambrian sandstone.

Lazor pointed out Paleozoic marine fossils during daily canyon hikes (Figure 9, Mississippian nautiloid). He led field trip participants to fossil reptile tracks and ancient sediment flow structures in the Shinumo Quartzite. The cliffside Nankoweap Indian storage site is where early Americans stored dried grain and seeds 1,000 years ago.

Figure 9: Paleozoic fossils in some of the Grand Canyon formations,

a marine nautiloid from the Mississippian Redwall Limestone.

Water Fun in the Little Colorado River

The Grand Canyon participants had a lot of fun in the water, especially in the relatively warm waters of the Little Colorado River, which feeds into the cold 46-degree water of the main Colorado River at mile 61. The field trip members floated down some small rapids in their lifejackets (Figure 10).

Figure 10: The light blue, warm waters of the Little Colorado River at mile 61.

Photo by Kirk Cushing.

The field trip visited Phantom Ranch at mile 88 on the fourth day of the raft trip. This ranch is populated by hikers who walk down from the rim of the Grand Canyon and by people arriving via boat or raft on the Colorado River. A group photo of the two rafts on the HGS trip after 4 days in the wild was taken when we arrived at Phantom Ranch (Figure 11). Here one can send out postcards and get a chance to make a quick telephone call.

Figure 11: Phantom Ranch at mile 88.

The biggest and wildest rapids were near the end of day 7 at Lava Falls, mile 179. This last rafting day takes field trip members into a dark area of the canyon where 1 million year-old lava flowed into the gorge and formed a natural dam across the river, flooding the canyon. A residual basalt lava tower called Vulcan’s Anvil marks the entry into white water. This lava feature was noted by Powell in 1869. The rapid water at Lava Falls is caused by a series of 15-foot drops in elevation complicated by underwater boulders of basalt. Only skillful guides can maneuver rafts and boats through the rapids, but our guides had successfully run the rapids over 100 times and made this seem easy. The character of the white water is partly determined by the amount of water discharged from the Lake Powell reservoir. On our trip it was a normal water flow up to 15,000 cu ft per second, according to Hatch Expeditions (Figure 12).

Figure 12: The Grand Canyon field trip team surfs through white water at one of
many rapids on the trip at Lava Falls. Photo by Kirk Cushing.

On day 8, the group returned to “Rim World” (as it is known by the guides). Helicopters picked up the field trip party at a helipad down the river from Lava Falls at mile 188 (Figure 13). We arrived a few minutes later at Bar 10 Ranch, where we had a chance to take our first hot shower in a week before hopping a 30-seat airplane that flew us back to Las Vegas or Marble Falls.

Figure 13: Helicopter ride out after Lava Falls marks the end of the 2009 Grand Canyon Raft trip.

The HGS thanks Dave Lazor for all the work he put into organizing the 2009 and prior Grand Canyon Field Trips and for bringing us all back happy and safe. Thanks also to trip participant Kirk Cushing for letting us include some of his photographs.

Reading References

1. Grand Canyon River Guide, by Buzz Belknap, also called Belknap's Waterproof Grand Canyon River Guide all new edition, at www.westwaterbooks.com, also at Amazon.com.

2. Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy through the Grand Canyon, by Edward Dolnick, 2002. Harper Perennial books (paperback and hardcover) available at Amazon.com.

3. Grand Canyon Geology, 2003, by Stanley S. Beus and Michael Morales (paperback), Oxford University Press, 432 pages.

4. The Exploration of the Colorado River and its Canyons by John Wesley Powell, 1875, available online at at google books and at http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/geology/publications/inf/powell/sec4.htm

7-Sep-09 5:00 PM

ffA Release SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro 2010

noemail@hgs.org — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:00:00 GMT

SVI Pro & SEA 3D Pro 2010: ffA provides the latest advanced 3D seismic analysis software on Windows and Linux. FOR RELEASE ON Friday 5th February. Aberdeen, 5th February 2010 – ffA (“Foster Findlay Associates Ltd”), a world leading provider of 3D seismic analysis software and services to the oil and gas industry, has released the latest advanced 3D seismic analysis and volume interpretation applications, SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro 2010, on Windows and Linux platforms. This release synchronises the capabilities of the two applications allowing ffA’s software users to work with the same tools on both their interpretation workstation and their mobile workstations. Support for Windows XP and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 & 5 (64-bit) and full project compatibility between SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro makes deployment and use of the software both flexible and straightforward. Users will also benefit from software enhancements...

Certification of Petroleum Reserves Evaluators

noemail@hgs.org — Mon, 16 May 2005 22:00:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 16, 2005 FROM THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS (AAPG) Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY TO DECIDE ON CERTIFICATION OF PETROLEUM RESERVES EVALUATORS In response to concerns over the recent petroleum reserves writedowns, two industry organizations are scheduled to decide this year whether to sponsor a program to certify reserves evaluators. Regulators, the U.S. Congress and investors recently have called for reforms in how the oil and gas industry estimates and reports petroleum reserves, the lifeblood and main asset of companies with drilling and production operations. The program to train and test petroleum engineers and geologists will be modeled to some degree after the one for certified public accountants, said Dan Tearpock, who is leading the initiative for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) is also involved. Both will consider a business plan and budgeting...

Senior Geophysicist/Staff Geophysicist

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Title: Senior Geophysicist/Staff Geophysicist Description: Southwestern Energy Company is a rapidly growing, independent producer of domestic natural gas – an important natural resource that helps fuel our nation’s economy while playing a critical role in America’s quest for energy independence. Southwestern Energy Company began operating in Arkansas 80 years ago. We now produce primarily natural gas from more than 1.5 million acres of land and have expanded our operations into Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. We also engage in natural gas gathering and marketing activities in our core market areas in support of exploration and production activities. We are currently looking for Senior Geophysicist/Staff Geophysicist in our Houston office RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Working in a team environment to generate integrated 3D/2D structural and stratigraphic interpretations in time and depth to support vertical and horizontal development drilling in the Arkoma Basin...

GEOLOGIST

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Title: GEOLOGIST Description: GEOLOGIST Highly successful independent oil and gas exploration and production company is seeking an experienced Geologist to work as part of the geologic effort in subsurface interpretation and operations of the company. The ideal candidate will have the desire to work on a successful/high performance team and will be comfortable embracing the technical duties required. Location: Fort Worth, Texas.Relocation assistance available. Compensation Package: Competitive salary plus bonus opportunity. Excellent benefits package. Required Experience: Requirements: Minimum (5) years experience as a Geologist working for a company focused on exploration and production.Heavy experience working in shale gas plays and/or tight gas sands.BSc Degree, Geology or Geophysics with a Masters degree preferred. Knowledge of many software tools, databases and libraries required to pull necessary data for making recommendations for exploration/acquisition ventures to...

Mudlogger/Geologist

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Title: Mudlogger/Geologist
Description:

Riley Geological Consultants, Inc. is

seeking well experienced Mudloggers for West

Texas, Eastern New Mexico & Barnett Shale. $50K to

$100K/ year per experience. Resume to HR@RileyGeo.com

Required Experience:
Education Required:
Planned Duration of Employment: Full Time
Position reports to: Mr. Bob Thrasher

Contact info:

Ronald Riley (Add to Contacts)
Fax (806) 828-5151

Riley Geological Consultants. Inc.

12208 CR 3100

Ransom Canyon, TX 79364
US

Senior or managerial Geoscience position

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Senior or managerial Geoscience position Experience:

Successful Petroleum Geologist/Geophysicist for 25 years

Has made commercial discoveries 14 out of last 17 wells drilled.

Both Exploration and Development experience. Experienced in finding new fields and redeveloping old fields. Experienced with most advanced geological and geophysical methods and techniques. Has extensive successful Seismic workstation interpretation experience using SMT Kingdom, Rock Solid, Coherency, some Landmark, Petra, AVO and Attribute work. Have successful experience in the following trends of South and East Texas, and South Louisiana: Miocene, Frio, Vicksburg, Yegua, Wilcox, Cretaceous clastics and carbonates, Cotton Valley and Jurassic trends of East Texas. Barnett and Penn conglomerate experience in Ft. Worth basin. Expertise on Salt Domes of Texas and Louisiana. Have experience in Southeast Asia.

Skills:

Skilled prospect generator and oil finder.

Interprets and Correlates well logs, core data, 2D and 3D seismic to construct structure maps, net sand isopachs, interval isopachs, depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy interpretations in clastics and carbonates. Extensive workstation experience

using Smt Kingdom Suite, Landmark, Petra, Hampson Russell software. Skilled at finding new fields and developing old fields. Experienced in AVO and Spectral Decomposition analysis. Skilled in DHI and coherency evaluation and tying well logs directly to seismic. Skilled at loading and interpreting seismic data. Experienced with MS Office,

and data base software. Skilled at interpreting large volumes of Gulf Coast 3D seismic data accurately and quickly. Integrates knowledge of geology, seismic processing and

and attribute interpretation techniques to define and generate prospects.

Education: Bachelors University of Houston CLC Licenses: Own SMT 2D3D Certifications: SIPES # 3207 Ideal Job Description: A team environment. where classic geology and High Tech geophysics are used hand in hand on a team basis. Work for a good progressive company. Or work as a consultant. Desired Compensation: TBD Location: Houston Location State: Texas Willing to Relocate: False

Geologist/Geoscientist

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Geologist/Geoscientist Experience: ● Served as site supervisor over sampling and inspection division at a petrochemical facility. Responsibilities included: Maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations pertaining to wastewater operations, cooling tower emissions, and benzene processes. ● Utilize my knowledge as a field geologist to lead LNAPL and DNAPL delineations at petrochemical sites. Task included: overseeing well installation, CPT/MIP, sampling, plug and abandonment and reporting data to the client. ● Performed multi-media sampling including: geo-technical, soil sampling, low-flow ground water sampling and all associated QA/QC procedures ● Performed Leak Detection And Repair (LDAR) monitoring and audits at multiple petrochemical facilities in addition to pipeline inventory inspections across Texas ● Operated and maintained hydrocarbon recovery systems and completed the associated...

Exploration geologist

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Exploration geologist Experience: Consulting Geologist and Exploration Geophysicist since mid-2006 Shreveport, LA Senior Staff Geologist & Coordinator of Gulf Coast Opportunities Ensign Oil & Gas, Inc., Denver, CO 1997 – 2001 An Independent Exploration Consultant and Prospect Generator Self-Employed, dba Ark-La-Tex E & P, Inc., Shreveport, LA 1984 – 1996 Managing Partner and Exploration Manager Clarick Exploration Company, Shreveport, LA 1981 – 1984 Skills: A Senior Geologist with a strong geophysical background; A highly skilled prospect generator and an adept exploration, development and exploitation consultant; Extensive knowledge of the gulf coast Mesozoic trends; Wide-ranging exposure to exploration in numerous sedimentary basins; Demonstrable track record of finding oil & gas; Very proficient at evaluating 3rd...

Wellsite Geologist

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:30:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Wellsite Geologist Experience: The Mudlogging Company USA, LP, Wellsite Geologist/ Logging unit manager , July 2009 - Present Wellsite logging services for oil and gas exploration wells at land and offshore locations in Texas and Louisiana. Logs drawn included MD, TVD, DxC, MSE, Time based, Pixlar/Gas Ratio, and Pore pressure logs using GeoDraft software and WISE software to collect data using instruments such Total Gas FID (Flame Ionization Detector) and dual channel FID gas chromatograph, single channel FID gas chromatograph, and conventional hotwire/ gas chromatograph for hydrocarbon analysis. Other sensors used at sites include depth encoder, hookload, H2S, flow paddle, sonic pit sensors, electronic torque, pump pressure, and rotary RPM. All wells included broadcasting Rig2Web- The Mudlogging Company’s real time data website, wits out total gas to MD Totco/ Petron/ Pason/ and Canrig, sample photographs of each cuttings sample caught, flow back...

PETROPHYSICST

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: PETROPHYSICST Experience: 28 years Skills: Petrophysicst Ideal Job Description:

NAMIK K. YALCINKAYA

929 Rockmead Dr #3204 Kingwood 77339 Tx USA

(Cell) 832-265-4647

nkyalcinkaya@yahoo.com

Objective

Having Gulf Coast and Middle East Reservoir Experience,available ASAP for Domestic or Abroad opportunities as Petrophysicist or Operations Geologist.

Capabilities Profile

Manager of Petrophysics and Senior Operations Geologist,Project Engineer with integrated studies from other disciplines, having 26 years experience in mud logging, well-log evaluation techniques, well completion, perforating, cementing, drill stem testing, the integration of sidewall and conventional core results. I was also involved in annual training for new engineers.I have a strong work ethic, proven lead Willing to Relocate: True

Full time position in petroleum Geosciences

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Full time position in petroleum Geosciences Experience: IONGX Technology, Houston, TX Data Processing Department: Summer internship 2008 § Designed, tested and evaluated 3D seismic time processing flow. § Self-taught 3D seismic data processing software (Promax). § Utilized 3D Surface Related Multiple Elimination (3D–SRME) technique to remove multiples from marine data. § Presented my ideas for the current industry practices regarding wide azimuth 3D SRME. College of Social Work, University of Houston, Houston, TX Peer Tutor: Fall 2008 – Spring 2009 – Summer 2009 § Tutored students in Physics, Math, and Arabic language. Skills: Computer: Geoframe Package, Promax Workflow, Focus Package, UNIX. Languages: Native Arabic, Fluent English. Education: Master of Science in Geophysics Licenses: Master Certifications: University of Houston Ideal Job Description: Self-motivated professional Geophysicist with good experience in...

Geologist / Interpret Geologic and Seismic Data

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Geologist / Interpret Geologic and Seismic Data Experience: 24 + years offshore exploration experience in carbonate and clastic basins of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Margin, and Red Sea (Middle East). Participated in numerous OCS sales. Primary discovery in conjunction with geophysicist is Pampano field. Regional studies in Plio-pleistocene flex trend and Atlantic Margin / G. of Mexico gas plays. Onshore / offshore experience in South Texas Frio sandstones. West Cameron Field Studies Skills: About 4 years experience with workstations. Successfully completed a one week refresher course on Seisworks at Landmark in early February '05. Now competent in the use of Landmark's Seisworks. Education: BS, MS and PhD in Geology Ideal Job Description: A team player, but can work independently with a minimum of supervision. Exploration assignments, Geologic and/or interpretation of local or regional projects. Field studies. Preferred Work Schedule: Full time / contract Desired Compensation: Negotiable Location: Houston Location State: TX Willing to Relocate: True Contact Info: Reggie Scolaro 415 North Church Dr. Hardy Virginia 24101 US voice: (540) 719-2376

Reggie Scolaro
rjscolaro@embarqmail.com

415 North Church Dr.

Hardy, Virginia US 24101

(540) 719-2376

Geologist

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Geologist Experience: Petro-Hunt LLC.(August 2007 to Present), Consulting Geologist · Correlation of Upper Texas Gulf Coast Logs, tying wells into 2D seismic using SMT 2D seismic software. · Correlation of Deep Wilcox Logs, tying wells into 3D shoots in Lavaca, Dewitt and Victoria Counties using SMT 3D seismic software. Sierra Pines Resources, (December 2004 to Present), Consulting Geologist · Operations Geologist for Sentell Field development in the Cotton Valley Davis Sands and Haynesville Shale. · Correlation of logs in North Louisiana Rodesa, Pettit, Hosston and Cotton Valley Sands to create cross-sections, net effective pay and structure maps for client. · Log correlation of deep Wilcox Corona Sands, making complex fault picks and drawing hydrocarbon pore volume maps to help a client calculate reserves. Subsurface Consultants, McAllen Oil & Gas, Icarus Oil & Gas, Pioneer Exploration,...

Geophysicist - Full or Part Time

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: Geophysicist - Full or Part Time Experience:

Thirty years of experience in prospect generation, sales, and screening

Specialize in Gulf Coast onshore, South Texas and South Louisana,

also have experience in Rockies, Mid Continent, California, International

Companies Worked for Include:

Noble Energy

King Ranch Energy

Champlin Petroleum Co.

Superior Oil Co.

Skills:

Strong workstation skills, especially SMT; deep experience in most modules of SMT

Some experience with Petrel and Unix systems

Good understanding of AVO methods objectives and theory

Numerous industry and vendor contacts and relationships

Experienced in regional geology, presentation cross sections, brochuring, and

workstation management

Several field studies performed with bypassed pay identified

Skilled at assembing Power Point slide shows for prospect presentations

Education: BS Geophysics, University of Oklahoma Certifications: SIPES Ideal Job Description:

I am looking for a technically driven company that is well funded. We all know that this down cycle will not last forever and it is a great time to be assembling prospects, leasing, and drilling. I believe that modern reprocessing and amplitude analysis can illuminate new targets and reduce risk.

Preferred Work Schedule: Full Time Desired Compensation: Negotiable Willing to Relocate: True Contact Info: Daniel Thalman 8326 Rockford Hall Dr. Spring TX 77379 US voice: (281) 217-1907

Daniel Thalman
danthalman@gmail.com

8326 Rockford Hall Dr.

Spring, TX US 77379

(281) 217-1907

INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION GEOSCIENTIST

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Desired Position Title: INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION GEOSCIENTIST Experience:

BS/MS, Decades of U.S.A. and international exploration and production with top majors and independents from field to staff to top management.

Resident manager in Argentina, Egypt, Israel,,Iran,Turkey and U,K.

Extensive experience in most petroliferous provinces of the world with extensive data files and industry contacts.

Detailed C.V.available upon request.

Skills:

Staff motivation and technical expertise of U.S.A and foreign nationals.

Exploration play analysis, exploration research, satellite imagery, structure-tectonics, plate tectonics,oil/gas seep analysis, maturation analysis,geophysical (gravity/magnetic,sesimic) interpretation and analysis.

Education: BS-N.J. MS-Ohio Certifications: AAPG-CPG # 448 Ideal Job Description:

International exploration manager of a geoscientist team involved in hands-on foreign exploration projects in multi-countries, or as an exploration advisor and consultanti nvolved in foreign exploration projects.

Preferred Work Schedule: International Desired Compensation: open Location: Houston Location State: Texas Willing to Relocate: True

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HGS Leadership 2009-2010

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:38:41 GMT

You may use the information in this executive directory strictly for HGS business purposes. Commercial uses are prohibited. President Gary Coburn (281) 782-7021 President-Elect John Tubb (713) 805-5649 Vice President Art Donovan (281) 850-4312 Secretary Amy Sullivan (281) 705-8280 Treasurer Matt Boyd (281) 618-7379 Treasurer-Elect David Meaux (281) 366-2847 Editor Barry Katz (832) 854-6989 Director 2009-2011 ...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:21:03 GMT

Qualifications for Active Membership or Emeritus 1) Have a degree in geology or an allied geoscience from an accredited college or university; or 2) Have a degree in science or engineering from an accredited college or university and have been engaged in the professional study or practice of earth science for at least five (5) years. 3) Emeritus Members are those who have attained the age of 65 and been an Active Member for at least ten years. Qualifying Active Members may apply here or to the Membership Chairman (not to the Executive Board) for designation to this category. Qualifications for Associate Membership (including students) 1) Be involved in the application of the earth or allied sciences. 2) Be a full-time student enrolled in geology or in the related sciences. Administrative...

HGS Advertising Opportunities

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:08:21 GMT

There are several ways to advertise your services or company with the Houston Geological Society: Website Advertisements Advertising at HGS Events Print Advertising Web Ads An ad on the Houston Geological Society Web site will be seen by many people each day. In recent months, the HGS website has received 1.5 million hits per month. HGS website visits average about 60,000 per month. You can post an ad to be displayed on the Website or you can post and ad in our monthly email Newsletter sent to over 9,000 registered users. You can also post a job oportunity on our GeoJob Bank. And last but not least, if you are a member of HGS, you can post a Business Card ad or your resume for free on the website. Click one of the links below for details on your options: [ 1. Web Page Sponsor ] [ 4. Web Business Card (Directories)] [ 2. Member Resume] [ 5. Job Postings] [ ...

HGS Leadership - 2003 - 2004

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:22:36 GMT

You may use the information in this executive directory strictly for HGS business purposes. Commercial uses are prohibited. President Craig Dingler (281) 930-2394 President-Elect Steve Levine (832) 486-2401 Vice President Paul Babcock (713) 890-3603 Secretary Kevin McVey (281) 874-6054 Treasurer Parrish Erwin Treasurer-Elect Chuch Sharpe (281) 955-6752 Editor Diane Yeager Editor-Elect Art Berman (713) 557-9076 Director 2002-2004 Janet Combes (713) 431-1103 Director 2002-2004 Michael Barnes (281) 980-2771 Director 2003-2005 Marsha Bourque (713) 789-9525 Directory 2003-2005 Andrea reynolds (281) 544-2481 Note: You must be registered on this...

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You may use the information in this executive directory strictly for HGS business purposes. Commercial uses are prohibited. President Steve Brachman (713) 297-5088 President-Elect Linda Sternbach (713) 366-5491 Vice President Andrea Reynolds (713) 546-6182 Secretary Jennifer Burton (832) 636-8357 Treasurer Cheryl Desforges (713) 840-1980 Treasurer-Elect John Jordan (281) 673-6178 Editor Bill Rizer (281) 392-0613 Editor-Elect Steve Earle (713) 328-1069 Director 2005-2007 Jim Doyle (713) 393-6189 Director 2005-2007 Erik Mason (281) 544-2924 Director 2006-2008 Bonnie Milne-Andrews (832) 661-6666 Director 2006-2008 Bob Merrill (281) 980-8979...

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You may use the information in this executive directory strictly for HGS business purposes. Commercial uses are prohibited. President Linda Sternbach (832) 567-7337 President-Elect Kara Bennett (832) 452-3747 Vice President Gary Coburn (281) 782-7021 Secretary Ianthe Sarrazin (713) 808-2775 Treasurer John Jordan (281) 673-6178 Treasurer-Elect John Tubb (713) 993-0676 Editor Steve Earle (713) 328-1069 Editor-Elect Michael Forlenza (713) 960-7421 Director 2007-2009 Richard Howe (713) 467-2900 Director 2007-2009 Alison Henning (832) 203-5016 Director 2006-2008 Bonnie Milne-Andrews (281) 874-2841 ...

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Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:13:59 GMT

You may use the information in this executive directory strictly for HGS business purposes. Commercial uses are prohibited. President Kara Bennett (832) 452-3747 President-Elect Gary Coburn (281) 782-7021 Vice President Art Berman (713) 557-9076 Secretary Mike Jones (713) 654-0080 Treasurer John Tubb (713) 993-0676 Treasurer-Elect Matt Boyd (281) 618-7379 Editor Michael Forlenza (713) 960-7421 Editor-Elect Gordon Shields (713) 369-6132 Director 2007-2009 Richard Howe (713) 467-2900 Director 2007-2009 Alison Henning (832) 203-5016 Director 2008-2010 Ianthe Sarrazin (713) 808-2775 Director 2008-2010 Walter Light (713)...

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noemail@hgs.org — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Objectives:

Release Date: 10-Jan-08 6:00 PM
Expiration Date: 9-Apr-08 6:00 PM
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Test Survey for Art

noemail@hgs.org — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Objectives: This is a test survey

Release Date: 11-Jan-07 10:00 AM
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Liam_Reynolds_with_ball

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

Liam, one of Andrea Reynolds' twins.

Indy Chakrabarti of SMT marketing

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

Indy Chakrabarti of SMT marketing organized much of the food and beer at the picnic. Thanks SMT!!

SMT sponsored home brew beer

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

SMT brought home made light and dark beer in kegs

Picnic at lunchtime under tents

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

the tents for the picnic

eating burgers

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

Burger time!!

Andrea Reynolds, twins and Matt Reynolds

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

HGS past Vice President Andrea Reynolds with twin sons Liam and Evan, and Matt Reynolds.

picnic table 2

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

second picnic table

Picnic table 1

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

people enjoy burgers and beer

NeoGeos with Chair Cecelia Baum

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

Neogeos chairman Cecelia Baum (far right) with Univ of Texas grad student Randy, Laura McAllan , Ryan (in back)

Image59

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:29:17 GMT

File uploaded by Lawrence Osten.

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AAPG / HGS Deepwater Technology Workshop

HGS Northsiders Lunch: Geologic Controls on Shale Oil

Understanding the Geologic Controls on “Shale Oil Play”: Lessons Learned from the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Elm Coulee Field, Montana

HGS Environmental & Engineering Dinner: Ethanol-Blended Fuels

Thirsty Thursday

HGS Int''l Explorationists Dinner: Understanding the Deep Crust

HGS N. American Dinner: Hydrocarbons Associated With Igneous Rocks

Hydrocarbons Associated With Igneous Rocks (N. America & Worldwide)

ETGS Tech 2010 and Prospect Expo

HGS General Lunch: Boquillas (Eagle Ford) Outcrops, South Texas

The Boquillas (Eagle Ford) Formation of South Texas: Potential Outcrop Analogs for Nonconventional Eagle Ford Shale Reservoirs in the Subsurface

HGS General Dinner: GOM Hydrates

The Discovery of Rich Gas Hydrate Accumulations in Sand Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico: Results from DOE-Chevron Joint Industry Project Drilling

HGS Northsiders Lunch

HGS Northsiders Lunch

HGS Annual Guest Night - May 22, 2010 - Speaker Announced

Announcing

2010 HGS Annual Guest Night

2009 HGS Holiday Party Featured Door-Prize Give-Away

The Wise Report

The Wise Report

Wilcox Talk Draws Big Crowd at Nov. 9 General Dinner

The Wise Report

The Wise Report

The Wise Report

The Wise Report

Grand Canyon Geology Field Trip 2009: Whitewater and Tall Tales

by Linda Sternbach, Charles Sternbach, Dave Lazor

ffA Release SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro 2010

Certification of Petroleum Reserves Evaluators

Senior Geophysicist/Staff Geophysicist

GEOLOGIST

Mudlogger/Geologist

Senior or managerial Geoscience position

Geologist/Geoscientist

Exploration geologist

Wellsite Geologist

PETROPHYSICST

Full time position in petroleum Geosciences

Geologist / Interpret Geologic and Seismic Data

Geologist

Geophysicist - Full or Part Time

INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION GEOSCIENTIST

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Test Survey for Art

Liam_Reynolds_with_ball

Indy Chakrabarti of SMT marketing

SMT sponsored home brew beer

Picnic at lunchtime under tents

eating burgers

Andrea Reynolds, twins and Matt Reynolds

picnic table 2

Picnic table 1

NeoGeos with Chair Cecelia Baum

Image59

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