Virtual Lunch Talk

Virtual Lunch Talk - Via Zoom

What’s Next After the Permian: Time for Exploration Again?

Speaker: Wayne Camp, Geological Advisor

April 29, 2026

11:30am - 12:30pm

Location: Zoom (virtual only)

Cost: $20 Members, $25 Non-members, $15 Students

What’s Next After the Permian: Time for Exploration Again?

Wayne K. Camp

Retired Distinguished Geological Advisor, Anadarko Petroleum

Tight oil production accounted for 68 percent of the total 13.6 million barrels of oil per day produced in the U.S. during 2025. The Permian Basin is the leading tight oil producing region in the world with 6.5 million barrels a day produced in 2025. However, the Permian Basin is showing signs of declining production growth leading many to forecast peak oil rates within the next few years. Production from the other U.S. tight oil basins have not recovered from their pre-Covid peaks in 2019. Increased exploration investment will be required to bring on new supply with current world oil demand of 103 million barrels per day not expected to decline at least through 2050 based on multiple forecast scenarios. There are several tight oil and gas plays in the U.S. that have not been adequately explored and tested with modern horizontal drilling and multistage hydraulic fracture stimulation technology that could lead to new discoveries to help meet future projected oil demand. This review focuses on source rock reservoir and hybrid source rock play types that are characterized by proven source rocks in the Michigan Basin, Williston Basin, Green River Basin, and the Great Basin, and a pure frontier play in the South Georgia Basin.

Bio

Wayne K. Camp

Wayne K. Camp is a retired Distinguished Geologic Advisor who worked for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (now Occidental) for 40 years where he worked and supervised various exploration and development projects concentrated in multiple basins onshore U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and Indonesia. His work with unconventional reservoirs includes tight gas sands, coalbed methane and source rock “shale” reservoirs. Wayne has presented and published numerous papers, including three AAPG Memoirs that he co-edited, two of which received the R. S. Dott Memorial Award for Best AAPG Special Publication. Prior to working for Anadarko, he worked for Phillips Petroleum for two years. He received his B. A. degree in geology from State University College at Oneonta, New York, and his M. S. degree in geology from Colorado State University. Wayne is Geological Society of America Fellow and currently serves as an elected delegate on the AAPG House of Delegates and is a Sr. Associate Editor for the AAPG Bulletin. Wayne is married, has two daughters and four granddaughters. Following retirement, he splits his time between living on Lake Conroe and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and cruising the world with his wife of 50 years.