Regular Monthly Articles: • From the President • From the Editor • Webnotes • HGA/GeoWives • Members of the Move Feature Articles: • Before Long, Russia Won’t Be Able to Satisfy the World’s Oil Thirst • An Aging Question: The Discovery of Radioactivity was Pivotal to Scientifically Determining the Age of the Earth • Book Review: Gorgon—Paleontology, Obsession and the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth’s History • Mars Exploration Day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science • 2004 North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) Upbeat Abstracts of Monthly Meetings: • Creating Value in East Texas • Latest Developments in Coal-bed Methane • Stratigraphic Entrapment of Hydrocarbons in the Upper Cretaceous Lewis Shale and Lower Fox Hills Sandstone, Eastern Green River Basin, Wyoming • Gas Hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico’s Complex Geologic Setting: Future Energy Resource of Just Another Geohazard?

Stratigraphic Entrapment of Hydrocarbons in the Upper Cretaceous Lewis Shale and Lower Fox Hills Sandstone, Eastern Green River Basin, Wyoming
 
A presentation to the HGS North American Explorationists Group, April 26, 2004
 
D.S. Muller and F.T Wirnkar, BP America, 501 Westlake Park Blvd., Houston TX  77079
 
Abstract: The Eastern Green River Basin is an active hydrocarbon province in central Wyoming.  BP America is involved in a multi-rig, multi-year program and currently has seven rigs operating.  Production is primarily from tight Cretaceous sandstones requiring hydraulic fracture stimulation to produce at economic rates.
 
Early exploration and development in the eastern Green River Basin was primarily driven by high production rates associated with shoreline deposits at the top of the Almond Fm,.  These sands and underlying paralic and coastal plain deposits of the Almond were deposited during the final transgression of the Cretaceous cratonic seaway of  the central United States.  Much of the subsequent development in the basin has targeted less extensive sands deposited within the Main Almond in the environments behind the transgressive/stillstand bar deposits.
 
The Almond Fm is overlain by the Lewis Shale.  The Asquith Marker, a regionally recognizable Maximum Flooding Surface within the lower Lewis, marks the overall transition from the transgressive phase to the regressive episode associated with the infilling.  Above the Asquith marker, the overlying sediments of the remainder of the Lewis and overlying Fox Hills and Lance Fms accomplished the final in-filling of this last phase of the Cretaceous intracratonic seaway.
 
Hydrocarbons within the regressive phase of this third order filling cycle have increasingly been recognized and targeted as drilling has progressed in the basin.  This presentation addresses the stratigraphy, trapping configuration, results, and recent developments associated with the younger strata of the Lewis Shale and Fox Hills Sandstone in the eastern Green River Basin.  Stratigraphic traps within the Upper Cretaceous Lewis and Fox Hills of the Red Desert Basin occur in sands deposited within basin floor fans, slope fans, lowstand wedge deposits, shelf margin deltas, and in nearshore marine environments associated with the final major regression of the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway.  Lewis gas and condensate are generally produced as part of a co-mingled production stream together with gas from the underlying Almond Fm. of the Mesaverde Group.  Production logs and standalone Lewis producers demonstrate that the Lewis is locally a very significant component of the hydrocarbon production stream within the Red Desert Basin portion of the Eastern Green River Basin
 
Entrapment in Lewis Shale within the Red Desert Basin occurs at the now updip, distal edges of sand packages that were deposited from a northerly provenance (“Red Desert Delta” or “Sheridan Delta”) within and near the margins of the Lewis seaway during the Maastrichtian.  Geometries, log character, seismic data, and other characteristics of the sands within the Lewis shale for a number of different traps at several stratigraphic levels indicate that deposition occurred in a variety of settings.
 
Speaker Biography: Dave Muller received his Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Colgate University in 1977.  He wa

Upper Ordovician Montoya Sequence Stratigraphyand Chert Porosity in the Southeastern Delaware Basin, West Texas
A presentation to the HGS North American Explorationists Dinner May 24, 2004.
Authors: David M. Thomas, III,  and Huaibo Liu, Tom Brown, Inc., Midland, Texas 79702
Abstract: The Upper Ordovician Montoya Group, of the southeastern Delaware Basin, was deposited approximately 450 MYA on a carbonate ramp in a shallow marine environment as a 2nd-order sequence. Four formations; the Cable Canyon, Upham, Aleman, and Cutter, comprise four unconformity-bounded 3rd-order sequences within the Montoya. Sequence I of LST siliciclastics and carbonates, TST limestone/chert and a HST limestone, sequence II of TST limestone/chert and HST limestone, sequence III of TST limestone/chert and HST limestone, and sequence IV of TST limestone/chert and HST carbonate. The LST and the HST are essentially chert free. The chert-bearing facies occurs in the TSTs where 20 to 60 percent of the rock is chert. The upper Aleman pay zones, the primary Montoya gas reservoir, contains a number of cyclic TST chert-bearing and HST chert-free limestones. Movement of the silica-bearing upwelling water from south to north resulted in early silicification that was influenced primarily by relative sea level, and sedimentary facies. During TST deposition, the relatively higher partial pressure of CO2 in the deeper water and the organic acid from decomposition of organic matter enhanced silicification. During HST grainstone deposition, high-energy waves, storm and tidal currents forced the near-shore, higher temperature, higher salinity/lower CO2 content water deeper resulting in chert-free facies. Three stages of silica diagenesis controlled the porosity evolution: first stage, dissolution of metastable matrix and bioclasts as the siliceous upwelling water began to replace the primary interstitial water enlarged interparticle pore spaces and created moldic porosity; second stage, silica precipitation on pore walls to form a silica rim that partially replaced the metastable grains resulted porous chert; and third stage of continuous silica precipitation completely filled the pores forming tight chert. Deposition during HST before completion of chertification protected remaining open porosity from occlusion by continued chert precipitation.
Three gas-reservoir intervals, Cutter, Aleman and Upham, have been drilled and reportedly developed. The reservoir porosity in the Cutter Formation in the northern portion of the study area occurs primarily in the dolomite that developed within the HST skeletal grainstone with some minor contribution from porous and fractured chert. The Upham reservoir tested in the southern part of the study area included porosity at the top of the HST grainstone and fractures in the transgressive chert. The upper Aleman is the primary Montoya pay and contains a number of high-frequency sequences and high-frequency sequence sets of TST chert-bearing and HST chert-free limestones. The reservoir porosity is predominantly from the chert. Reduced interparticle, moldic, small pore and micro porosities in the chert with some minor porosity developed in the dolostone and limestone provide the primary gas reservoir. The Aleman was developed using horizontal technology in the Block 16 area by Mobil with the first horizontal well drilled and completed in 1999. Production to date has been approximately 88 BCF from 40 wells with peak production of 90 MMCFD and an estimated ultimate recovery of approximately 400 BCF.
Speaker Biography: David M. Thomas, III serves as Exploration Manager of the Southern Region for Tom Brown, Inc. in Midland, Texas.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in 1977 and a Master of Science degree in Geology from the University of Oklahoma in 1997.  Prior to his employment with Tom Brown, Inc., Mr. Thomas served as a geologist for Pure Resources, Senior Staff Geologist for Mobil E&P U.S. Inc. and Senior Geologist for Conoco, Inc. in Midland, Texas.  In Oklahoma, he was a Research Assistant at the University of Oklahoma and ran his own company, Trey Resources, Inc. for over 14 years.

The MMS is back on the net
The Minerals Management Service website has been down for several weeks, but is back now.
The entire Department of Interior was ordered off the net earlier this month by a court order invloving Native American royalties. The MMS (Minerals Management Service), which regulates most of the offshore oil and gas industry, is part of the Department of Interior and had to disconnect from the net. After judicial relief the agency is back on the net. E-mail sent to members for the past few weeks may have been returned. In addition to the MMS, the USGS and Bureau of Indian Affairs were involved.

Old Dogs, Old Tricks, New SuccessesThe Successful Redevelopment of Lake Washington Field, Louisiana
 
This talk will be presented March 31, 2004 at the HGS/HAPL Joint Luncheon.
 
Abstract:
 
Swift Energy Company acquired the Lake Washington Field in March 2001.   Lake Washington Field is located in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, about 60 miles due south of New Orleans.  Swift Energy''s team of geoscientists working on exploration and further development of Lake Washington Field have employed only tried and true subsurface geological methods to increase production from nearly 700 BOEPD at the time of acquisition to more than 11,000 BOEPD at year-end 2003.Located along the Louisiana coast, Lake Washington Field was originally discovered in the 1930s, and is located around a shallow piercement salt feature. Since inception, the field has produced approximately 350 MMBOE. Swift Energy operates approximately 15,500 gross acres (12,900 net acres) in the field. Since acquisition, Swift’s geoscientists have employed old fashioned geological methods of multiple level subsurface maps at close intervals, combined with numerous correlation sections, fault plane maps, and net sand maps which have enabled the Company to book reserves at a much faster pace than originally anticipated. Although several older generation 2-D seismic lines have been acquired in the field, they proved to be of little use to defining the close-in type prospects that have been exploited.  Swift has drilled a total of 90 wells since the acquisition, and 71 wells have been completed.  This is a success rate of almost 79%!  The wells drilled since 2001 have encountered 58 different pay zones with current completions targeting 25 different sands. The average net pay per completion has been approximately 138 feet. 
 
Speaker Biography:
 
William C. "Bill" Moody, Jr. is currently Manager of Exploration and Development for Swift Energy Company which is headquartered in Houston, Texas. 
Bill began his career with Texaco, Inc. in 1973. He also worked at Florida Gas Exploration Company, Eason Oil Company, and as a consultant. Bill joined Swift in 2001. He was instrumental in bringing the Lake Washington Field to Swift as an acquisition candidate. Bill has spent most of his career exploring in South Louisiana and the Texas Gulf Coast. He has conducted numerous field studies on salt domes located in Texas and Louisiana.
Bill earned a B. S. degree from the University of South Alabama, and a M. S. degree from the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Houston Geological Society, AAPG (Certified Petroleum Geologist), Alabama Geological Society, Lafayette Geological Society, New Orleans Geological Society and  the Petroleum Landman''s Association of New Orleans.

Update: HGS Meetings and Talksfor Late March and Early April, 2004

Two unique March and April HGS Dinner Meetingshighlight two highly successful redevelopment stories in East Texas and Louisiana and the Northsiders meet a week early to get the story on CBM.
Recipients of this Newsletter are already registered on the HGS Website. Please do not re-register. Instead, follow the instructions at the top of the HGS home page.

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 (Petroleum Club) - Joint HGS Meeting w/HAPL, the Houston Association of Professional Landmen.  So “Bring a Landman to Lunch”.  We have reserved a much larger room than usual to accomodate both organizations.  Make your reservations early!
“Old Dogs, Old Tricks, New Successes – The Successful Re-development of Lake Washington Field, Louisiana.”  Bill Moody, Swift Energy Company.
Bill Moody, Manager of Exploration and Development with Swift Energy will present the story of their very successful acquisition and re-development of the Lake Washington Field in Louisiana.  This field was originally discovered 70 years ago and has produced over 350 MMBOE.  The field was producing only 700 BOEPD at the time of Swift’s acquisition.  90+ drilled wells later, employing tried and true geologic subsurface methods and concepts (no 3D seismic and limited value 2D), the field is currently producing 11,000 BOEPD.  This is an exciting success story about an acquisition that we would all like to be a part of.  This meeting is our annual Spring joint-meeting with the HAPL.   So – bring your Landman to Lunch!!

Monday, April 12, 2004 (Westchase Hilton) – HGS Dinner
“The Overton Field - Creating Value in East Texas.”  Alan Stubblefield, et al, Southwestern Energy Production.
Come join us for our April general dinner meeting at the Westchase Hilton.  Alan Stubblefield, Vice President of Production with Southwestern Energy, will present the story of their successful directed acquisition and development of the tight Jurassic Cotton Valley Taylor Sands at Overton Field in East Texas.  Through an iterative interpretation of geology and engineering, as well as improved drilling and completion techniques, Southwestern Energy has drilled in excess of 100 wells since the 2000 acquisition and has taken the field production from 1.5 MMCFPD to over 60 MMCFPD.

Join the Northsiders the next day for their last luncheon meeting of the year.  It is being held a week earlier than usual to accommodate those of you planning to attend the National AAPG convention April 17th - 21st in Dallas.
 

Tuesday, April 13, 2004 (Sofitel Hotel in Greenspoint)  Northsiders Luncheon "Coalbed Methane Exploration Concepts:  Where is the Next Big Play?" Andrew Scott, Altuda Energy.
Andrew Scott, who has more than 14 years of coalbed methane experience, over 70 publications and 12 Best Paper awards, will discuss innovations in CBM technology which could someday make the correct answer to "Where is the next San Juan Basin-scale Coal Bed Methane play?" be "everywhere".

The HGS Newsletter is now accepting sponsors. See our ad rates for details.
  

Under Explored Plays in the Northwest Appalachian BasinOpportunities for the Independent?
A presentation to SIPES on March 25, 2004.
Abstract: The first drilling for petroleum in the Appalachian Basin occurred in the late 1800''s with Drakes well in Pennsylvania. Since then thousands of wells have been drilled with the majority of exploration has being less then 5,000 feet deep. Reservoirs have been discovered and produced from the Cretaceous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, Cambrian and others. Reservoir types range from carbonates to clastics, generally deposited in shallow marine conditions. Traps are either structural, stratigraphic or fracture/solution enhanced stratigraphic traps. Source rocks are believed to be primarily Silurian and Ordovician in age.
Early exploration focused on Cretaceous, Devonian and Ordovician traps, some of which were enhanced by nitro fracturing. In the 1970-1980''s the Silurian Medina - Clinton sandstones have been extensively drilled for gas. More recently the Ordovician Trenton - Black River carbonates with enhanced solution porosity are being targeted. In addition, the Upper Cambrian Rose Run Sandstones of the Knox Formation are being drilled in Ohio. These are erosional remnants which are trapped along the Knox Unconformity. Other Cambrian aged reservoirs exist as structural traps and stratigraphic pinch outs along regional highs.  Discovered reserve estimates for the basin are 36 Tcf. of gas produced and 8 Tcf. of gas remaining to be produced. Estimates for produced oil are uncertain but field sizes in excess of 500 MMBO exist in the basin. The USGS estimated total undiscovered reserves are 70 Tcf. of gas, 872 MMBNGL and 54 MMBO.
In the northwest portion of the Appalachian Basin (Ohio and western Pennsylvania) only about 70 wells have penetrated the base of the Cambrian section. This compares to thousands of wells which have been drilled to at least the Ordovician. Similarly, there are hundreds of producing fields in the post Ordovician section and around thirty producing Cambro Ordovician fields. One explanation given for this situation is the difficulty in identifying deeper traps and the expected poor quality of the reservoirs. Both of these problems are real but the use of modern exploration and production tools coupled with higher product prices should produce commercially attractive prospects.
In the Cambro-Ordovician section three under explored plays exist. These are the Lower Cambrian aged Mount Simon sandstone trapped in pinch outs or draped across basement highs, Cambrian Knox et. al. sandstones trapped in anticlines or stratigraphic traps and Ordovician aged Trenton - Black River limestones in fracture enhanced structural/stratigraphic traps. Each of these plays is proven in the basin. The Mount Simon has production in western Pennsylvania, the Knox in eastern Ohio and the Trenton - Black River from at least Ontario, Canada to West Virginia.
The USGS has not quantified the undiscovered field sizes for the Mount Simon. For the Knox the USGS estimates a median field size of 8 Bcf up to a maximum of 250 Bcf. For the Trenton - Black River they estimate a median field size of 18 Bcf up to a maximum of 750 Bcf. With average drilling depths between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, gas values above $5 per thousand and the relatively low level of exploration drilling, these reservoirs at least appear to be interesting candidates for exploration by independent operators.
Biography: Daniel Bendig has a MSc. degree from the University of London in Stratigraphy, a MA degree from SUNY at Buffalo in Geology and a BS degree from the Ohio State University in Physics. He is a member of the AAPG, DPA Certified Petroleum Geologist #5649, a member of the HGS (2) and SIPES #2972. His career has been as a geophysicist working in Houston, Ponca City, Jakarta, London and Aberdeen. He has experience working on projects in South East Asia, Irian Jaya, North Africa, West Africa, North Sea, West of Shetland, Venezuela and Trinidad. Assignments ranged from new venture evaluations to equity determinations. He is now an independent working on the petroleum potential of the Appalachian Basin.
 

The BVI-PERM Plot
Petrophysical Answers for Bossier Sandstones
East Texas Basin
A presentation to the Houston geological Society''s North American Explorationists group on March 22, 2004.
Speaker: Rick Turner, Barrow-Shaver Resources
Abstract: The Bossier Sand is a primary drilling objective for natural gas on the west flank of the East Texas Basin.   The sand is upper Jurassic and was deposited during Kimmeridgian and Tithonian time. The production is usually found at depths between 10,000 feet and 16,000 feet, with production tests ranging from one million to twelve million cubic feet of gas per day.  The sand is tight and requires fracture stimulation to produce at economic rates. 
Formation evaluation of gas bearing zones in the Bossier in terms of producibility is a petrophysical challenge.  Reading the porosity from the log and calculating the water saturation will not yield much information concerning the producibility of the rock.  Cross-plotting methods are necessary to make meaningful determinations.  The porosity values from the logs must be lithology corrected, borehole corrected, shale corrected, and corrected for gas effect to establish effective porosity values.  The water saturation should be calculated with a saturation model that accounts for shale volume such as Fertl and Hammack or Simandoux.  Since the gas bearing Bossier sands usually produce water free, they are assumed to be at irreducible water saturation.
The Bulk Volume water Irreducible – Permeability (BVI-PERM) cross-plot is generated by plotting water saturation on the horizontal axis and effective porosity on the vertical axis.   Lines of constant bulk volume water irreducible (BVI), and lines of permeability are drawn on the plot and used as a template.  The permeability lines are derived from the Coates (1977) permeability equation that relates permeability to porosity and irreducible water saturation.  Data points plotted on the graph fall within a grid created by the BVI and permeability lines.  The position of the points within the grid yields interpretative information about the producibility of the formation.

At irreducible water saturation, lower values of BVI are related to larger grain size, and better permeability.  For example, a well with a given porosity with a high BVI will be a poor producer, while another well with the same porosity and a low BVI will be a good producer due to larger grain size and better permeability.  Such subtle differences are not visible when looking at the water saturation and porosity alone.
In addition to the BVI-PERM cross-plot, a producibility index utilizing porosity-derived permeability, formation pressure, and formation temperature can be calculated. When the producibility index is plotted against the average BVI for porosities above the 10 md Coates permeability line, an estimate of the ultimate recovery for a well can be made.
The methods for analysis of the Bossier basically rely on amplifying the porosity values through the Coates permeability function and then comparing them to their corresponding water saturations through cross plotting.  The producibility index adds the dimension of formation pressure and temperature to the analysis, and provides a basis for comparing the productive potential for wells in differing pressure environments.  Although the cross-plotting methods are not complicated, they provide a powerful method of organizing borehole data into a decision-making apparatus that ranks wells bases of their petrophysical character.
Biography:  Rick Turner, a native of East Texas, graduated from Stephen F. Austin University in 1973 with a B.S. degree in Geology and from Texas A&M University with a Master of Science Degree in Geology in 1977. Rick started with Gulf Oil Company in Houston as an Exploration Geologist working the Mesozoic of the Gulf Coast. He then worked for Fina Oil and Enron Oil & Gas in Tyler, Texas. Since 1998, he has worked at Barrow-Shaver Resources Company as an Exploration and Production Geologist.
Mr. Turner’s experience includes exploration in the Smackover of South Arkansas and East Texas, the Paluxy of East Texas, field development of the Cotton Valley in East Texas, discovery of new reserves beneath the salt overhang at Minden Salt Dome in Webster Parish in North Louisiana, and the successful development of by-passed reserves at Oletha Field in Limestone County, Texas.
Mr. Turner’s publications include articles on the environmental interpretation of the Subclarksville and Woodbine at Kurten Field in Brazos County, Texas; low-resistivity production from the Smackover in North Louisiana; a theory for the development of salt dome overhangs in the East Texas Salt Basin; the occurrence of low-resistivity production in clay-coated grain facies of the Travis Peak and Cotton Valley Formations of East Texas; and an interpretation supporting Jurassic-aged strike-slip faulting in Northeast Texas.

Regular Monthly Articles: 

• From the President
• Webnotes
• HGA/GeoWives
• Members of the Move

Feature Articles: 

• 2003-2004 outstanding student awards
• Academic Liaison Committee adds resources and goes on the HGS Website
• Geoscience judges needed for the 45th annual Science Engineering Fair of Houston
• Transfer of USGS folio collection from Texas to Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum

Abstracts of Monthly Meetings:

• Coal-bed methane overview, southern Raton basin, New Mexico and Colorado
• Upper Miocene and Pliocene Gas and oil plays in the Macuspana basin
• Under-explored plays in the northwestern Appalachian basin:  opportunities for the independent
• Old dogs, old tricks, new successes:  successful re-development of Lake Washington Field

For information about the June 5-13th, 2004 HGS Grand Canyon Geology Field Trip, or about possible future Grand Canyon field  trips, contact Dave Lazor.

Gas Hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico’s Complex Geologic Setting:Future Energy Resource or Just Another Geohazard?
 
A presentation to the HGS Luncheon Meeting on 28 April, 2004
by Harry Roberts, Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University
 
Abstract: Complex geology of the northern Gulf of Mexico’s continental slope makes identification of the gas hydrate stability zone difficult.  Bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) that mark the transition from solid gas hydrate above to free gas below are rarely identified on seismic profiles, but do occur in special cases.  However, both high resolution acoustic data and 3D-seismic surface attribute images calibrated to ground truth (manned submersible observations sampling and piston coring) confirm that widespread fluid and gas expulsion at the seafloor is characteristic of the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope.  Gas hydrate at the seafloor and in the shallow subsurface is a product of the expulsion process.
 
A variety of seafloor features are associated with hydrocarbon venting from a leaky subsurface petroleum system.  It is suggested that fluid flux rate determines the types of seafloor features, the occurrence of gas hydrate and chemosynthetic communities, and the degree of hydrocarbon biodegrdation.  The rates of fluid venting are qualitatively defined as rapid, moderate and slow.  Mud volcanoes and mud flows represent the rapid flux settings.  These are mud-prone environments that host only limited and localized chemosynthetic communities and have little evidence of biodegradation.  Heat flow is often associated with rapid fluid flux environments and retards the crystallization of gas hydrate.  Residence time at these vent sites is so short that gas and oil may be relatively unaltered by bacterial oxidation.  Moderate flux settings include gas hydrate mounds outcropping on the seafloor.  Gas plumes representing the composite effect of many local seeps, occur over areas where gas hydrates are exposed, suggesting that fault-supplied gas is consistently by-passing the seabed.  This process provides a constant supply of gas for hydrate formation.  These environments are characterized by the most diverse, dense, and widespread chemosynthetic communities.  Finally, slow flux environments are mineral-prone and include areas where authigentic carbonates precipitate from hydrocarbons oxidized by bacteria.  The carbonates occur as nodular masses in sediments, hardgrounds, slabs, and mound-like buildups.  Very localized chemosynthetic communities and highly biodegraded hydrocarbons are associated with slow flux environments.
 
Over a sea level cycle (~ 100 kyr), gas hydrate stored in the continental margin decomposes as falling sea level approaches the glacial maximum.  Many of the northern Gulf’s slope failures at the shelf-to-slope transition probably are associated with hydrate decomposition.  During rising to high sea level, the gas hydrate reservoir is quickly recharged because of the availability of abundant fluids as gases supplied by the northern Gulf’s deep hydrocarbon generating zones.
 
Biography: Harry H. Roberts, Boyd Professor at LSU, has been a researcher at Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) and teacher in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences for over 34 years.  He is a marine geologist-sedimentologist who has worked on both carbonate and siliciclastic depositional settings domestically and in foreign areas.  For the last decade a large part of his research effort has been focused on developing a better understanding of the impacts of fluid and gas expulsion on the surficial geology and biology of the Gulf’s continental slope.  Gas hydrates are products of the expulsion process in some settings and therefore have been a focal point of the study.  Manned submersibles, in situ experiments, 3D seismic surface attribute data, and high resolution acoustic data have all played parts in these studies.  Harry also continues work on the Mississippi River delta system and has recently developed a research program around the collection of high resolution geophysical data (side-scan sonar, chirp sonar, bathymetry) and various types of cores (vibracores, box cores, piston cores) to help better understand details of  the sedimentary architecture that may be related to Louisiana’s substantial land loss problem.

HGS Newsletter for March, 2004
Meetings and Notices

Click on the title of the talk to see the details of the event and make HGS reservations on the HGS Website.  But first, make sure you know your pre-registered username and password**.  HGS Events are in red.

Monday, March 8th - HGS Dinner MeetingCoal Bed Methane (CBM). Geological Overview of the Southern Raton Basin,New Mexico and Colorado Speaker: Paul M. Basinski, El Paso Production Company
Tuesday, March 9th - Houston Wildcatters BuffetHonoring Ray Hunt at the Houston Petroleum Club.  Host: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.  HGS and GSH members will be admitted for half price ($25.00).
Monday, March 15th - HGS International Explorationists DinnerGeologic Framework of Upper Miocene and Pliocene Gas Playsof the Macuspana Basin, Southeastern MexicoSpeaker: Bill Ambrose, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin
Tuesday March 16th - GSA Gulf-Coast Growth Fault SymposiumAll-day sessions in College Station, Texas
Wednesday March 17th - SIPES 41st Annual ConventionThree-day meeting in San Antonio

Wednesday March 17th is the Pre-Registration deadline for the 2004 AAPG Convention. This is the final day to pre-register or cancel without penalty for the AAPG Convention April 18-21, 2004 in Dallas.
Mac McKinney, the HGS Exhibits Chairman, needs volunteers to man the HGS booth at the AAPG.  If you plan to attend, there is no need to call him.  Just  go to the HGS booth (#2239) during the Ice Breaker and sign up on the scheduling sheet.
Register NOW for the AAPG ANNUAL MEETING 
   1. Get the EVENTS you want!
   2. Get the HOTEL you want!
   3. Get the FIELD TRIPS you want!
 
EMBRACE THE FUTURE -- CELEBRATE THE PAST
The technical program includes: 
   * Over 400 oral presentations
   * 288 half-day poster presentations
   * 13 short courses
   * 10 field trips
This is a GREAT VALUE for your continuing education & training dollar!! AAPG provides the world's best SPEAKERS and the world's most current TECHNOLOGY, helping you save money and work more productively!
The 2004 Dallas meeting announcement, containing detailed information on speakers, session times and other meeting-related events was mailed to members last month.  It is available FOR DOWNLOAD at the AAPG Website. Caution - this is a 24-megabyte, 88-page file.  A high-speed Internet connection is recommended!

Monday, March 22nd - HGS North American Explorationists DinnerImproved Characterization of Compartmentalized and Overpressured Vicksburg Sandstone Reservoirs Using Integrated Seismic Stratigraphy, Diagenesis, and PetrophysicsSpeaker: Zuhair Al-Shaieb, Oklahoma State University.  The speaker is tentative. Check the HGS website for last-minute changes.
 
Wednesday, March 31st - HGS/HAPL Joint LuncheonOld Dogs, Old Tricks, New SuccessesSpeaker: Bill Moody, Swift Energy

Two Prospect Expos are scheduled for early April:
April 5th-7th is the "

HGS Newsletter for March, 2004
Meetings and Notices

Click on the title of the talk to see the details of the event and make HGS reservations on the HGS Website.  But first, make sure you know your pre-registered username and password**.  HGS Events are in red.

Monday, March 8th - HGS Dinner MeetingCoal Bed Methane (CBM). Geological Overview of the Southern Raton Basin,New Mexico and Colorado Speaker: Paul M. Basinski, El Paso Production Company
Tuesday, March 9th - Houston Wildcatters BuffetHonoring Ray Hunt at the Houston Petroleum Club.  Host: Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.  HGS and GSH members will be admitted for half price ($25.00).
Monday, March 15th - HGS International Explorationists DinnerGeologic Framework of Upper Miocene and Pliocene Gas Playsof the Macuspana Basin, Southeastern MexicoSpeaker: Bill Ambrose, Bureau of Economic Geology, Austin
Tuesday March 16th - GSA Gulf-Coast Growth Fault SymposiumAll-day sessions in College Station, Texas
Wednesday March 17th - SIPES 41st Annual ConventionThree-day meeting in San Antonio

Wednesday March 18th is the Pre-Registration deadline for the 2004 AAPG Convention. This is the final day to pre-register or cancel without penalty for the AAPG Convention April 18-21, 2004 in Dallas.
Mac McKinney, the HGS Exhibits Chairman, needs volunteers to man the HGS booth at the AAPG.  If you plan to attend, there is no need to call him.  Just  go to the HGS booth (#2239) during the Ice Breaker and sign up on the scheduling sheet.
Register NOW for the AAPG ANNUAL MEETING 
   1. Get the EVENTS you want!
   2. Get the HOTEL you want!
   3. Get the FIELD TRIPS you want!
 
EMBRACE THE FUTURE -- CELEBRATE THE PAST
The technical program includes: 
   * Over 400 oral presentations
   * 288 half-day poster presentations
   * 13 short courses
   * 10 field trips
This is a GREAT VALUE for your continuing education & training dollar!! AAPG provides the world''s best SPEAKERS and the world''s most current TECHNOLOGY, helping you save money and work more productively!
The 2004 Dallas meeting announcement, containing detailed information on speakers, session times and other meeting-related events was mailed to members last month.  It is available FOR DOWNLOAD at the AAPG Website. Caution - this is a 24-megabyte, 88-page file.  A high-speed Internet connection is recommended!

Monday, March 22nd - HGS North American Explorationists DinnerImproved Characterization of Compartmentalized and Overpressured Vicksburg Sandstone Reservoirs Using Integrated Seismic Stratigraphy, Diagenesis, and PetrophysicsSpeaker: Zuhair Al-Shaieb, Oklahoma State University.  The speaker is tentative. Check the HGS website for last-minute changes.
 
Wednesday, March 31st - HGS/HAPL Joint LuncheonOld Dogs, Old Tricks, New SuccessesSpeaker: Bill Moody, Swift Energy

Two Prospect Expos are scheduled for early April:
April 5th-7th is

Article titled Academic Liaison Committee Adds Resources and Goes on the HGS Website, from the HGS Bulletin dates March 2004, p. 31-39.  You will need the Adobe PDF Reader and the article is fairly large -- almost 900 megabytes.

The notes for the two HGS seminars on Dry Holes and Disappointing Seismic Anomalies are now available from the Bureau of Economic Geology in Austin:
 
Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Dry Hole Seminar.
Issued in November 2000 in cooperation with the Houston Energy Council. Ring-binder format, unpaginated. HGS 001CN, $40.00 plus $3.50 handling and 8.25% Texas sales tax. Prepayment by credit card or check is required.

Disappointing Seismic Anomalies.
Issued in October 2003, Dry Hole Symposium #2. Ring-binder format, unpaginated. HGS 002CN, $40.00 plus $3.50 handling and 8.25% Texas sales tax. Prepayment by credit card or check is required.

To Order:

Contact Publications Sales at the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG)
 by phone at 1-888-839-4365
 by fax at 1-888-839-6277
 or by onsite visit to the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, 10100 Burnet Road, BEG Bldg. 130, Room 1.1.04.

All credit cards except Diner''s Club are accepted; orders must be prepaid. To pay by check, call the BEG to request a pro forma invoice.

Orders are shipped book rate (4th class, media mail) unless courier service is requested and paid for by the customer.
Visit the BEG website for additional information about publications of the Houston Geological Society.

The Energy Cycle: Petroleum in our LivesThe Geological History of the Houston Geological SocietyGeologists In The FieldWhere do Oil and Gas Come From?Knowing Where To DrillCoring:  Taking Rock from the EarthOil Production and RefiningLook What Petroleum Can Do

Helium Exploration - A 21st Century Challenge
HGS North American Dinner, 23 February, 2004
As we enter the first decade of the 21st Century worldwide helium demand is rising as many high tech industries are developing new commercial applications that are dependent on the unique physical properties of helium. The need for continued adequate supplies of helium in the 21st Century will be critical. To fulfill the anticipated future demand for helium, a new approach to helium supply is likely needed soon - the deliberate search for helium-rich gas reservoirs.

In December 2005, the 100th anniversary of the discovery of helium in natural gas will be celebrated in Dexter, Kansas. Up until 1905 helium was a laboratory curiosity, having only been discovered on Earth in 1895. The detection of helium in natural gas at Dexter was followed in the next three decades by many discoveries of small to giant gas fields in Kansas and the Panhandle regions of Oklahoma and Texas that held helium concentrations between 0.5% and 2%. Some contained upwards of 7% helium. In later decades helium-rich oil and gas fields were discovered in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming, with some holding as much as 10% helium. Helium has been produced in commercial quantities at few other sites around the world. Although Canada, Russia, Poland, and Algeria have produced helium in commercial quantities, none have discovered reserves or helium concentrations comparable to those found in the United States. As a consequence, the United States has been the world's principal source of helium for over 80 years, and both the U.S. petroleum industry and the U.S. government have played key roles in establishing ample supplies of helium throughout the 20th Century.Nearly all helium gas reserves have been discovered serendipitously during the normal course of oil and gas exploration and development. As a result, there has been little need to develop any special geological expertise to target helium-rich gases in order to provide an adequate supply of helium. Scientific and industrial applications that were developed during the 20th Century that required helium were sustained by the abundant and reliable supply of helium associated with high BTU gas production.
Review of the geologic framework of helium accumulations, and recent findings from ancillary fields of study that include isotope and noble gas geochemistry, geohydrology, seismology, volcanology, mineral exploration, and geothermal exploration provide grounds for formulating strategies for the exploration of helium-rich natural gas. The principal source of helium is from the steady rate of radioactive decay of uranium (average: 2.8 ppm) and thorium (average: 10.7 ppm) found throughout the crust. Over geologic time substantial radiogenic, and some nucleogenic helium, will accumulate within the mineral crystal lattices and microfractures in crustal rocks. Degassing of this helium from the crust has been the subject of many studies, including deep crust research drilling. Concentration profiles of helium in ultradeep wells, and that found in confined groundwater systems that hold helium concentrations orders of magnitude higher than can be accounted for by steady-state helium diffusion, have demonstrated the necessity for periodic tectonism to increase fracture permeability of the crust and allow advective transport of helium. Helium soil gas, and helium groundwater surveys adapted for uranium and hydrocarbon exploration have long revealed the association of high helium flux with faults, lineaments, and natural springs. Recent recordings of short-term, voluminous discharges of helium following strong earthquakes have aptly demonstrated the role of seismicity in periodic releases of helium from the crust.
While 4He flux is largely accounted for by degassing of radiogenic helium from the crust, the rare 3He isotope originates from the mantle where the isotopic composition of helium is ~1000 times greater than that found in the Earth's crust (Mantle 3He/4He ratio = ~10-5, Crust 3He/4He ratio = ~ 10-8). The discovery in 1969 of 3He flux from mid-ocean ridges, and subsequently in volcanoes, intra-plate hot spots, and high-temperature geothermal systems, has provided earth science with a highly sensitive tracer of mantle derived gases. He-rich gas fields have variable, but mostly distinctively elevated 3He/4He ratios, providing evidence that degassing and release of mantle volatiles accompanied significant releases of helium from the crust. Commencement of magmatic activity within a volume of long stable, aseismic crust would mobilize long-held helium as levels of seismicity, crustal heat flow and rock temperatures increased.
Formation of economic helium-rich gas deposits can develop when periodic episodes of high He flux are swept up by an overlying regional aquifer, effectively transported, and concentrated in a reservoir trap. Since helium has very high diffusion rates in sedimentary rock, high-density rock seals are needed to effectively slow the relentless flux of helium through the sedimentary column and into the atmosphere where it would eventually be lost into space. Rock types such as anhydrite, salt, or dense (Paleozoic) shale provide the most effective top (or lateral) seals. The first sandstone or carbonate reservoir (commonly Paleozoic, or Mesozoic in age) above the crystalline basement are favorably situated to capture, transport and "temporarily" hold helium-rich gases. Effective helium transport in an aquifer and retention of helium in a trap is further augmented if the reservoir is underpressured. A negative pressure gradient across the cap rock of an underpressured reservoir would be effective in retaining a higher concentration of helium for a longer period of geologic time. Field studies indicate an underpressured reservoir with a cap rock of anhydrite or salt provides the ideal geologic framework for the accumulation of helium gas.
Incorporating recent isotopic studies of noble gases by Ballentine and Lollar (2002), a geologic model is presented to explain the collection, movement and accumulation of over 600 BCF of helium in the Hugoton-Panhandle gas field and adjacent areas. The model recognizes the key sequential geologic events that occurred to form the world's largest helium-rich gas district. These geologic events included: 1) uplift of the Rocky Mountains, 2) development of an east-dipping, underpressured hydrogeologic system of basal Paleozoic clastics and carbonates, 3) deposition of Permian shale, anhydrite, and salt, and 4) Late Oligocene-Early Miocene volcanism of the Spanish Peak region of southeast Colorado.

Not since the helium gas boom years in the Four Corners area of the Southwest in the 1960s has the American petroleum industry given much thought to targeting helium-rich gas fields. As the 21st Century begins the need for the exploration for additional helium reser

HGS International Meeting
Feb 16, 2004
Westchase Hilton
Tangguh – The First Major Pre-Tertiary Discovery in Indonesia
By James D. Robertson,
Rannoch Petroleum, Fort Worth, Texas
Indonesia is a prolific oil and gas province in which more than 23 BBO and 150 TCFG of reserves have been discovered. Most of the hydrocarbons originate from and have been trapped in Tertiary rocks in western Indonesian basins on and offshore of Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan (Figure 1).
Throughout the 20th Century, explorers searched less successfully for major accumulations in eastern Indonesia. This eastern search was finally rewarded in 1994 when Atlantic Richfield Company (known as ARCO) discovered a super-giant natural gas accumulation in pre-Tertiary rocks in the Bintuni Basin of Papua, which was called Irian Jaya at that time.
The ARCO discovery spanned Paleocene through Jurassic formations below a producing Miocene oil field called Wiriagar. The exploratory drilling of the pre-Miocene stratigraphy was justified largely by geochemistry, which showed that the oil in the field was Jurassic despite flowing from a Miocene limestone reservoir. Analysis of pressures in the discovery well indicated that the height of the gas column exceeded 2000 feet, making the gas accumulation potentially large enough to justify construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant. From 1994 to 1998, ARCO farmed into adjacent acreage containing the majority of the discovery’s hydrocarbons, improved commercial terms through negotiations with the Indonesian government, appraised the initial well, identified and discovered two nearby gas fields, shot an extensive 3D onshore and offshore seismic program, and worked with an engineering firm to certify 24 trillion cubic feet of natural gas as reserves (14.4 certified as proved; the rest as probable and possible). These reserves are the basis for what the Indonesian government designated in 1997 as the Tangguh LNG Project. Tangguh was the third largest discovery in the history of ARCO, exceeded only by the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River Fields found in the 1960s on the North Slope of Alaska. Tangguh is also the first major pre-Tertiary hydrocarbon discovery in the history of oil and gas exploration in Indonesia
The discovery and appraisal of Tangguh was an intricate web of technical and commercial analyses, insights, and decisions whose interplay is a fascinating case study in how a modern, multi-disciplinary, globally dispersed exploration team operates (Figure 2).
Numerous individual initiatives ranging across petroleum geochemistry, drilling cost reduction, government relations, reservoir pressure analysis, negotiating strategy, porosity prediction and the like turned out in hindsight to be crucial in their accuracy and timing to keeping the project technically viable and commercially attractive. Since Tangguh is so recent, the thoughts and actions of the involved individuals and the linkage and details of successive events can be and have been precisely recorded. This talk will tell the story of the exploration team that discovered Tangguh.
 Speaker Biography
James D. Robertson received a B.S.E. in civil and geological engineering from Princeton University in 1970, and a Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Wisconsin in 1975. While at Wisconsin, he worked on geophysical and glaciological studies of Antarctica, and spent three field seasons in Marie Byrd Land and on the Ross Ice Shelf as part of the U.S. Antarctic Research Program.
Robertson joined Atlantic Richfield Company (known as ARCO) in 1975, and over a twenty-five year period held various technical and management positions including director of geophysical research, geophysical manager of the offshore Gulf of Mexico exploration group, geoscience operations vice president of ARCO’s Lower 48 division, chief geophysicist of ARCO's international division, and exploration vice president of ARCO's international division. After retiring from ARCO in 2000 following ARCO's merger into BP, he founded Rannoch Petroleum LLC, an independent petroleum consulting company based in Fort Worth, Texas. 
Robertson has been active in various geological and geophysical societies and was the 1994-95 President of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. He has been an SEG Distinguished Lecturer, Technical Program Chairman of the SEG Annual Meeting, and an instructor in 3D seismic interpretation in the SEG Continuing Education Program. He received SEG's Best Paper award in the magazine Geophysics in 1985 and SEG's Best Paper at the SEG Annual Meeting award in 1979 and again in 1983. He served on the Board of Directors of the Offshore Technology Conference from 1998-2002. He is a past president and honorary member of the Dallas Geophysical Society, and was a founding member of the Fort Worth chapter of SIPES (Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists) in 2001.
He currently serves on the advisory boards of the geology and geophysics departments of Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin, and previously has been on the geophysics advisory board of the Colorado School of Mines.
His contact information is--email: jdrrannoch@sbcglobal.net , telephone: 817-370-1634, address: 7045 Shadow Creek Court Fort Worth, Texas, 76132.

HGS Newsletter for February, 2004Scheduled Meetings
Two HGS meetings are scheduled for early next week! 
Click on the title of the talk to see the details of the event and make a reservation on the HGS Website.  But first, make sure you know your pre-registered username and password**.
Monday, February 9th - HGS Dinner Meeting"Stratigraphic Evolution of the Magnolia Field and Surrounding Area, Garden Banks Blocks 783 and 784, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico" Speaker: Geoff Haddad, ConocoPhillips Tuesday, February 10th - Environmental and Engineering Dinner Meeting  "Environmental Geoscience and Litigation: Dos and Don''ts, Now or Later"Speaker: Michael Campbell, M. D. Campbell and Associates Monday, February 16th - International Explorationists Dinner"Tangguh; The First Major Pre-Tertiary Discovery in Indonesia"Speaker: James D. Robertson, Rannoch Petroleum, Fort Worth, TexasTuesday, February 17th - Northsiders Dinner"Predicting Stratigraphic Architecture of Carbonate Reservoirs"This is the cover story in the February HGS BulletinSpeaker: Charles Kerans, Bureau of Economic Geology, AustinMonday, February 23rd - North American Explorationists Dinner"Helium Exploration - A 21st Century Challenge"Speaker: Steve Maione, Core Labs        Wednesday, February 25th - HGS Luncheon"A Recent 50 MMBOE Discovery Among the Old Giants of Main Pass"  Speaker: Richard L. Tannehill, POGO

** You received this e-mail because you are registered (or pre-registered) on the HGS Website. For details on obtaining your user name and password for the first time, read the LOG-ON INSTRUCTIONS.  To delete youself from this newsletter, go to "My Information" and click on "Groups" at the top of the page.  Uncheck the "Newsletter" user group and then click "Submit Changes."
For questions about the HGS Website or your registration, contact the HGS Webmaster.
Published 6 February, 2004

Regular Monthly Articles: 

• From the President
  
• From the Editor
  
• Webnotes
  
• HGA/GeoWives

Feature Articles: 

• The Bureau of Economic Geology:  An Interview with Director Scott Tinker and Staff & a New Houston Research Center
  
• People Profile:  Who Speaks for the Beach?  William Dupré, PhD
  
• February Anniversary of Cerro Azul #4 Blowout, Veracruz Mexico
  
• Eyes on Planet Earth:  Monitoring our Changing World  Earth Science Week 2003 Showcasing HGS and BEG Contributions

Abstracts of Monthly Meetings:

• Stratigraphic Evolution of the Magnolia field and Surrounding Area, Garden Banks Blocks 783 and 784, Deep Water Gulf of Mexico
  
• Environmental Geoscience and Litigation:  Do’s and Don’t’s, Now or Later
  
• Tangguh—The First Pre-Tertiary Discovery in Indonesia
  
• Prediction of Reservoir Architecture in Carbonate Systems
  
• Helium Challenge—a 21st Century Challenge
  
• Main Pass 61/62—A recent 50 MMBOE Discovery Among the Old Giants of Main Pass

Geologic Framework of theUpper Miocene and Pliocene Gas and Oil Playsin the Macuspana Basin, Southeastern México
This is a presentation at the HGS International Explorationists Dinner Meeting, March 15, 2004. Make your reservation by 12 March.
By William A. Ambrose, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin
Coauthors: Khaled Fouad, Rebecca Jones, Mark Holtz, Shinichi Sakurai, and Edgar Guevara (BEG, UT Austin); Javier Meneses-Rocha, Leonardo Aguilera, Lino Miranda, Roberto Rojas, José Morales, José Berlanga (Pemex, México); Suhas C. Talukdar,( Consultant), and Tim Wawrzyniec, (University of New Mexico, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences).
Abstract:
The Bureau of Economic Geology and Pemex Exploración y Producción conducted an integrated study of the geologic, geochemical, and play framework of the upper Miocene and Pliocene in the Macuspana basin, Mexico, using a variety of well, core, and 2-D and 3-D seismic data (Fig. 1). Structural controls for the plays consist of deep-seated faults that tap Mesozoic thermogenic gas sources, areas of intense shale diapirism and folding, and areas with structural inversion that could enhance trapping and reservoir productivity. Early Neogene thrusting south of the basin triggered evacuation of Oligocene shale along northwest-dipping listric faults in the eastern and southeastern margin of the basin. These faults are associated with large-scale rollover structures and thick (>500-m) upper Miocene shoreface and wave-dominated deltaic complexes. Traps occur aHGS International abstract for .ems s both four-way and three-way structural-stratigraphic combinations. Reservoir seal is provided by a 100- to 300-m lower Pliocene transgressive shale. Downdip pinch-out of reservoir-quality shoreface sandstones is a key risk factor in the upper Miocene in the onshore part of the basin. In contrast, the offshore upper Miocene section consists of deepwater slope systems downdip of an inferred clastic-carbonate source associated with the Yucatan Platform. Thin, calcareous, turbidite sandstones lapped onto a major turtle structure, potentially providing updip-porosity pinch-outs.

Fig. 1. (a) Location of the Macuspana Basin, with structural elements. (b) Well control and distribution of 3-D surveys and principal 2-D seismic lines used in the study.
A second phase of extension in the early Pliocene formed a set of broad, southeast-dipping listric faults in the western basin, controlling thick accumulations of stacked Pliocene shoreface deposits. Sandy Pliocene shoreface depocenters formed in shale-withdrawal subbasins, primarily in the northwest part of the basin.  Trap formation and enhancement in the southern basin margin are linked to late Miocene-to-Pliocene inversion. Unlike in the more productive upper Miocene, reservoir seal is a major risk factor in upper and middle Pliocene reservoirs having few thick upper bounding shales.
Three petroleum systems (Mesozoic, Paleogene/Lower Neogene, and Upper Miocene/Pliocene) contributed to the hydrocarbon accumulations, and hydrocarbon generation and migration in the basin. Principal Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous source rocks generated wet thermogenic gases and oil. Secondary lower Tertiary source rocks generated dominantly dry biogenic gases. Mixtures of the two gas types are common. Numerous deep-seated growth faults and faults serve as pathways for Mesozoic-sourced hydrocarbons. Surface seeps and abundant gas shows suggest that hydrocarbons are being generated today.
This study was published

HGS Newsletter for January, 2004
8 January, 2004
The HGS plans a great series of technical programs in January and there are new features on the HGS Website.
A few days ago, the HGS Website added a new section called Member News which can be reached through the "News" entry on the Navigation Bar.  Member News will contain professional and personal news about HGS members.  If you have a new job or have received professional recognition, let the Webmaster know.  We will publish it on the HGS Website and pass it on to the HGS Bulletin editor for inclusion in a future print issue.  In fact, let us know about any changes in your life that you want fellow HGS members to know about.  Have you moved?  Are you running for Congress?  Written a paper? Retired? Tell us so we can tell your friends.  And be sure you update your personal information on the HGS Website and keep us informed about e-mail address changes.  If you need help, call me, Dave Crane, at (713) 789-5916 and I'll walk you through it.  How about uploading your picture while you are at it?

The January HGS Bulletin was mailed on time but, for unknown reasons, only a few members have received their copy yet.  So please use this e-mail to make your plans to attend these January talks.  Note that three of the five January meetings fall on a monday.  The reservations deadline for monday meetings is the previous friday at the close of business.  The hotels insist on a meal count at that time.  That means that tomorrow, January 9th is the reservations deadline for the first meeting of the year.  Log in and make your reservations on line now!

Monday, January 12, 2004 (5:30pm, Westchase Hilton)
"The Energy Image and Recruiting" will be the title of the talk at the monthly HGS Dinner.
Lane Sloan will share his engaging comments regarding the energy workforce demographics, energy image and recruiting.  Bring your Human Resources manager.  Your job may depend on it!

Monday, January 19, 2004 (5:30pm, Westchase Hilton)
The International Explorationists Dinner speaker will be Scott Thornton of Shell International E&P."Brazilian Deep Water Fold Belts: Tectonic Drivers and Structural Styles of Potential Traps"

The following Tuesday there is an unfortunate conflict between the Joint GSH/HGS Luncheon (hosted by the GSH) and the Northsiders Luncheon.
Monday, January 20, 2004 choose between:
The Joint HGS/GSH Luncheon talk (11:30am, H.E.S.S) will be"Composite Plate Tectonics and Basin Dynamics Model for the Gulf of Mexico"
HGS Northsiders (11:30am, Greenspoint Sofitel) will feature Kevin Bohacs talking about "Slime, Sand, and Shells: Lacustrine Hydrocarbon Play Elements Within a Continental-Environment Phase Stability Framework"

Monday, January 26, 2004 (5:30pm, Westchase Hilton)
The North American Explorationists Dinner speaker is Ken Bowker of Star of Texas Energy Services."The Barnett Shale Play, Fort Worth Basin"

The AAPG Winter Education Conference will be in Houston January 19-23, 2004
Adams Mark Hotel - 2900 Briarpark Drive at Westheimer. 
 
It''s five great days of the finest geoscience training for one low price.  Your five-day badge can be transferred to a friend or colleague if you can't come all five days.
For the full course schedule or to register online, go to: http://www.aapg.org/education/wec.cfm. Walk-in registrations are also welcomed.  Come to the Adams Mark (Ballroom entrance) Monday morning. Classes start at 8 a.m.
There will also be demos of the AAPG/Datapages archive journal search, GIS-UDRIL Program, an AAPG Bookstore and information on upcoming AAPG courses, field seminars, research conferences and meetings.

It''s time to start thinking about the 2004 Joint HGS/GSH Membership Directory to be published this Spring.  Get your personal data up to date by logging into the HGS Website and correcting any old information you find.  In mid-January the GSH Website will be revised to include interactivity much like the HGS Website, so folks who are also members of the GSH will be able to update their data on line, too.  If you do not have access to the Internet, send your changes to office@hgs.org.

Have a happy and prosperous New Year!

Regular Monthly Articles: 

• From the President
  
• From the Editor
  
• GeoEvents Calendar
  
• HGA/GeoWives

Feature Articles: 

• CAST 2003:  Recharging Science Education
  
• 2003 Shrimp Peel Attendance up 30 Percent
  
• The HGS Website:  A Closer Look

Abstracts of Monthly Meetings:

• The Energy Image and Recruiting
  
• Brazilian Deep Water Fold Belts:  Tectonic Drivers and Structural Styles of Potential Traps
  
• A Composite Plate Tectonic and Basin Dynamic Model for the Gulf of Mexico, Using an Integration of Potential Fields and Geologic Data Sets
  
• Slime, Sand and Shells:  Lacustrine Hydrocarbon Play Elements Within a Continental-Environment Phase Stability Framework
  
• The Barnett Shale Play, Fort Worth Basin

Stratigraphic Evolution of the Magnolia Field and Surrounding Area
Garden Banks Blocks 783 and 784, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
 
A paper presented at the HGS Dinner Meeting February 9, 2004. 
Authors: G. Haddad1, S.Young2, C.J.Liu2, J. Hufnagel2, M. Petersen3, R. Waszczak1, D. McGee1, R. Fitzsimmons4, and P. Travis2
 
1) ConocoPhillips / Upstream Technology,
2) ConocoPhillips / Magnolia Development Team
3) ENI Houston
4) ConocoPhillips / Norway
 
Abstract:
 
The Magnolia Field is located along the southern edge of the Titan Mini-Basin where multiple deep-water reservoir sands encounter a series of down-to-the-basin and antithetic faults adjacent to salt.  Reservoirs are of Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene age.  Sand body geometry is related to the interplay between structural movement and sediment input, both of which occur at various temporal and geographical scales.  These sand bodies have been placed into a sequence stratigraphic framework.  Sequence boundaries have been picked at the base of sand-prone intervals observed on well and 3D seismic data.  Nannofossil and foraminiferal abundance and diversity data suggest that true maximum flooding surfaces are rarely recorded.  They are likely truncated by super adjacent erosional surfaces associated with overlying lowstands where resedimented microfossils are conspicuous.
 
As observed in other central GOM intraslope basins, Magnolia can be subdivided into ponded, transitional, and bypass depositional phases.  The ponded phase extends from the Miocene to the Plio-Pleistocene boundary and consists primarily of sheet sands that thin or onlap against salt.  The latest Pliocene depositional axis is oriented from West to East. Stratigraphic architecture changes dramatically across an erosional sequence boundary separating the ponded Pliocene fill from the lower Pleistocene transitional fill.  This marks a time when an exit point formed to the south and the depositional axis changed to a North - South orientation.  A typical lower Pleistocene sequence comprises sheet sands at the base, overlain first by erosional, amalgamated channels, and then by constructional channels and mudstone corresponding to the abandonment phase of deposition.
 
Speaker Biography:
 
Geoffrey Haddad joined ConocoPhillips Upstream Technology in 2001 as a <

2003 Member Remembrances

Allin, Philip R.
March 9, 2003

Cantrell, Ralph B.
January 27, 2003

Grocock, Gerald R. (Jerry)
March 28, 2003

Hardy, Major General Hugh W.
April 2, 2003

Harle, Wiley B.
December 7, 2003

Kemp, Malcolm Walter
April 5, 2003

Moore, Homer G.
May 14, 2003

Rabenold, John Kuhnast
January 17, 2003

Richards, George L. (Jack)
April 5, 2003

Tucker, Paul McClure
April 1, 2003

Ward, Ronald Wayne
November 2, 2003

Weems, John Howell
April 1, 2003

Winborn, Stephen A.
November 11, 2003 

Philip R. Allin, 88, passed away on March 9, 2003, at his home in Lafayette, LA. Philip earned a BS in geology in 1940 from the University of Houston. He worked for Gulf Oil in Houston, New Orleans, and Lake Charles. He later worked for Union Texas as Chief Geologist. Philip was a member of the AAPG and an emeritus member of the HGS, serving as first vice-president in 1960-1961. A memorial donation will be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Lafayette.  

Ralph B. Cantrell, 92, passed away on January 27, 2003. Ralph earned a BS in Geology in 1934 and a MS in Petroleum Engineering in 1937 from Texas Tech University. During WWII he served in the US Navy. Ralph was an independent geologist and petroleum engineer, specializing in Gulf Coast salt dome geology. He was revered as an expert on the Boling and Damon fields. He was a past president (1951) and Honorary Life Member of the Houston Geological Society and a member of the AAPG. A memorial donation will be made to the HGS Undergraduate Scholarship Fund.  

Gerald R. (Jerry) Grocock died March 28, 2003, at the age of 53. Jerry earned a BS in geology from the University of Washington in 1973 and an MS in geology from the University of Colorado in 1975. He was employed as the Vice President of Exploration/Exploitation at Ensign Oil and Gas in Denver, CO. Jerry was previously Vice President of Exploration for Ocean Energy in Houston. Jerry had remained an active member of the HGS and GSH. A memorial donation will be sent to the University of Colorado Foundation for the Bruce Curtis Graduate Student Fellowship.  

Major General Hugh W. Hardy passed away April 2, 2003, at the age of 78. Hugh enlisted in the U.S. Marines in December 1942. Following active duty in 1945, he joined the Marine Reserves. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1947 with a BS in geological engineering and accepted employment with Humble Oil on a Galveston-based offshore seismic crew. Hugh was currently serving as the Chair of the Houston Geological Society Foundation and as the Office Chair and Membership Chair for the Geophysical Society of Houston. An expanded article on General Hardy’s contributions is in this Bulletin on page 8. A memorial donation will be made to the HGS Undergraduate Scholarship Fund.

Wiley B. Harle, 79, passed away December 7, 2003. Wiley served with the Army Air Corps during WWII. In 1950 he earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Texas. Wiley was an Emeritus Member of the HGS. A memorial donation will be made to the HGS Undergraduate Scholarship Fund.  

Homer G. Moore passed away on May 14, 2003 at the age of 85. Homer earned a BS in Geology from the University of Oklahoma in 1941. He served in the US Navy as a fighter pilot and flight instructor during WWII. He was employed by Louisiana Land and Exploration as their Chief Geologist bef

A PowerPoint presentation by Josh Rosenfeld and Jim Pindell presented at North American Explorationists Dinner Meeting, November 2003.
 
A provocative hypothesis that presents evidence for a major sea-level fall in the Paleogene Gulf of Mexico.  Tectonic interaction in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is cited as cause for isolation of the Gulf from the Atlantic resulting in evaporation and draw-down.
 
Parts III a,b and c explain the effects of re-connection with the Atlantic.   Part I covers the case for isolation and Part II, the effects of isolation.

A PowerPoint presentation by Josh Rosenfeld and Jim Pindell presented at North American Explorationists Dinner Meeting, November 2003.
 
A provocative hypothesis that presents evidence for a major sea-level fall in the Paleogene Gulf of Mexico.  Tectonic interaction in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is cited as cause for isolation of the Gulf from the Atlantic resulting in evaporation and draw-down.
 
Parts III a,b and c explain the effects of re-connection with the Atlantic.   Part I covers the case for isolation and Part II, the effects of isolation.

A PowerPoint presentation by Josh Rosenfeld and Jim Pindell presented at North American Explorationists Dinner Meeting, November 2003.
 
A provocative hypothesis that presents evidence for a major sea-level fall in the Paleogene Gulf of Mexico.  Tectonic interaction in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is cited as cause for isolation of the Gulf from the Atlantic resulting in evaporation and draw-down.
 
Parts III a,b and c explain the effects of re-connection with the Atlantic.   Part I covers the case for isolation and Part II, the effects of isolation.

A PowerPoint presentation by Josh Rosenfeld and Jim Pindell presented at North American Explorationists Dinner Meeting, November 2003.
 
A provocative hypothesis that presents evidence for a major sea-level fall in the Paleogene Gulf of Mexico.  Tectonic interaction in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is cited as cause for isolation of the Gulf from the Atlantic resulting in evaporation and draw-down.
 
Part II explains the effects of isolation and is followed by Part III:  the effects of re-connection and preceeded by Part I:  the case for isolation

Extreme Paleocene - Eocene Sea Level
Fluctuation(s) in the Gulf of Mexico:
A Hypothesis.
Part I:  The Case for Isolation.
 
A PowerPoint presentation by Josh Rosenfeld and Jim Pindell presented at North American Explorationists Dinner Meeting, November 2003.
 
A provocative hypothesis that presents evidence for a major sea-level fall in the Paleogene Gulf of Mexico.  Tectonic interaction in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is cited as cause for isolation of the Gulf from the Atlantic resulting in evaporation and draw-down.
 
Part I makes the case for isolation and is followed by Parts II and III:  the effects of isolation and the effects of re-connection