The first jointly held “International Geological and Geophysical Conference on Integrated Approach for Unlocking Hydrocarbon Resources,” offered last October in Baku, Azerbaijan, proved to be a big success in terms of both content and attendees.
The conference, organized by the Azerbaijan Society of Petroleum Geologists, Azerbaijan National Committee of Geophysics and EAGE local chapter jointly with AAPG, SEG and the Russian Association, drew nearly 300 participants.
Among the countries represented were Great Britain, Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia, Romania, Austria, the United States, Ukraine and France.
Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of industry and energy, opened the conference with a talk on the region’s current activity well as its potential.
Other opening session speakers included AAPG European Region President Vlasta Dvorakova, AAPG member and SEG First Vice President William Abriel, and EAGE representative Roald van Borselen.
Some of the conference highlights included:
- A plenary session on Azerbaijan’s exploration potential.
- A talk by Christian Giudicelli, general manager of Total E&P Azerbaijan, on renewed exploration activities in a mature oil province.
- Presentations on the giant and major oil and gas accumulations of the South Caspian Basin.
“I felt the conference was a success … maybe the strongest conference in Baku, with good representation from around the world and a very high level of student participation,” said AAPG member Gregory Riley, BP’s vice president of exploration geology. “I certainly enjoyed the mixture of geology and geophysics.”
Riley also led a post-conference field trip for the event.