Young Professional activities in the Asia-Pacific region are growing by leaps and bounds – and as the regional coordinator for YP activities, I am pleased to announce that new chapters have been formed in Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India.
More is being done, and we hope to soon see chapters in Thailand, Brunei and Pakistan.
This report is a summary of many of the YP activities that happened in our Region over the past year.
As you can see, there were a lot of reasons to smile.
In 2013, the Kuala Lumpur chapter proved to be the most dynamic, offering platforms for technical talks by eminent speakers, together with an unprecedented number of activities to strengthen Student-YP liaisons, thus enhancing involvement in AAPG activities.
- With very strong efforts from Tan Chun Hock, Low Wan Ching, Evon Leong and their committee, the Malaysian chapter ran the first YP talk by Bob Shoup, veteran petroleum geologist and longtime AAPG member, who spoke on the “10 Habits of Highly Effective Oil Finders” in July.
This first effort offered many benefits to attendees and was well appreciated. AAPG members who attended welcomed peers who had not yet joined AAPG – the first steps toward increasing our membership.
Feedback of the event indicated that more than 90 percent of attendees were willing to support the YP chapter.
- A second talk for YPs was presented in August by KK Liaw, a geoscientist from Saudi Aramco, on “Sarawak Carbonates Field Trip and Geology,” and almost 30 professionals from 11 oil companies attended.
We are thankful to INPEX for hosting and sponsoring this event. Liaw’s field experience on outcrops of limestone, carbonate heterogeneity and key facts of different carbonate projects was a wonderful way for the audience to augment their technical skills in the field of carbonates.
- In October, AAPG member Herman Darman from Shell gave a talk on “Caspian Exploration and Challenges” – another warmly welcomed experience.
As past president of the AAPG Asia-Pacific Region, Darman holds student chapters and YPs close to his heart and can always be counted upon for support.
- November saw a talk on “Carbon Capture and Storage,” by AAPG Vice President-Regions John Kaldi, a professor at the Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide. The audience learned a lot from him.
- In December, Lansing Taylor, a structural geologist in Talisman, gave a technical lecture on “Geomechanics: From Mantle Plume to Molecular Cohesion, What is the scale of the Problem.”
The YPs were active in Indonesia, too.
- In May, AAPG member Ronald Atasi of Total E&P actively volunteered to showcase the YP activites at the Indonesia Petroleum Association event. Students attending the event were given information on what to expect from a career in the petroleum sector.
- In November, 20 ITB students went on a field trip to the Mahakam Delta, sponsored by Total.
Finally, we are attempting to revive the interest and participation of inactive members in Brunei, China, Pakistan and Thailand.
For more information on the YP initiative and specific activities, visit our page at http://www.aapg.org/youngpros – and feel free to contact me for any queries, at [email protected].