Michael C. Forrest is the recipient of the Association’s highest honor, the AAPG Sidney Powers Memorial Award.
Forrest is an Honorary Member and is celebrated for his seminal work on bright spots and direct hydrocarbon indicators, which has been employed by oil producers worldwide for the past 45 years and has led to several major discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico shelf area alone.
Forrest has worked as an exploration manager at Shell, was president of Pecten International, and vice chairman and chief operating officer at Maxus Energy.
AAPG Honorary Member Hans H. Krause joins him at the top of the awardees list as this year’s Michel T. Halbouty Outstanding Leadership Award recipient.
Krause is the editor of Historical Highlights, a monthly column that is a staple of this publication, telling the human stories behind some of the greatest moments and discoveries of the oil industry. Krause draws upon his extensive contacts and experience from his long and illustrious upstream career with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Compañia Shell de Venezuela and Maraven.
He is also a tireless and active leader within AAPG, serving in a variety of capacities that have included chairing the History of Petroleum Geology Committee, serving on the ICE Cartagena Organizing Committee and numerous other vital roles.
Gilbert Odior and David Blanchard are the recipients of the inaugural Vlastimila "Vlasta" Dvořáková International Ambassador Service Award. This award is given to those who have promoted growth and awareness of the AAPG organization internationally, outside the United States, and created opportunities for the Association to reach a wider audience of geoscientists worldwide. Odior is a member of the Africa Region and Blanchard is a past president of the Africa Region.
Forrest, Krause, Odior and Blanchard will be recognized, along with the rest of the AAPG award winners, at the opening session of the 2018 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Salt Lake City, Utah, set for May 20-23.
AAPG awards, approved by the Executive Committee, are presented annually to recognize individuals for service to the profession, the science, the Association and the public.
Biographies and citations of all award winners will be included in a future AAPG BULLETIN.
Joining Forrest and Krause as this year’s AAPG awardees are:
Honorary Member Award
Presented to Members who have distinguished themselves by their accomplishments and through their service to the profession of petroleum geology and to AAPG.
- Jeffrey Brooks Aldrich, MHA Petroleum Consultants, Denver, Colo.
- Edward A. "Ted" Beaumont, Cimarex Energy Co., Tulsa, Okla.
- Gretchen M. Gillis, Aramco Services, Houston.
- Jeffrey W. Lund, Corridor Oil & Gas LP, Houston.
- David G. Rensink, Consultant (retired), Houston.
- Paul Weimer, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.
Norman H. Foster Outstanding Explorer Award
Presented to Members in recognition of distinguished and outstanding achievement in exploration for petroleum or mineral resources, with an intended emphasis on recent discovery.
- Susan Morrice, Belize Natural Energy, Belize, honored her role in finding oil in Belize and leading her company in developing a business model that ensured oil production benefited the country and people of Belize.
Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award
Presented to honor a singular achievement in petroleum geoscience research.
- Carlo Doglioni, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, honored for his pioneering role and expertise in structural geology.
- Mark G. Rowan, Rowan Consulting, Inc., Boulder, Colo., honored for his pioneering role and expertise in structural geology.
Distinguished Service Award
Presented to those who have distinguished themselves in singular and beneficial long-term service to AAPG.
This year there are six recipients of the honor:
- Peter Baillie, SVP Business Development, Perth, Australia.
- Richard Ball, Detring Energy Advisors, Houston.
- Steven Brachmann, Wapiti Energy, Houston.
- Cynthia Huggins, Aera Energy, Bakersfield, Calif.
- Jon R. Schwalbach, geoscience consultant, Oxnard, Calif.
- Michael L. Sweet, ExxonMobil, Houston.
Grover E. Murray Distinguished Educator Award
Presented for distinguished and outstanding contributions to geological education, both at the university level and toward education of the general public.
- Frank R. Ettensohn, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.
- Philip Steven Simony, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Public Service Award
Presented to recognize contributions of AAPG Members to public affairs — and intended to encourage such activities.
- Thomas C. Chidsey, Jr., Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah, honored for his role in educating the public and policymakers on Utah’s petroleum potential and production.
Pioneer Award
Presented to long-standing Members who have contributed to the Association and who have made meaningful contributions to the science of geology.
- Ian David Maycock, Hunt Oil (retired), Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, honored for his contributions and discoveries in the Middle East, including Alif Field the first oil discovery in Yemen.
Geosciences in the Media Award
Presented for notable journalistic achievement in any medium, which contributes to public understanding of geology, energy resources or the technology of oil and gas exploration.
- Wayne Ranney, freelance geologist, Flagstaff, Ariz., honored for his acclaimed books on the geology of the southwestern United States.
Young Professional Exemplary Service Award
Presented to Members who have promoted growth, awareness and expanded opportunities within the organization for Young Professionals.
- Ola Adly Fakhry Mohamed, Khalda Petroleum Company, Maadi, Cairo, Egypt, honored for her leadership and organizational efforts for AAPG in North Africa.
- Dwandari Ralanarko, CNOOC Southeast Asia, Jakarta, Indonesia, honored for his service and leadership within AAPG Indonesia’s YPs and student chapters.
Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author(s) of the best AAPG BULLETIN article published each calendar year.
- Ben Kneller, Mason Dykstra, Luke Fairweather and Juan Pablo Milana, for "Mass-transport and slope accommodation: Implications for turbidite sandstone reservoirs" (February 2016 AAPG Bulletin).
Robert H. Dott Sr. Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the author/editor of the best special publication dealing with geology published by the Association.
- Claudio Bartolini and Paul Mann, for AAPG Memoir 108: "Petroleum Geology and Potential of the Colombian Caribbean Margin."
J.C. "Cam" Sproule Memorial Award
Presented to recognize and reward younger authors of papers applicable to petroleum geology.
- Jinyu Zhang, Ronald Steel and William Ambrose, for "Greenhouse shoreline migration: Wilcox deltas" (AAPG BULLETIN, December 2016).
John W. Shelton Search and Discovery Award
Presented in recognition of the best contribution to the "Search and Discovery" website in the past year.
- Andrew Miall, for "The Valuation of Unconformities" (Presented at the 2016 ACE in Calgary).
SEG/AAPG Best Paper In Interpretation Award
Presented in recognition of the best contribution to the new SEG/AAPG journal, "Interpretation."
- Krzysztof M. Wojcik, Irene S. Espejo, Adebukonla M. Kalejaiye, and Otuka K. Umahi, for "Bright spots, dim spots: Geologic controls of direct hydrocarbon indicator type, magnitude, and detectability, Niger Delta Basin" (August 2016).
George C. Matson Award
Presented to honor and reward the best oral presentation at the 2017 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston.
- Paul G. Lillis, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo., for "Application of Oil Gravity and Sulfur Content Relationships to Oil Typing and Source Rock Kinetics."
Jules Braunstein Memorial Award
Presented to honor and reward the best poster presentation at the 2017 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Calgary.
- Katie-Joe McDonough, Kenneth McDermott, Elisabeth C. Gillbard, Kyle Reuber, James Pindell and Brian W. Horn, for "Chronostratigraphy Across a Conjugate Margin Source-to-Sink: Uruguay and Namibia—Why Stop at Basement?"