AAPG
returns to a familiar locale this month for an event that proudly
recalls a century of success as it bravely charts a path toward
tomorrow.
The 89th
AAPG Annual Meeting, with SEPM, will be held April 18-21 at
the Dallas Convention Center, and more than 870 technical presentations
are ready to present a comprehensive portrait of the profession,
the industry and the science of petroleum geology.
"Embrace
the Future — Celebrate the Past" is the meeting theme, and members
of the hosting Dallas Geological Society have crafted an innovative
technical and social program to explore the topic.
Planners
in Dallas have been most aware of the industry's and profession's
current environment of change.
"The (meeting's)
well-balanced technical program and the diversity of topical content
will enable participants to examine subjects unfamiliar to them,"
said meeting general chair Terence G. O'Hare.
"The program
is extremely comprehensive," he added, "providing something of interest
for numerous geologic specializations."
Included
in the technical program are nine special forums — believed to
be the most ever for an AAPG meeting — that include:
- The
History of Geology: Lessons Learned from Failures.
- Delivering
on Our Promises — Managing E&P in the 21 Century (starts
at 8:20 a.m. Monday, April 19).
- Technical,
Business and Ethical Challenges for Independents and Consultants
(at 1:25 p.m. Monday, April 19).
- Petroleum
Asset Risk Management (at 3:15 p.m. Monday, April 19).
- Teaching
Earth Sciences, K-12 and Public Outreach.
- Recent
Discovery and Development Case Histories.
- Business
Strategies for Exploration Evaluation — Onshore North America
(at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 20).
- The
Future of Global Energy — Technical, Environmental, Economic
and Policy Issues.
- Climate
Change — Sense and Nonsense in Our Great Geophysical Experiment.
Another
special presentation will be the annual Michel T. Halbouty Lecture,
which this year will be offered at 5 p.m. Monday, April 19. Veteran
international oil explorer Brian Maxted will discuss "Exploration
Perspectives and Paradigms — Finding Oil in the Future."
Complementing
the technical program, of course, is the huge exhibits hall showcase
— the Dallas Convention Center is the largest in Texas — site
of Sunday's Icebreaker (and Tuesday's "mini-breaker" reception).
This year's display will offer more than 250 exhibitors, offering
the latest in cutting-edge technology and information, and including
the popular International Pavilion and Virtual Café.
As usual,
pre-meeting events — various short courses, field trips and social
activities — will be held for early arrivers, including an expanded
Teacher Program (begins Saturday, April 17) and Career Seminar (at
8:30 a.m. Sunday, April 18, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel).
The meeting
begins in earnest at 4 p.m. Sunday with the opening session and
awards ceremony, followed by the traditional Icebreaker in the exhibits
hall. Technical sessions begin at 8 a.m. Monday, April 19.
This year
also marks a record setting twelfth time Dallas has been host for
an AAPG annual meeting — the most for any city. Dallas also is
the only city to host an annual meeting in each decade of AAPG's
existence.