Registration is now open for the inaugural AAPG Regional International Conference, which will be held July 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey.
The meeting, originally planned for this past summer, was rescheduled due to economic situations in the oil business that limited participation of some of the major players in the Caspian oil/gas industry.
The devastating earthquake on Aug. 17 near Istanbul did not damage the city — including the conference center, main hotels and tourist areas, as well as nearby field trip locations.
(In fact the Istanbul conference center was the site of the International Geochemical Society conference in September.)
The conference venue originally planned for 1999 is not changed, and the technical program is generally intact except for adjustments to reflect recent Caspian exploration results.
AAPG has chosen the Caspian region for its inaugural regional international conference, a new format designed to bring to the AAPG membership information on an area of major importance to our business.
The new format focuses on the technical sessions and field trips only; the exhibition is reserved for the annual international meeting and is not included in the regional meeting format.
With the Caspian region already of major interest to the exploration community, the Caspian area gained even more in importance recently with world-scale gas deposits being found in Azerbaijan. Industry is currently drilling another giant structure offshore North Caspian, which is of great interest. The pipeline question was being resolved at press time.
Also, Istanbul is the historical meeting place of continents, cultures and nations; the gateway to the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia — and a major center for Caspian oil, a city as diverse and rewarding as our business
While in this history-filled paradise, be sure to visit these splendors of Istanbul:
- The Byzantine masterpiece Saint Sophia — a sixth century center of divine wisdom.
- Hippodrome — once the scene of chariot races.
- The 16th century masterpieces of Sinan — the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Blue Mosque.
- The 15th century Grand Bazaar — a covered market with more than 4,000 shops.
- The Old Spice Market (the Egyptian Bazaar), where hundreds of spices are still sold.
- The Topkapi Palace Museum, world famous imperial residence of Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years.
- The Bosphorus Bridge, where you can cross to Asia.
- And see Turkey landscape, described by the poet as "a symphony of sounds, smells and people in the most unlikely combinations of appearance and action."
'Outstanding' Program
The conference is co-sponsored by the Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Azerbaijan Society of Petroleum Geologists and the Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Mines. Together, we offer an outstanding technical program of the international technical committee.
Co-chairs and speakers represent 20 countries, including the Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, France, England, Italy, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Brazil, United States and, of course, Turkey.
The technical program will consist of two concurrent oral sessions with six speakers at 30 minutes each. Posters will be offered all day.
The technical sessions include two invitation-only management sessions ("Business Perspectives and Challenges in the Greater Caspian Region," and "Emerging Technology and Implications for the Greater Caspian Region").
Others include:
- Hydrocarbon Systems of the Greater Caspian Region.
- Exploration & Production Opportunities of the North Caspian, South Caspian and Caucasus-Black Sea Basins.
One new feature of the technical program is a plenary session consisting of co-chair summaries on the last afternoon, where each oral and poster session will be summarized. The final summary, a document reflecting key learnings from the conference, will be distributed to all participants and summarized in the EXPLORER.
There will be two AAPG short courses — Deep-Water Siliciclastic Deposits, and the Seismic Stratigraphy at the request of Turkish Petroleum. The final part of the technical program are the field trips — two in Turkey (pre- and post-conference) and one in Azerbaijan (post-conference).
Registration for the conference is being accepted. In fact, if you register by Jan. 15, last year's rates are applicable for registration fee, short courses and field trips.
For more information contact the AAPG convention department or Pinar Yilmaz, telephone: 281-423-7465; fax: 281-423-7780.