For the past 20 years, the International
Pavilion has been a standard fixture
in AAPG’s annual convention and
flagship international conferences.
Visitors to the IP expect to see maps
and flags and hear a variety of languages
spoken in the area dedicated to connecting
countries with hydrocarbon and mineral
resources with companies seeking to
explore and produce them.
At the 2021 AAPG/Society of Exploration
Geophysicists’ International Meeting for
Applied Geoscience and Energy taking
place in Denver this month, the traditional
rows of white exhibitor stands will be
replaced by a 60-square-meter IP Theatre
showcasing energy opportunities around
the world.
This year, IP content is not limited to
those who travel to Denver.
Added Time, Added Reach
Gina Godfrey, AAPG’s International
Pavilion manager, said IP has two new
features in 2021: extended presentation
times for countries and IP Theatre
presentations offered both to onsite
attendees and to those connecting virtually.
“We will be having an IP Theatre on
the exhibition floor where all registered
in-person attendees will be able to view
presentations from all of the IP countries.
If attendees miss a talk or want to see
one again, they can log-in to the IMAGE
platform and watch presentations ondemand,”
she said. “Also, in the past, IP
Theatre presentations were 15 minutes, but
we have increased the time to 30 minutes
to give the countries the ability to go into
more detail.”
The extra time will be helpful for
countries like South Africa, who have
multiple opportunities to showcase.
David van der Spuy, manager of the
Conventional Resources Evaluation
Department at the Petroleum Agency
of South Africa, said the agency’s
presentations include a variety of
hydrocarbon opportunities and legislation
updates.
“We plan to present open acreage both
on and offshore South Africa, covering
opportunities for deep and shallow water
exploration offshore, and shale gas and
other unconventionals onshore,” he said.
Presentations also cover farm-in
opportunities and an update to South
Africa’s new Upstream Petroleum
Resources Development bill.
“As soon as the new legislation
becomes enacted, PASA plans to release
acreage through license rounds. We hope
to make prospective investors aware of
what we have to offer and also familiarize
them with our new legislation,” van der
Spuy said.
A New Modus Operandi
Craig Moore, deputy director of the
Geology and Petroleum Department at
Belize’s Ministry of Natural Resources,
Petroleum and Mining, has high hopes for
participation in this year’s virtual IP.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly
affected the Ministry and Department,”
he said. “We had to work with operators
to shut in wells and the sustained low oil
prices affected the country’s revenues at a
time we needed it the most.”
Restrictions on travel, access to capital
and personnel, and limited interaction
changed the mode of operation, impacted
exploration in Belize and limited the ability
of the GPD to attend international events to
showcase Belize, he said.
“Although it was difficult to decide
how and what to market this year
due to the pandemic, participation in
hybrid conferences that offer an online
component allow us to reach audiences
that may find it difficult to attend the
conference,” he said. “Also, participation
now will show to the world that we are still
open for business, even in difficult times.”
Moore noted that the Central
American country, adjacent to Mexico and
Guatemala, offers unique niche markets
for development. Advantages for investors
include the English-speaking population
and ports, a low carbon footprint and a
demand for traditional and alternative
energies, both from Belize and its
neighbors.
In his IP presentation, Moore will
highlight Belize’s hydrocarbon potential by
sharing geological and geophysical work,
including past studies and recent modeling
and data acquisition. He also plans to share
elements of the country’s new regulatory
and fiscal framework that encourages oil
and gas investments.
Moore hopes that IP participation will
help his team connect with companies
looking to expand overseas exploration and
diversify portfolios with attractive acreage
and petroleum potential.
“Belize has numerous exploration
projects that will resume towards the end
of 2021 and the Ministry is actively looking
for areas of the offshore to resume seismic
activity and also to open acreage for
offshore exploration,” he said.
Adapting and Innovating
Godfrey said the IP has made several
pivots since the last in-person gathering
at the AAPG Prospect and Property Expo
Global in London in March 2020. When
global travel grounded to a halt just weeks
later, both organizers and participants
began shifting gears.
“Like everyone the IP has had to adapt
to virtual activities with all the travel and
COVID restrictions and budget cuts,” she
said, “But I think the IP has been fairly
innovative working with the events’ virtual
platforms.”
In addition to providing online
presentations at the virtual AAPG Annual
Conference and Exhibition in October 2020
and APPEX Global Online in March 2021,
the International Pavilion launched “IP
Country Showcases,” a series of 60-minute interactive webinars provided to countries
who had virtual booths at APPEX.
“The IP Country Showcase series was
quite a success that we hope to repeat in
the near future,” Godfrey said. “Showcases
drew a global audience of people unable to
travel this year, and countries were really
happy with their participation.”
She is working with AAPG offices to hold
virtual Country Showcases prior to two
AAPG’s flagship international conferences
in 2022, APPEX Global in March and
AAPG’s International Conference and
Exhibition Cartagena in April.
“Showcases are a great way to create
interest in countries and in AAPG events,
as well as to reach members and partners
who are unable to attend the events inperson,”
she said. “While we are all ready
to go back to in-person events, I think that
having a virtual component available for
attendees is a practice that will be around
for years to come.”
Lessons Learned in Lockdown
Moore stated that working virtually
during the COVID pandemic has taught him
three primary lessons.
“We have learned that the energy
industry is truly resilient even when
commodity prices vary and outlooks
change,” he said. “Working virtually has
taught us that networking in the energy
industry is very important to its survival
and knowledge sharing is easiest while
talking face to face. Lastly working virtually
has taught us to simplify explanations of
complex issues in order to engage parties
and maintain interest.”
While COVID has brought innumerable
challenges to IP participants, most have
found a silver lining to the crisis.
Working from home proved more
effective than previously thought possible,
and virtual event participation brought cost
savings to agencies facing budget cuts.
Van der Spuy said the pandemic helped
PASA explore new ways of doing business.
“It definitely is not necessary to travel as
much as we did, and we were underutilizing
technology before the pandemic forced
us into this new way of operating,” he said.
“We have made a major move to working
remotely, with most staff working from
home. The virtual events hosted by the
IP have assisted us with this and with
protecting our staff during the pandemic.”
A Global Community
Caring for the IP countries and their staff
members is a huge priority for Godfrey, who
has spent more than two decades working
with the IP and says she loves every aspect
of her job.
“Over the years we have been able
to create a ‘global community’ with all
the countries,” she said. “All of us have
developed strong relationships and
friendships, and we stay connected
throughout the year.”
Van der Spuy, who has coordinated
PASA’s participation in AAPG events in
1999, said the IP has become a mainstay in
PASA’s marketing and investment attraction
strategy.
“The IP has allowed us to reach a vast
audience of prospective investors in one
place and to present our prospectivity
on the world stage, without us having to
organize multiple overseas trips, venues
and events ourselves,” he said. “In addition,
visitors to the IP are specifically looking for
international investment opportunities, so
exhibiting at the IP is doubly effective.”
For Godfrey, the long-term relationships
formed between exhibiting countries and
organizers has been key to the IP’s ability to
adapt.
“It has been so rewarding to continue
to grow and improve the IP into a
significant showcase for the promotion of
opportunities and activities that has become
an important component to the countries’
overall promotional programs,” she said.
Evolving Subject Matter
In addition to offering virtual options, the
IP has expanded subject matter presented.
Once dedicated almost exclusively to
oil and gas opportunities, IP presentations
now feature geothermal, mineral resources,
renewable energy generation projects and
government strategies for moving toward a
low-carbon economy.
The 2021 IMAGE IP includes a halfday
Australian showcase highlighting
government initiatives that support low
emission energy projects, including
hydrogen production and carbon capture
and storage. Presentations emphasize the
importance of natural gas in expanding low
emission energy production and provide an
overview of Australia’s significant resource
potential critical minerals, a cornerstone of
the country’s renewable energy industries.
Presenters are affiliated with AUSTRALIA
Energy Resources and AUSTRALIA Minerals,
both collaborations of geoscientists and
regulators representing Australian states,
territories and the Commonwealth.
Tom Bernecker, director of energy
resources advice and promotion for
Geoscience Australia, the entity that
oversees AER’s promotional activities, said
IP participation will raise the awareness of
the country’s energy commodity investment
opportunities, which are supported by a
wealth of pre-competitive open-file data
sets.
“Our virtual presence at IMAGE will
highlight that Australia’s energy mix is
rapidly evolving and that the nation is on a
path to a low-carbon economy,” he said.
Bernecker said that participating in
multiple virtual platforms has helped
AER learn how to be more effective with
promotion.
“We have learned that it is important
to carefully prepare presentations, ideally
with the support of professional media
personnel,” he said. “Geoscience Australia
is lucky to have in-house access to
professional media support,” he added,
noting that virtual participation has
enhanced the collaborative’s communication
and inclusion.
“One positive outcome was the regular
online communication with AER team
members and, more importantly, the
addition of previously only sporadically
involved jurisdictions in the promotional
program, because travel budget was not
seen as an issue any longer,” he said.
Australian states presenting with
Geoscience Australia in the Image 2021 IP
include New South Wales, Northern Territory,
South Australia, Victoria and Western
Australia.
They join representatives from Belize,
Jamaica, Morocco, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Nova Scotia, Peru, South Africa
and Tunisia.
Those are the countries who have
confirmed participation in the program,
at least. Godfrey said she expects other
countries to book closer to the event dates.
“One advantage of virtual participation
is that countries have more time to confirm
their participation in the IP,” she said.
“It’s nice not to have to worry about visa
applications and airline schedules.”
Planning Ahead While Remaining Flexible
While they prepare for IMAGE, IP
participants look to the future and hope they
can include in-person shows in their 2022
evert schedule.
Van der Spuy said PASA hopes to start
traveling sometime next year.
Faced with strong lockdowns, Bernecker
said Australia is unlikely to open its
international border before the second
quarter of 2022.
In the meantime, AER plans to identify
further opportunities to promote the
“AUSTRALIA Energy Resources” brand and
attract investors to Australia.
Moore said the future of travel remains
uncertain for Belize. Department plans
for the next 12 months include building
the petroleum systems knowledge base,
understanding of the country’s petroleum
potential and sharing opportunities with
others.
“We plan to actively promote oil and gas
investments within the country through
aggressive participation in events that give
us the opportunity to reach out to potential
partners,” he said.
Godfrey said the IP is committed to
helping countries connect with partners by
providing the participation opportunities
they seek.
She noted that one of the pandemic’s
greatest lessons is the need to be flexible.
“We make plans but realize that they
may need to be changed, and that’s OK. As
long as we keep our community strong and
remain adaptable and relevant, we will help
both the IP and the countries achieve our
objectives,” she said.
Connecting with the IP
Upcoming IP activities include the
Country Snapshots session in the AAPG
Energy Opportunities Virtual Conference
taking place online Nov. 10-11, and inperson
conferences at APPEX Global
2022 in London, March 8-9, and AAPG ICE
Cartagena 2022 on April 19-22.
To learn more about the International
Pavilion visit InternationalPavilion.com.
For the IP Theatre at Image schedule visit
ImageEvent.org/2021.