Hello DPA and AAPG members. It’s been an exciting few months for the Division of Professional Affairs as we close out the year and look ahead to 2023.
DPA refreshed our Moneymakers events with the start of our webinar series and has participated and sponsored the Orphan Wells webinars. Both these events have next installments in January and February – both part of our “Renew and Engage”-theme for my term.
Renewed Moneymakers Series
DPA spotlights entrepreneurial geoscientists who have found a way to thrive despite professional and personal hardships through our “Moneymakers: The Business of Energy” webinar series, which kicked off in November. Virtual attendees learn the backstories, setbacks and struggles to building a business, finding the capital and reinventing the blueprint to thrive in the world of oil and gas, or to forge a new path into new or renewable energies. If you have ever thought about taking your skills as a geologist and expanding into the world of entrepreneurship, then this series is for you.
Our first Moneymakers webinar was a great success. We were honored to hear from two AAPG past presidents, Mike Party and Lee Billingsley, who each gave compelling presentations about their journeys as independent petroleum geologists. Generating the prospect was only half the adventure, as each had to develop trustworthy partnerships and secure the capital needed to get the prospects drilled. Mike discussed a tried and true path for funding seismic and land acquisition and laying the groundwork to get a prospect ready to sell. Lee shared his insights on finding investors, setting deal terms and presenting the prospect for a successful outcome.
If you would like to see their presentations again and/or earn professional credit hours, the recording is available on the AAPG website or on YouTube by searching: “DPA Moneymaker Series: Mike Party and Lee Billingsley.”
Join us for our next Moneymakers webinar on Jan. 25. Whitney Landress, president of the DCARB Project, started her career as a petroleum geologist, working at EOG Resources, Tecolote, Laredo and most recently, Command Energy. Whitney’s career shifted as she embarked on a business adventure in which she blends her geology skills with the growing fields of carbon capture and digital currency. Her story will inspire you to translate geological skills and problem-solving into a powerful foundation for entrepreneurship. We look forward to this exciting event!
Orphan Wells Activities
DPA and the Division of Environmental Geosciences partnered with the AAPG Academy on two webinars on orphan wells in 2022, which has become a very hot topic, both domestically and around the globe. We are excited to continue our partnership in 2023 with a two-day workshop planned for Feb. 21-22 in Oklahoma City.
The workshop objectives include:
- Best Practices for Plugging Orphan Wells
- Seek opportunities to utilize orphan wells with field revitalization
- Repurposing old wells for geothermal and critical minerals mining
- How cleaning up orphan/abandoned wells ties into carbon credits, blockchain smart contracts and more.
The workshop will bring together industry practitioners, government and state agencies, nonprofit and academic institutions in a first-of-itskind event that will spark new ideas, motivate interdisciplinary and multiinstitutional collaboration and support the establishment of best practices for cleaning up and repurposing wells across the nation. We hope you will join us!
Help us Renew and Engage in 2023
DPA is seeking enthusiastic members for our standing committees, including some of our most important roles, including Certification, Governmental Affairs, Continuing Education/PRMS, Bylaws, Convention Committee, and Website/Social Media.
Are you willing to lean in and help us renew and engage DPA?
Please express your interest via the email at the end of the article or contacting any of our Executive Committee members. Thank you for your consideration.
As 2022 draws to a close, I’m feeling grateful that this year brought us back together in person, for our professional community, and for all the effort and hard work put in by staff and members to continue our long legacy.
I welcome your thoughts and interests – do you have a topic for our Moneymakers series? What else would you like to see from DPA in 2023? I can be reached at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.