Hello, friends and fans of AAPG!
This month we celebrate IMAGE ‘24. The joint conference between AAPG, the Society for Sedimentary Geology and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists will be at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from Aug. 26 through 29. IMAGE, which is short for the International Meeting for Applied Geoscience and Energy, started shortly after COVID canceled both the AAPG and SEG annual conventions. The two organizations then thought it might be more efficient and better for our sponsors and vendors to combine our yearly conferences.
So, for AAPG, IMAGE has now become the old ACE. IMAGE ‘24 is jam-packed with all the technical innovations and case histories you would want for our domestic and international membership, and then some!
My first shout-out for IMAGE would be to thank our sponsors, without whom this conference could not take place! The list of sponsors can be found on page 3 of the Preview Guide that you hopefully received in the mail or can find online at ImageEvent.org.
Next comes gratitude for the many volunteers it takes to put this four-plus-day event together. There are two major committees guiding the process. The Steering Committee is led by Lisa Helper and Daniel Sutton as the general co-chairs. AAPG President-elect Brian Horn, of the NextEra Energy, is the AAPG Technical Program co-chair. The Oversight Committee has two voting members representing AAPG: Bob Fryklund and past AAPG President Charles Sternbach (also AAPG invited programs chair). Many other dedicated volunteers have put together an outstanding technical program.
AAPG members have asked for expanded, geographically-based sessions (see article on page 20 of this issue), impactful business panels and case studies of success – and IMAGE ‘24 is going to deliver!
Geographically-focused sessions include Latin America, Brazil, Suriname, Trinidad Tobago, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Southeast Asia, South Africa and continental margins. North American sessions include the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Permian Basin, Midcontinent, Rockies and Alaska, Canada and the West Coast. In all there are 55 sessions which highlight regional geology and 22 of those sessions specifically target North America.
Additionally, there are 16 sessions that focus on specific types of geological deposition and settings such as carbonates and evaporites, geochemistry and petroleum systems, siliciclastic and structure, tectonics and geomechanics.
There will be 57 sessions that are integrated between the organizations covering new technologies in machine learning and analytics, interpretation, mining and mineral exploration, critical minerals and geothermal, reservoir characterization, CCUS, student research and sustainability in energy development. I would say there is something for everyone who is interested in learning and expanding their geological world..
‘Your Passport to Global Energy’
You will not want to miss the Opening Ceremony, chaired by Brian Horn on Monday, Aug. 26 at 4:30 p.m.
This session, convening under the convention theme, “Your Passport to Global Energy,” will start with welcoming comments from SEG President Arthur Cheng and me, but the real meat will be the panel of industry visionaries and experts who will address intricate challenges and pressing issues that confront geoscientists and the energy sector today and tomorrow.
The opening panel topic is, “Global Energy’s Expected Challenges.”
Participating executives include:
- Liz Schwarze – VP Global Exploration, Chevron
- Tracey Henderson – EVP Exploration, Apache
- Kevin McLachlan – SVP Exploration, Total Energies
- John Ardill – VP Global Exploration, ExxonMobil
- Muhamed Redhani – VP Exploration, Petronas
The All-Convention Luncheon,“Dialog with a Geoscience CEO,” with Ezra Yacob of EOG Resources is on Tuesday, Aug, 27 at 11:30 a.m. and is moderated by Bob Fryklund. This will be a great opportunity to hear directly from a geoscience CEO on how EOG excels at operational excellence.
The Michel T. Halbouty Lecture will be Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 5:25 p.m. The title is “Decades of the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico: How Innovation and Performance Continue to Unlock New Resources.” William Langin from Shell will be the speaker.
One of the highlights of the conference will be the Discovery Thinking session. This year’s theme is “Passport to Global Discoveries” and will be moderated by Charles Sternbach and Mike Forrest. Four case studies of major global discoveries will show integration of geology and geophysics. The Discovery Thinking sessions always draws the largest of the crowds at IMAGE, and I bet this year won’t be any different.
Other Highlights at IMAGE ‘24
This year there will be an Early and Mid-Career Panel, hosted by AAPG’s Division of Professional Affairs at 3 p.m in The Gathering Place on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Also, notably, the poster area has been expanded to include the third floor.
All this, plus eight luncheons and breakfasts, 14 short courses, 17 post-convention workshops, student events and The Bookstore. Good luck getting it all in while you are there!
Lastly, I would like to thank the exhibitors and sponsors (again). There will be more than 250 companies and vendors in the exhibit hall. Please go by their booths and thank them for being there and supporting IMAGE ‘24! Once again, free passes to the exhibit floor will be handed to anyone who wants to mingle with the vendors; this has proved hugely successful for getting people on the floor and the vendors love it! And while you are on the exhibition floor, stop by the Gathering Place – the joint AAPG/SEG area at the northern end of Exhibit Hall A. There will be “geology art” and it is a great place to meet up with old (and new) friends.
The IMAGE ‘24 technical program received more than 1,640 abstract submissions covering a wide range of foundational and emerging geology and geophysics topics, including cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on machine learning and new energy frontiers.
IMAGE ‘24 promises to be the best one yet and I look forward to seeing everyone there!
Executive Director Search Committee
As many of you know, David Curtiss, AAPG executive director for the past 13 years, has resigned effectively upon the successful hiring of his replacement. Past President Claudia Hackbarth formed a Search Committee while she was still president. This Committee consists of members from the past and current Executive Committee, along with representatives from previous executive directors, past presidents, Datapages and the AAPG Foundation. They have been meeting on a bi-weekly basis since June to define a succinct job description and are moving forward quickly, but deliberately, to replace Mr. Curtiss in a timely matter. We are grateful to David for his willingness to remain until his successor is in place, which is anticipated to happen before the end of the year.
Next month, I plan to write about “What we all have in common.”
Best,
Deborah