HGS

Save These HGS Dates in September!

noemail@hgs.org — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Hello
Don't miss these HGS events in September! Aside from some great lunch and dinner meetings (see below), we have these two special events . . .

7th HGS/PESGB African Conference
Day: Mon 8-Sep-08 to Wed 10-Sep-08
Location: Marriott Houston Westchase Hotel 2900 Briarpark Dr
Summary: Covers all aspects of African E&P, with particular emphasis on new ideas for plays and prospects, the geology of the continent and its conjugate margins, and application of emerging technologies. Pre-register by Sep. 1 to save up to $125!
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HGS Golf Tournament
Day: Mon 15-Sep-08 9:30 AM
Location: Kingwood Country Club
Summary: COME CHECK OUT OUR FASTER PACE OF PLAY & BIGGER SELECTION OF DOOR PRIZES! Come out and join us for golf, food, friends and fun. This year's format will be a four man scramble, with three flights determined by handicap. First, second, and third prizes in each flight. Click here for entry form.
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Lunch and Dinner Meetings

HGS General Dinner Meeting
Speaker's Name: Dr. N. G. Saleri, President, Quantum Reservoir Impact, LLC
Day: Mon 8-Sep-08 5:30 PM
Location: Hilton Houston Westchase 9999 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77042
Summary: "Brave New World of Oil" -- Saleri advocates an alternative scenario—a period of growth in oil supplies, despite the massive challenges posed by growing resource nationalism/access, global warming concerns, or human reservoir constraints.
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Northsiders Luncheon Meeting
Speaker's Name: Jeffrey E. Nunneley, Marathon Oil Company
Day: Tue 16-Sep-08 11:30 AM
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel - Greenspoint (former Sofitel) 425 North Sam Houston Pkwy E Houston, TX 77060
Summary: GIP Identification from Mudlog Gas in Barnett Shale -- Come learn how to estimate gas-in-place from mudlogs that are normalized and calibrated to core data.

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International Explorationists Dinner Meeting
Speaker's Name: William Dickson & Craig Schiefelbein, Dickson International Geosciences & Geochemical Solutions Intl.
Day: Mon 22-Sep-08 5:30 PM
Location: Westchase Hilton 9999 Westheimer Houston, Texas 77042-3802
Summary: Lacustrine Kitchens -- Keys to Exploration Success in the Pre-Salt Play, Santos Basin, and Potential along the Eastern Brazil Margin
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HGS General Luncheon Meeting
Speaker's Name: Stephen Trammel, Senior Product Manager, IHS
Day: Wed 24-Sep-08 11:30 AM
Location: Petroleum Club of Houston 800 Bell, 43rd Floor Houston, TX 77002
Summary: Hot U.S. Plays: Mostly Shale Part I (Part II in October)
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25-Aug-08 2:00 PM

The Graying of Petroleum Historians

noemail@hgs.org — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

The Graying of Petroleum Historians
Jeff Spencer (jspencer@blackpoolenergy.com)

In 2009, the petroleum industry will celebrate the 150th anniversary ofColonel Drakes’s oil discovery near Titusville, Pennsylvania — the event traditionally regarded as the start of the industry in the United States.

People interested in the history of the oil age are organizing a number of events commemorating
this sesquicentennial anniversary. One of these events was the International Oil Symposium held May 7–10th, 2008 in Sarnia and Petrolia, Ontario, Canada.

The Petroleum History Institute and the Petroleum History Society sponsored the meeting, which was hosted by the Ontario Petroleum Institute. “Oil Springs, Ontario 150 Years — Back to the Future” was the theme of the symposium, which included two days of oral and poster presentations, followed by an oil heritage tour throughout Lambton County, Ontario. One of the many highlights of the tour was visiting the oil producing properties of Fairbank Oil, a fourth generation family operation which is currently run by Charles Fairbank lll (Charlie). Here Charlie “pumped oil in the same place using the same technology” as his great-grandfather.

Symposium attendees represented museums, historical groups, and several authors, who are trying to preserve our oil heritage and document its history. The attendees were not a large group, and not a young group, but it was certainly a passionate group! It was also a concerned group. Discussions included not only the “graying” of petroleum historians, but also the lack of interest in our oil heritage, not just by the general public, but also by much of our own industry. Local historians are clearly doing much of the historical research with little financial support from the industry or co-operation in making industry archives available for research.

The 2009 annual International Oil Symposium will take place in Titusville, Pennsylvania from May 14-16. The following month, June 7-10, the AAPG’s Annual Convention will meet in Denver. Several members of the AAPG’s history committee are also members of the Petroleum History Institute. These members plan to worktogether to include oil history/heritage as part of the 2009 AAPG Convention.

“Celebrating the Story — Progress from Petroleum” is the theme of Oil 150, a group from the oil region of Pennsylvania (www.Oil150.com). Despite a negative public image, this group hopes to enhance the American public’s perception of the U.S. petroleum industry by focusing on the historical achievements of early oil pioneers and the men and women who followed in later decades. Representatives from Oil 150 attended the 2008 Symposium and will be very much involved in the 2009 Symposium.

Several excellent websites contain information about North America’s petroleum heritage.
These include:
www.albertasource.ca/petroleum,
www.petroleumhistory.org,
www.petroleumhistory.ca,
www.aoghs.org, ■

19-Aug-08 3:00 PM

When a Fault System Re-Awakens

noemail@hgs.org — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

When a Fault System Re-Awakens
Observations on China’s Longmenshan Thrust Belt

When a Fault System Re-Awakens, ICGR - Institute for Creative Geology Research

Dr. Franz L. Kessler, ICGR - Institute for Creative Geology Research

On May 12, 2008, China’s most powerful earthquate in 58 years occurred along the Longmenshan Thrust Belt in Sichuan Province. The 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused widespread destruction and killed more than 69,000 people. The Longmenshan Thrust Belt constitutes a series of Mesozoic overthrusts that offset the Tibetan Plateau on the northwest from
the Gansu Plain to the southeast
(Figures 1 and 2).

The possibility of a severe earthquake along this thrust belt had been anticipated in academic circles, but there was little evidence that it would happen so soon and with such devastating consequences. Li Yong, a geological expert at the Chengdu University of Technology in Sichuan,
quoted in an International Herald Tribune article of May 30th, 2008, stated: “The line of the middle fault is as clear as a string. It suggests continuous and strong movement. Such a long and clear lineament should trigger a big quake.

Other scientists have had similar ideas.” In July 2007, Li co-wrote a paper that raised the likelihood of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in this same area, along the
Longmenshan Thrust Belt. He spoke again of the dangers associated with this fault zone at a conference in China only a month before the disaster struck. Seismic activity in the area was sparse from 2004 to late 2007 , with no strong seismic evidence to indicate an imminent fault reactivation in the thrust belt area. Hence, the Longmenshan Thrust Belt provides an excellent example for a sudden rejuvenation of an older fault system.

The following conclusions are offered:
• The ‘awakening’ of the thrust belt occurred in an extremely short time span. This could be significant for other dormant fault belts.
Figure 2:
Relief maps of the Longmenshan Thrust Belt area. The star indicates location of the
city of Chengdu. The SW-NE Longmenshan Thrust Belt forms an obvious landscape element
that separates lowlands south and south-east of Guangyuan from the Tibetan Plateau. Seismic
activity, as recorded since 1973 by the USGS, indicates scattered events of shallow and intermediate depth, but without emphasizing the fault belt area.

Figure 1:
Geological cross-section through the Longmenshan Thrust Belt to the northwest, and stable Paleozoic
and Mesozoic foreland. Although the thrust belt’s origin is clearly Mesozoic, there remain questions about Tertiary
and Quarternary tectonic activity. From the point of human settlement history, the thrust belt re-awoke to life in
2008. Courtesy of Tai-Ran Jiang Miri, Malaysia

• Data clearly indicate that seismic precursor activity was extremely brief; there was neither strong seismic evidence nor sufficient time for disaster prevention.
• Prediction of earthquake risk needs to be carried out plate-wide, given that risk cannot be calculated nor earthquakes forecasted based on analysis of isolated areas only. ■

Figure 3:
Location of earthquake foci in map view. The position of the Longmenshan Thrust Belt is indicated by the dashed line. In early 2008, four months before the big quake, seismic activity suddenly awakened. Quake foci are taken from the USGS database. Color scale indicates depth of earthquake foci inkilometers.

19-Aug-08 2:00 PM

Help Needed in HGS Career Booth at Gem and Mineral Show

noemail@hgs.org — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

The annual Houston Gem and Mineral Show will take place on September 26-28. Click here to see the Show flyer. Several thousand school kids come through on Friday (Sep. 26) on field trips, and several hundred Scouts are there on Saturday and Sunday working on geology badges. The Houston Geological Society's Career Booth is an integral part of both the field trip program and the scout activities.

WHAT IS NEEDED:

1. A volunteer to organize the schedules for the three days.

2. Volunteers to staff the booth for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - preferably in 4- hour shifts, but 2 hours if necessary.

Please contact Janet Combes to volunteer, at jmcombes@msn.com; h 281-463-1564; w 832-486-2160.

Also, please forward this request to:

-- anyone in your organization who’d be interested

-- anyone who frequently attends the HGMS show

-- any Scout leaders / geologists who might be interested

19-Aug-08 2:00 PM

September 2008 HGS Bulletin

noemail@hgs.org — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Download September 2008 Bulletin

19-Aug-08 12:00 PM

The Wise Report

noemail@hgs.org — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The Wise Report
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
August 15, 2008

From the TCEQ: The TCEQ is seeking volunteers from environmental interest and local government groups, consultants and environmental managers to participate in two staff-led subcommittees developing guidance for the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP) rule with input from the TRRP Steering Committee. The planned documents will address representative concentrations for ecological exposure (TRRP-15E) and human exposure (TRRP-15H). The objective of both documents is to describe acceptable techniques for using environmental sample data to determine if and to what extent response actions are needed at a contaminated site.

TRRP-15E will address such topics as:

Determining exposure areas for benthic invertebrates and wildlife
Unique considerations for background determination for sediment
Determining exposure point concentrations for benthic invertebrates and wildlife
Considerations of hot spots for ecological receptors
Composite sampling to support ecological risk assessments

TRRP-15H will address such topics as:

Comparing sample results to standards
Determination of background concentrations
Exposure areas for grouping of data
Response action determination process with application to specific exposure pathways
Requirements for use of statistics as specified in the TRRP rule

Interested volunteers should ideally have familiarity with one or more of these topics for either ecological or human exposure as well as knowledge of related general guidance and the TRRP rule. Participation will involve frequent meetings at TCEQ headquarters in Austin, joining in conference calls, or commenting on draft documents. The number or role of participants may be limited based on the number of volunteers. An organizational meeting to orient volunteers will be scheduled in mid-to-late October, 2008. Contact Paul S. Lewis at (512) 239-2341 or Plewis@tceq.state.tx.us by 9/15/08 to volunteer or for information.

Henry M. Wise, P.G.
The Wise Report
8/15/2008

15-Aug-08 8:00 PM

Geologic Website of the Month

noemail@hgs.org — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Geologic Website of the Month
www.usgs.gov
Michael Forlenza, PG

The Geologic Website of the Month is a new Bulletin feature.
Over the next several issues, this feature will present a brief tour
of selected websites of interest to geologists. Some of the selected
websites will be straightforward sources of data, information, and
mapping resources while others will be a pleasant or interesting
diversion related to the earth or planetary sciences.

The initial installment of this series features the website for the
granddaddy of all U.S. geologic organizations: the United States
Geological Survey. The USGS was established on March 3, 1879,
when President Rutherford B.Hayes signed the bill appropriating
money for sundry civil expenses of the federal government for
the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1879. At its inception, the USGS
was charged with the “classification of the public lands, and
examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and
products of the national domain.” This task was driven by the
need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the
Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The USGS is administered by the
Department of the Interior.

The mission of the USGS has expanded over the years.
Currently, the USGS states that its mission “is to serve the nation
by providing reliable scientific information to describe and
understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from
natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral
resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.”
For many veteran geologists, the first connection with the USGS
was non-digital. The iconic 7.5-minute quadrangle maps on
heavy stock paper were indispensable tools for most geology
students. Even today, I keep a roll of USGS topographic sheets
bundled in the corner of my office. I still relish the look and feel
of these crisp paper maps at 1:24,000 scale with the clean fonts
and elegant cartography.

Cartography and the USGS have moved into the digital age.
Through innovative ventures with the private sector, the USGS
provides access to digital images and geospatial information in
one of the largest data sets ever made available online.
The USGS homepage is well organized and graphically appealing
with numerous clickable links to the vast resources found on the
extensive website. In a large section at the center of the homepage
are the current features of interest. Wind power, lead in the
environment, and climate were featured in July. The right side
features a map of the U.S. on which each state is clickable leading
to a state-specific USGS webpage with dozens of links to local
information, real-time data, and reports.
The left side of the homepage indicates the five primary “Science
Areas” of the USGS: biology, geography, geology, geospatial, and
water. The geology link brings up the Geology Research and
Information page that provides access to original research, maps,
news items, software, connections to other geological surveys,
and an extensive library of geologic publications. Available
publications include the classic USGS numbered series reports
dating back to 1880.

The Education pull-down tab at the top of the homepage leads to
a wealth of resources for students and teachers. These resources
are broken down by grade levels: K through 6, 7 through 12, and
college undergraduate.

The depth and breadth of the USGS website is staggering, and one
can easily get lost while tracking down information on groundwater levels

in the Ogallala aquifer, the 1868 Hayward fault earthquake, or an assessment of
undiscovered oil and gas resources of West Greenland–East Canada. Fortunately,

a click on the USGS logo header will return the homepage.
One of the best aspects of the USGS website is theabsence of any

advertisements or pop-up messages.

This is a government website, so the presentation isnot as slick as that

of some of the glossy high-techwebsites that scientists may typically use.

Some of the website’s organization will seem cumbersomeor arcane.

Still, a visit to the USGS website is informative, entertaining, and well worth a half an
hour or more. Be careful though—you may learnmore than you bargained for. ■

Geologic Website of the Month

14-Aug-08 2:00 PM

New Editor, New Feature, and The Price of Energy

noemail@hgs.org — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

New Editor, New Feature, and The Price of Energy

Michael Forlenza, PG

The September Bulletin kicks off the 2008 – 2009 year for the
Houston Geological Society. As the new editor of the Bulletin, I plan to continue to provide our members with the quality publication that previous editors have delivered. I hope that you look forward to receiving the Bulletin and take some time to read through the information on the upcoming activities and meetings.

September will start off an exciting fall for the Society. The African Conference, co-sponsored by the HGS and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain, returns to Houston with the theme, “Opportunity from Coast to Coast.”This will be the 7th annual African Conference. It will be held at the Marriott Houston Westchase on September 8th to 10th.

As September draws to a close, activities will be ramping up for the joint convention of the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, Geological Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America from October 5th to 9th. The HGS is the host society for this huge conference that will draw geoscientists from across the U.S. and around the globe .Many volunteers are needed; check the HGS website for contact information to find out what you can do to help.
Make an effort to attend one of these conferences or one of the technical meetings this fall, it will be time well spent.

New Feature — Geologic Website of the Month

Over the next several months, the Bulletin will feature websites of interest to geologists. The internet has developed into an extensive resource and repository for a wide range of information. This includes an abundance of geologic, regulatory, and mapping information found on many governmental, educational, society, and industry websites. For many geologists, online resources have become indispensable tools for our jobs. Information that once required a visit to an academic library can now be retrieved in minutes on any computer with an internet connection. While I still enjoy the tactile sensation of handling a well-crafted book and the accidental discoveries that come from a trip to the stacks, the internet has the powerful advantages of convenience, speed, and searchability.

The scope and breadth of the available geologic information on the internet is staggering. Enter the word “geology” into a search engine and more than 33 million websites are found. Whether you are interested in geology career opportunities, current events, images of volcanoes, or planetary science, you will find useful information. Do you remember the difference between the orthorhombic and the tetragonal crystal systems? Which is coarser a greywacke or a flysch? Who was Georges Cuvier? The answers to these questions and to questions you may not have even asked, are out there.

Each installment of this feature will present a brief tour of a selected geology website. Some of these websites will be straightforward sources of data while others will be more of a pleasant or interesting diversion. The month, the website of the United States Geological Survey is featured.

The Price of Energy

Unless you have spent the last 12 months working in NORAD’s underground bunker or living as a hermit on a remote mountain, you are aware of the recent rise in the price of energy. This summer, gasoline pushed past $4 per gallon in the U.S. and the price of light sweet crude surged beyond $147 per barrel in July. While the price has moderated since then, with the price of crude oil falling to approximately $125 per barrel at press time, the oil market remains tremendously volatile. The price of oil soared five-fold between the start of the Iraq war in 2003 and July 2008, and nearly tripled in the 18 months after January 2007 when a barrel of crude cost $50.48.

The rise of the price of oil has been stunning, leading to wide ranging repercussions. Oil company CEOs have been called before congress to provide an explanation for the rapid price increases. Truckers and fishermen across Europe have gone on strike, blocking roads and ports. The crippled airline industry has added baggage fees and surcharges, slashed service, and laid off thousands of workers under the staggering weight of billions of dollars of additional fuel costs. The sales of new cars and trucks fell to a 10-year low in June.

The rapid run-up in the price of a vital resource like oil sets off the search for a culprit. Who is to blame? Grandstanding politicians and media pundits wring their hands and point to a host of perpetrators, citing a new villain each week. The accused and the charges have included:

• Speculators — Rapacious financial traders are subverting the natural marketplace and reaping billions in profits. Speculators, such as hedge funds and investment bankers, are using loopholes in commodities law to manipulate the market and drive crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel prices to record highs.

• China and India — The insatiable thirst for fuel from the burgeoning Chinese and Indian economies is stressing the global supply of oil leading to shortages.

• Environmentalists — Liberals and tree-huggers in the United States have tied the hands of oil companies by blocking exploration and development of the vast untouched reserves of oil under wilderness areas in Alaska and off the east coast of the U.S.

• The Dollar — The weak dollar makes imported crude more expensive and drives up commodity prices, including oil, as investors seek a hedge against the falling greenback.

• Nigerian Rebels — Violent rebel groups have destroyed pipelines and related infrastructure hampering oil production in this OPEC nation. Over the past two years, these attacks have lowered Nigeria’s typical daily oil output by a quarter.

• Iran — The escalating political and military tensions between the West and Iran, the fourth largest oil producer, is destabilizing the energy market. A potential conflict with Iran could lead to the closing of the critical supply route though the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

• Peak Oil — The view that world oil production will soon peak, and a long, slow, irreversible production decline will follow. This is the bête noir of the oil industry.

• Barak Obama — A recent John McCain campaign ad indicates that the junior senator from Illinois is the cause for high gasoline prices.

• Space Aliens — Okay, I have not read that space aliens are causing the increase in price of oil, but this cause has as much credibility as some of the others.

Which of these is the real cause for the increase in the price of oil?
Take your pick, mix and match if you would like. The reality is that some combination of these factors is affecting the price.

There is no consensus on where the price of oil is heading from here. The investment bank CIBC World Markets issued a report in June that predicted $7 per gallon gasoline in the U.S.
and $200 per barrel oil by 2010. The International Energy Agency, the Paris-based advisor to the governments of industrialized countries, predicted in a June 2008 report that the world
demand for oil should continue to climb, despite the doubling of oil prices and weakening economic growth. The report forecasts that a small decline in oil demand in the industrialized countries will be more than offset by an estimated increase in demand in developing countries.

By 2013, oil demand in developing countries will account for nearly 49 percent of total global demand, the report said, compared with 36 percent as recently as 1996.
Yet, despite these dire forecasts, $100 per barrel by 2010 seems as likely as $200. There does not seem to be any shortage of gasoline.

There are no lines at the pumps in the U.S. as there were during the price shocks and embargos of the 1970s when lines of cars snaked around the block and gasoline was rationed based on an odd-and-even license plate system. There is no shortage of $145 per barrel oil, but there is not much $45 per barrel oil. Americans have enjoyed moderate fuel prices for decades
compared to most industrialized nations. Since World War II, these moderate prices have supported an unprecedented expansion in affluence and mobility. This affordable mobility led to a huge expansion of the highway system and the sprawl of American cities. The number of vehicle miles driven per day increased from less than one billion in 1945 to more than eight
billion in 2005. However, in April 2008, U.S. Department ofTransportation Secretary Mary Peters announced the sixth consecutive monthly decline in the number of miles driven in the U.S. The Federal Highway Administration reported that vehicle miles traveled on roads throughout the country dropped by 2.3 percent in the first quarter of this year and that Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007.

When I worked for Texaco International Exploration in Bellaire the 1980s, we hosted a group of four geoscientists from China and their non-technical interpreter. This was their first visit to the U.S. and their first time out of China. I provided part-time chaperone duties to help them adjust to Houston. One day, while taking the group out for lunch, the interpreter asked, “Michael, why do all the cars have only one person in them?” One person per car must have looked very peculiar to these visitors. In the 1980s, China had virtually no private vehicles and most people used bicycles as their primary transportation. I did not have a ready answer to his question, but after some hesitation, I said, “Because we like it that way and we can afford it.” There is a great freedom to ownership of a private vehicle allowing individuals to go when and where they please.

With a growing affluence, now the Chinese can afford their own cars and they want them. Private car ownership in that country, the world’s fastest growing auto market, has risen from less than one million to more than 10 million between 1992 and 2008, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. The growth of the number of private vehicles in developing countries is sure to continue. Is the growth in the energy supply needed for these additionalmillions of vehicles and growing economies sustainable? Or, is it perhaps time for a new paradigm? Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens thinks that it is.

In July, Mr. Pickens proposed a two-part alternate energy plan to the U.S. Senate Homeland and Securityand Government Affairs Committee. The first part involves the production of 22 percent of the U.S. electrical energy needs from a $1.2 trillion investment in wind power.
The second part calls for a federal mandate to shift Americans away from gasolinefueled cars and trucks to vehicles fueled by natural gas.

What’s next for the price of energy? There is no shortage of opinions. The only certainty is that the price will remain volatile.
Will gasoline rise to $7 per gallon within a year? Probably not. However, $1 per gallon gasoline is not coming back.

Figure 1

Price of light sweet crude in U.S. dollars from 1990 to 2008.
Source: Bespoke Investment Group (http://bespokeinvest.typepad.com)

CORRECTION
In the “50 Years Ago” column on Page 7 of the June 2008 Bulletin,
the name M. King Hubbard was spelled incorrectly. The correct
spelling is M. King Hubbert.

14-Aug-08 11:00 AM