For the first issue of the 2024-25 HGS year and the start of the second millennium year of our society, I would first like to express my heartfelt gratitude for all of you and your support. It is a great honor to be your editor for this year. Let me start by thanking my mentor and previous HGS editor, Caroline Wachtman. Caroline set the bar extremely high for me to follow, and I look forward to it, but I also need the help and input of all our members. As your new editor for the year, I would like to take a moment and introduce you to myself and my history as a geologist.
After earning an MS in geology from Ohio State, I have worked for two oil companies, Shell (35 years) and Murphy (5 years), and have done consulting work for the past 5 years. Over these 45 years in the industry, I’ve experienced many technical advances and changes in social and office practices. In the late 1970s, our offices at Shell were adjacent rooms located down single hallways. There were no computers; instead, we had large drafting tables stacked with folded paper 2D seismic lines. On the table, work started with a blank base map while on an overhead shelf sat piles of 2D seismic lines ready to interpret with pencils. On the base map, we manually wrote down the time or depth values of events from the interpreted seismic lines. Then we hand contoured the values. With an endless supply of colored pencils to interpret the seismic, we also annotated every paper log with correlation tops, paleo tops, and mud log shows, filling several filing cabinets along the private office wall. Office attire in this predominantly male workforce was always wearing coats and ties. As the years passed, we added: “casual Fridays” (no ties). With more time, “jean-wear” became not so outrageous. Of course, technologies developed such that new larger 3D acquisitions were made to locate new wildcat wells in exploration. This was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but only a few explorationists were lucky enough to have a 3D survey. Moving to 2000 is when I first used PowerPoint for a presentation, whereas in previous presentations, we made 8 by 10-inch cardboard viewgraphs to place on overhead projectors. Today, of course, all geologic/geophysical interpretations are made on the computer, and people now (post COVID) work remotely from home over a significant amount of the work week.
What did I learn that was useful to my career? The two most important skills or characteristics to develop are the desire to ask questions and the ability to tell stories. It may seem a bit trite, but natural probing curiosity often brings on the “ah ha” moments where different observations are held together to make a story. A natural storytelling ability integrates otherwise disparate observations woven together to make a cohesive argument or pitch. Besides, it’s the most effective form of understanding in communications.
If I were a bit more specific in what I learned, it would be:
1) Passion for your craft. Try to learn something new every day. You learn not only in your specialty craft but also by learning some of the fundamentals in other specialties, which help you better understand their “error bars” of your input assumptions. Communication and iteration of the model with your colleague make for a better integrated model. Some of the other related skills examples I am referring to are geochemistry, basin modeling, geophysics, rock properties, paleontology, mud logging descriptions and shows, carbonate and clastic facies, and stratigraphy.
2) While company policies and procedures may evolve, the bedrock of geologic fundamentals remains constant. Your ability to think critically and synergize your ideas with the diverse skills of your team members will not only secure your current employment but also lay the groundwork for a lasting career. Keep asking questions and encourage coworker challenges.
3) Lastly, put your heart into your craft and do what you think is right after integrating all other team members' skills. Refrain from “managing upward.” Good managers depend on you for advice and technical analyses.
During this year, one of my primary goals is to gather technical articles each month to share with our members. I deeply believe that our Bulletin can greatly benefit from the diverse expertise of our members. Whether your background is in traditional oil and gas, environmental science, carbon capture, CO2, mining, paleontology, or hard rock science, your unique contributions are not just valuable, but integral to the success of our Bulletin.
If you have suggestions for improving our Bulletin, please let me know directly or through the HGS office.
Ted Godo, HGS editor 2024-2-25
tjgodo@gmail.com