While I am enjoying all the flowers and a nice warm early spring, this weather is not doing much for the consumption of natural gas. However, according to ExxonMobil’s Outlook for Energy report, “Natural gas, by 2040, will grow more rapidly than any other energy source and outpace coal as the globe’s second most dominant fuel to meet the needs of industry and electrical generation.” This is a comforting thought now, with the price of Nat Gas dropping over 30 percent so far this year. Also according to Todd Onderdonk, senior energy adviser of corporate strategic planning at ExxonMobil, “Oil will remain the top source of energy worldwide, meeting one-third of demand well into the ‘40s. And together, both hydrocarbons—oil and gas—will satisfy 55% the world’s energy needs for the next 23 years.” With oil appearing to stabilize above $50 per barrel and with an optimistic long term picture, the key is surviving the short term. ETGS is here to help, by providing opportunities to connect with other geoscientists and oil field professionals, to stay informed, and to keep learning.
We had a successful one day sequence stratigraphy workshop with 42 participants registered. Many thanks to Nathan Spencer and Al Jasper for making it happen, and to our instructor Kim Miskell Gerhardt for bringing us her knowledge and her talent for instruction all the way from Durango, Colorado. We hope to do another one- or two-day program next year. If you have any suggestions or particular educational interests, please let us know.
Our luncheon speaker this month will bring us some information on cutting edge technology from Core Laboratories, “Digital Rock Characterization by CT Imaging: A Powerful Tool for Rapid Quantification of Rock Properties” , Wednesday, March 15, 11:30 at the Cascades Country Club.
Don’t miss our East Texas Tech and Prospect Expo on March 28th, 8am to 3pm at Harvey Hall. We will have two excellent speakers: at 10:30amJohn Jacobi, cofounder and co-CEO of Covey Park Energy, will give the talk “Then and Now, Boom and Busts”, and at 1:00pmScott Tinker, the State Geologist of Texas, will speak on “US Energy Security and the Role of Shale”. The Icebreaker at Coyote Sam’s is always a good time. This year it’s on Monday, March 27th at 5pm. Earlier that day is the Tyler Area Energy Summit. Check out the calendar on our website for all the details about these two days of great events.
On the subject of learning, several interesting geology books came out recently. The first is Texas Through Time, by Tom Ewing. I enjoyed it so much, I ordered a few more for Christmas presents. It features beautiful pictures and a great overview of Texas geology. Another book I am looking forward to reading is just being published and will be available at AAPG in Houston: Anomalies - Pioneering Women in Petroleum Geology, 1917-2017, by Robbie Gries. And lastly we just received a notice about a new book that comes highly recommended, A Geophysicist’s Memoir Searching for Oil on Six Continents by Albert Hrubetz III.
Please remember to RSVP by Thursday the week before the luncheon and save $10 by preregistering for the Tech and Prospect Expo. Finally, I hope to see many of you at AAPG Annual Convention in Houston, April 2-5, since it is so close to home this year.
Best regards,
Anita Paulssen
President, East Texas Geological Society