ABSTRACT: The Changing Environments of Exploration

CENTURY, J. R., Independent Geologist

New developments in petroleum and natural gas exploration occur in response to significant environmental change. Adaptation to these changes during the period 1930-2030 will to a large degree determine the nature of future life on this planet.

The following interrelated environments of exploration encompass changes that can be mutually beneficial to both the producers and consumers of energy resources: (1) geoscience and technology (e.g., diagenesis to direct detection), (2) economics and business, (3) politics and geography, (4) innovation and creativity, (5) employment crossover and broadening of education, (6) information and communication, (7) health, safety, and security, (8) social and pyschological, (9) cooperation, competitiveness, and co-existence, and (10) a balanced global ecology.

Several environmental geology programs are featured at the joint 1992 AAPG/CSPG Annual Convention: a two-day field trip "Petroleum, coal and environmental geology in the Central Alberta Basin," the oral and poster sessions, "Environmental Issues and Opportunities" and "Exploration in Environmentally Sensitive Areas," the House of Delegates vote on the formation of a new AAPG Environmental Geoscience Division, a Hydrogeology Short Course, the Tobin Science Theater Environmental Geology theme, and this talk.

It is important that the leadership of professional and scientific organizations such as the AAPG and the CSPG recognize change for what it is and continue to show how adaptation to the "Changing Environments of Exploration" can be challenging, rewarding, and exciting for its members.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91012©1992 AAPG Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 22-25, 1992 (2009)