I am so grateful to everyone that participated in all the exciting events last week. Monday, the Tyler Area Energy Summit hosted three very interesting speakers over lunch. They reminded us how important our industry is to our modern way of life.  That evening we had a full turnout at the Ice Breaker for the Tech and Prospect Expo, thanks go to Carl Gray for setting it up.  On Tuesday the Tech and Prospect Expo was a great success due to the hard work of Matt Bailey and Barbara Cade. We really appreciate all the participants and those that rented booths, also our speakers, John Jacobi and Dr. Scott Tinker. The message that came through to me from these talks was that the fossil fuel industry has an image problem. Much of that is due to a lack of knowledge on the part of the general public. We need to be better ambassadors for our industry, reminding the public of the benefits of fossil fuels, since there is so much focus on the risks and downside. I thought Scott Tinker made a good point: We can gain credibility with a balanced, scientific message instead of a polarized political one. It is a tough challenge these days.

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.

Have you ever felt as though your life consisted of a lot of carefully balanced spinning plates?  You have family plates, work plates, volunteer plates and just when everything seems in balance, you get hit with a bad virus.  You try to catch the plates before they fall but some inevitably get by you.  One that got by me was our first social this year at Rose City Draft House.  I was sorry to miss it, but reports are that it was a good time with plenty of food.  Thanks, Hunter Carr, for organizing; I am looking forward to the next one.

Sequence stratigraphy month is here!  We are so lucky to have two amazing experts coming our way to teach us more about this powerful tool.  The first is Dr. John Suter, who will be our luncheon speaker this month.  He has more than 30 years of domestic and international experience.  Currently a consulting geologist in Houston, Dr. Suter has worked for Exxon Production Research and ConocoPhillips.  He has published numerous papers, and taught a variety of courses and workshops.  He has received multiple awards and is an AAPG distinguished lecturer.  He will present “Variations on a Theme—Latitudinal Impacts on Sequence Stratigraphy”.  Check out our website for more details. Be sure to note that our luncheon has been moved to Wednesday, Feb. 8th, same time and place, 11:30 at the Cascades Country Club, because of NAPE.