ABSTRACT

The seventies promise to be a period of turmoil and change for the petroleum industry, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. These conditions will have a significant effect on explorationists.

Ecology and environment are rapidly becoming common words in our vocabulary and, as scientists, we must make our technology compatible with the environment.

The explorationist (the geologist and the geophysicist) will have to search for and locate large reserves in this country if we are to meet the anticipated increase in domestic demand for petroleum products in the next decade. It is evident that these needed reserves will not be found by employing current exploration methods. We must take a hard look at present-day exploration methods and philosophies and at ourselves, as petroleum geologists, to determine whether we, individually, and as a scientific group, are traveling in exploratory directions which will lead to the discovery of large, needed, new domestic reserves.

The direction and growth of oil companies during the seventies will, to a great degree, depend on the quality and loyalty of the petroleum scientist. The scientist who feels the company regards him as an asset will be an asset to that company. Make him fear for his job and he will not only be non-productive, but a liability.

The author stresses, as he has done in the past, that the geological profession as a whole must start looking purposely for the hidden and subtle traps, those which are stratigraphic and paleogeomorphic, by employing all of the known disciplines to assist in this search, but more particularly, to use the geological mind to determine indications which initiate and lead to the discoveries of those kinds of traps.