Abstract

As the Southeast Asia Petroleum Exploration Society (SEAPEX) Conference Chairman for the Offshore South East Asia Conference and Exhibition in 1978, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of you to Singapore and to what, I believe, will be a stimulating and interesting conference and exhibition.

Almost eighteen months ago, the organizers of this Conference and Exhibition approached our Society and proposed that we again join with SONAS and SPE to co-sponor papers for the 1978 Conference. At that time, our Society was also asked to present what was called, until very recently, an “Overview Paper” on petroleum exploration in East Asia. I accepted the responsibility for this year’s “Overview Paper”, as I did in 1976, on behalf of SEAPEX. For almost a year, as General Chairman of the Conference for SEAPEX, I was more involved in organizing the other Society papers, than I was in writing my own. During that time, I kept reminding myself that any month now there should be some indication that the major theme of the previous “Overview” talk, presented at the 1976 Offshore South East Asia Conference, would, hopefully, be incorrect and that exploration activity in the region would, in fact, experience a meaningful increase by late 1977.