Environmental Geosciences

13–14 May 2026 Libyan Sedimentary Basins & Petroleum Systems Techniques and Challenges from Exploration to Development

As oil and gas companies refocus on their core business, growth has once again become paramount across the industry. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remain a key driver of that growth, in addition to exploration and strategic partnerships with resource-holding countries to develop existing fields. At the same time, heightened market uncertainty has led to increased volatility in oil and gas prices, driving significant fluctuations in the share prices of publicly traded companies.

We’ve all got one: an Estwing rock hammer! The Estwing hammer (or pick), a trademark of the Estwing Manufacturing Company, Inc., is the favorite tool for geologists, rockhounds and others to bust, sample and gather rocks, minerals, crystals, metallic ores, industrial minerals, fossils and archeological artifacts. The company was founded in 1923 by Ernest O. Estwing in Rockford, Ill.

Structural geologist for Devon Energy Molly Turko recently attended a field trip in San Diego, Calif. hosted by Applied Stratigraphix and expert on sedimentology and stratigraphy, Tim Denko. She has been sharing her favorite geological and touristic spots with GeoLifestyle readers in a three-part series. Here are some clips from parts one and two of her journey.

Less than two months after capturing President Nicolas Maduro, President Trump executed Operation Epic Fury with Israel to bomb Iran. The mission killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many of Iran’s senior political and military leaders. Commercial shipping across the Hormuz Strait virtually stopped, major oil- and gas-producing countries in the Middle East decreased production, and global financial markets dipped. In turn, the oil market reacted with volatility.

A generative (or an effective) petroleum source rock is a clay-rich or carbonate sedimentary rock that has generated, or is generating, and has expelled, or is expelling, oil and/or gas. Source rock with trap, seal, reservoir, and migration pathways is what constitutes the petroleum system. The source rock lies at a base of the system, deep in sedimentary basins. That is why source rock evaluation has historically been the last area of research and development in petroleum geoscience.

For more than 40 years, multiclient seismic data has been a quiet and steadfast engine propelling global exploration. Central to play-opening discoveries from the North Sea to the Southern Atlantic, multiclient seismic surveys have consistently foreshadowed the trajectory of the energy landscape, and there is no better example than offshore Brazil.

Automated mineral classification has moved from a specialized laboratory capability into a fast-evolving decision engine for subsurface and mining workflows. What began as “automated mineralogy,” based largely on scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) mapping and rule-based phase identification is now converging with machine learning, rapid surface scanning, and increasingly continuous downhole measurements.

Regional map of Venezuelan productive and prospective offshore basins. Offshore and onshore oil fields and discoveries in green, gas fields and discoveries in red. Blue: Basins with Tertiary petroleum systems.

Top-class energy industry executives present their views every year in the Executive Dialogue sessions at the Offshore Technology Conference. This year might be OTC’s most interesting lineup yet. It’s definitely wide-ranging, with multiple sessions scheduled from May 4-6. Discussions will feature a dozen speakers and seven moderators from all parts of the industry, including exploration, development, investing, academia, analysis, and government.