~ THURSDAY MAY 22, 2008 ~

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BAYOU POSTILLION:  PHOENIX IN THE SWAMP (IBERIA PARISH, LOUISIANA)

Chris Chaffin

ABSTRACT

Significant discoveries are still being found in onshore south Louisiana.  Bayou Postillion is a prolific oil and gas field in Iberia Parish, Louisiana.  The field was discovered in 1956 and has produced in excess of 340 BCFE to date.  New activity on the southern flank of the field has given rise to a large discovery in south Louisiana.  The pay zone is the upper Oligocene Discorbis 14. Reserves are estimated at approximately 70 BCFE.  Penn Virginia Oil & Gas, L.P. started leasing the structural crest in 2004 while Century Exploration Houston leased the down dip acreage.  The difference in leasing practices leads back to the 3D seismic survey.  The pay section gives a seismic amplitude response that had been interpreted as pay and/or sand thickness.  The addition of wells in an up dip position proved that sand thickness was the more likely culprit of the seismic response.    

BIO

Chris Chaffin is currently an explorationist with Penn Virginia Oil & Gas, L.P. working the Miocene and upper Oligocene of south Louisiana.  He began his career in Houston with El Paso Production Company and has also worked for Hilcorp Energy Company.  Chris has a B.S. in Geology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an M.S. in Geology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

SEATING IS LIMTED but you can register online or call B.K. Buongiorno at 713 651-1639, fax 713 951-9659,  e-mail bkspee@aol.com, or mail your reservation to Mrs. B.K. Buongiorno at 1001 McKinney, Suite 801, Houston, TX 77002 by May 20, 2008 - PAYMENT IS STILL REQUIRED BY REGULAR MAIL. 

REGISTER ONLINE

Registration by May 20th is $30 for Members and Affiliates and $35 for guests and non-members.  Registration after May 20th is $40.  Registrants who do not cancel by May 20th will be billed regardless of attendance.  SIPES Lunch talks count toward the 15 Professional Development Hours required annually for Texas Licensed Geoscientist licenses.

Paul Britt is the Newsletter Editor for the Houston Chapter of SIPES

SIPES CALENDAR

May 12-15, 2008 - SIPES 45th Annual Meeting: "Oil & Gas Prospecting - The Good, the Bad, and the Possible".  Omni Royal Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Click below for more details....

May 22, 2008* - SIPES Luncheon: "Bayou Postilion Field: Phoenix in the Swamp", Chris Chaffin (Penn Virginia); Petroleum Club

*THE MEETING ABOVE WAS CHANGED FROM THE 2ND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH TO THE 3RD THURSDAY TO AVOID A CONFLICT WITH THE NATIONAL CONVENTION IN NEW ORLEANS. THIS MONTH THE MEETING WILL BE IN THE COASTAL ROOM UPSTAIRS.

June 19, 2008 - SIPES Luncheon: "Trading Oil & Gas Assets: An Insider's Perspective", Mark Roach (O&G Asset Clearinghouse); Petroleum Club

July 17, 2008 - Joint Meeting of SIPES / HGS / GSH  Ethics presentation:  "The Dilemmas of Truth", Judge Lynn Highes (AAPG Distinguished Lecturer); Petroleum Club

September 25, 2008 - SIPES Continuing Education Seminar - subject TBA; Marathon Auditorium

October 16, 2008 - SIPES Luncheon:  "The Deep Bosier", Carlos Roa (KrakerMartin, ex- Leor); Petroleum Club

UPCOMING HGS EVENTS*

May 12, 2008 - General Dinner: "Multi-Disciplinary Reservoir Description to Characterize Connectivity in a Complex Mini-basin Fill: An Integrated Approach at Holsetin Field".

May 19, 2008 - International Dinner: "An Integration of Basin Modeling with Fault Seal Prediction through Geologic Time".

May 20, 2008 - Northsiders' Luncheon: "Fairways in the Downdip and Mid-dip Yegua Trend - a Review of 25 Years of Exploration".

May 27, 2008 - North American Dinner: "Alpine Oil Field, Alaska" a North Slope Legacy Fie3ld and Model for Future Development".

May 28, 2008 - General Luncheon: "The Bossier Plan (Tithonian) of the East Texas Basin: Controls on Stratigraphy and Play Concepts".

* See HGS Bulletin or go to www.hgs.org  for meeting details, times and locations

SIPES MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Paul Britt is running for President-Elect of the Division of Professional Affairs (DPA) of AAPG

Deborah Sacrey is running for Chairman Elect of the AAPG House of Delegates

Please email this site or contact B.K. Buongiorno with any address changes, news or announcements

HOSPITALITY SPONSOR

Be sure and attend our social and networking period before each monthly meeting to keep up with what's happening in Houston.   This month our wine hosts are Auburn Energy and Corridor Resources.   Pathfinder was our wine host for April.  If you would like to be a sponsor please contact Hospitality Chairman Duncan DuBroff.  Cheers....

RECENT APPEARANCES

Mike Geffert and Deborah Sacrey                                                                      Steve Earle and Dan Thalman

Sam Peppiatt and Glen Pankonien                                                         Jim Grubb and Joan Swetlick

Chairman Jim Norris, Bob Bell, and Pat McKinney                                 April Speaker Gary Griffith

                                                             Hardy Coon and John Amoruso                       Steve Hartzell and Ben "Marcellus Shale" Buongiorno

SIPES SCHOLARSHIP - HOUSTON CHAPTER

The Houston Chapter of SIPES has been successful and has been fortunate enough to be able to give something back to the geoscience community.  The Houston Chapter's Scholarship Committee (Mark Gregg and Phil Martin)  chose 4 outstanding geoscience students at the University of Houston who were awarded $500 scholarships.   Phil Martin attended the awards ceremony on April 25th and presented Weiguo Li, Yijie Zhu, Damayanti Mukherjee, and Shenghong Tai with their certificates. 

Please contact Mark Gregg (713 266-3820) or Phil Martin (281 664-7000) for information on the upcoming scholarships for 2009.

The National SIPES Foundation also sponsors a "Scholarships in the Earth Sciences" program.  Any currently enrolled upper-division or graduate student majoring in any earth science, such as Geology, Geophysics, or Petroleum Engineering may apply if they have a GPA of 3.5 or better and U.S. citizenship (these criteria do not apply to the Houston Chapter awards).  Applications for these scholarships are available online at www.sipes.org . 

MAPS IN SCHOOLS:  A TAPESTRY OF TIME AND TERRAIN

SIPES is helping to distribute this beautiful surface geology map "Tapestry of Time and Terrain" (USGS) to area schools in an attempt to stimulate interest in the earth sciences at an early age.  The "Maps in Schools" program through which we hope to attract and educate our country's future leaders was conceived by Owen Hopkins, a SIPES Member in Corpus Christi.  If you would like to present a map to a school please contact us.

MEMBERSHIP

We have Junior Member and Chapter Affiliate categories for persons who do not qualify for regular SIPES membership.  Contact Membership Chairman Jim Grubb with questions, names of candidates or suggestions for attracting new members in any category.

CONTINUING EDUCATION SEMINAR BOOKS & CD'S

There are a few Seminar Books (nice ring-binder with color exhibits) and CD's.  If you are interested in this valuable publication please contact Steve Hartzell at 713 651-9100 or sphartzell@sbcglobal.net . The cost of printing and handling is only $10.

 NEW SHORT STORY

Check out the new short story "A Blast from the Past" by Jim Richards.  It is probably the best chronicle of the University of Texas "Longhorn Alumni Band" you can find. It's a fun read regardless of your alma mater.

VIEW SIPES PRESENTATIONS

You can now access many SIPES Presentations online.   If you miss a SIPES Presentation or want to go back and refer to one that you particularly liked, go to our Presentations page and view or download presentations whose authors have graciously agreed to share.  Depending on your connection speed downloads may take minutes.

The latest offerings are Leslie Hains' "Bridging the Gap: From E&P Idea to Capital" and Dr. M. Ray Thomasson's incredible research thesis  "Global Climate Change - A Geologist's View - What the Data Tell Us".  Please wait for each file to download and open.

POST YOUR BUSINESS CARD ON THE WEB

SIPES members - send your business card and a check for $24 made out to SIPES to the SIPES office (1001 McKinney, Suite 801, Houston, TX 77002). Your card will be scanned and displayed on our web site.

HOUSTON CHAPTER

Houston is the fastest growing SIPES Chapter.  Our National Constitution, By-laws and Code of Ethics can be downloaded here.

DEAL BUYERS LIST

The Houston Deal Buyers’ List is free to Houston Chapter members, by email or in printed form, and $5 on diskette. Please send updates, new entries or other requests to Mike Jones, Chairman of the Deal Buyers List Committee.  You will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement for this list which is provided exclusively  for Houston Chapter SIPES members. For your copy you can also contact B.K. Buongiorno at 713-651-1639 or bkspee@aol.com. 

REFERRAL FOR CONSULTANTS

Become a SIPES member to get exposure for your expertise and areas of experience as a geologist, geophysicist or engineer.  The National SIPES organization maintains a referral list for distribution to companies, individuals and governmental agencies.   Information is available at www.sipes.org .

FORMS FOR CONSULTANTS

 SIPES has developed, in conjunction with the DPA of AAPG, useful professional model contracts for independent geoscientists.  A Model Confidentiality Agreement form and a Contract for Geoscience Services form are now available at no charge at the national SIPES web site at www.sipes.org and are widely used and accepted in the industry.

2008 HOUSTON CHAPTER OFFICERS

Chairman:  Jim Norris                                          713 376-9361

Chairman Elect:  Mark Gregg                             713 266-3820

Secretary:  Glen Pankonien                                   713 654-0080

Treasurer:  Stephen P. Hartzell                             713 651-9100

Past Chairman:  Patrick Shannon                         713 785-2599

2008 COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN

Continuing Education:  Robert Hickman             713 868-3559

Deal Buyers List:  Mike Jones                               713 654-0080

Hospitality:  Duncan D. Dubroff                             281 664-7000

Membership:  James M. Grubb                               713 591-1155

Newsletter:  Paul Britt                                              713 651-0004

Political Affairs:  Dan L. Smith                               713 759-6095

Public Relations:  Jeff W. Lund                              713 960-0971

Technical Program:  Paul Babcock                         832 242-9650

Website:  Phil Martin                                                281 664-7000

NATIONAL DIRECTORS

National Director:  Ray Blackhall                          713 906-2421

National Director:  Pat McKinney                          713 828-2183

National Director:  Phil Martin                               281 664-7000

OFFICE MANAGER

Office Manager:  B.K. Buongiorno                           713 651-1639