For your Info...

The team from the University of Texas at Austin won the 2011 Imperial Barrel Award, conducted at the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition in Houston. Capturing second place was the team from the University of Southhampton, representing AAPG's European Region, and third place went to the team from Sultan Qaboos University, representing the Middle East Region.

    

Geoscience graduate students are encouraged to explore a career in the energy industry by participating in the Imperial Barrel Award Program.

• Receive a real-world, career-development experience with your performance judged by industry experts!
• Winning teams travel free to the premier industry event to network with both future colleagues and future employers.
• IBA offers students and their faculty advisor a chance to win accolades for themselves and cash prizes for their schools.

Hello Mr Austin Weeks...!

 Austin Weeks Biography

        Mr. Weeks was born on the island of Curacao, March 25, 1925, the only child of Lewis G. and Una Austin Weeks. At age two weeks, he went to Venezuela to live, later to Argentina and Brazil. In 1933, he was sent to the Beacon Prep School in Sussex, England where he lived until 1939 when he went to live in Scarsdale, New York. He graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1942.

      Austin graduated from Brown University in an accelerated program that put him through college in two years and eight months with a pre-med degree and an Ensign's commission in the USNR. Following this, he spent three months at Navy Communications School at Harvard University. During the war, his overseas duty took him first to the Mediterranean theatre, followed later by the Japanese occupation. Here he served on General Douglas MacArthur's Army-Navy communications staff in Tokyo (1945-46).

     He did some post-graduate study at Brown University, then went to the University of Wisconsin where he earned an M.S. in industrial bacteriology (1947-49). During summers, he worked for Sinclair Wyoming Oil Co. in Casper as a geological assistant and researcher on magnetic properties of granites and arkoses.

In 1950, he received his M.A. in geology from Columbia University, his thesis being in structural geology.

        From 1950-52, he lived in Salt Lake City, Utah and worked as a field geologist for General Petroleum Corp. He married Marta Sutton in August, 1951 and they moved to Durango, Colorado where Austin was a field geologist for G. P. He became a district geologist in 1953 and until 1957 did field and research work in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. Transferred to California in 1957, he did geological research at General Petroleum headquarters until 1960 when the company was reorganized and, along with many others, he was laid off.

         Austin spent several years in real estate sales and investment before going back to work as a geological oceanographer for the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., as well as Lamont Geological Observatory. For the former, he was chief scientist for expeditions to the Andaman Islands for the International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1964 and also worked as a biologist for Columbia University studying plankton in the Antarctic in 1963. He consulted for the Israeli government with his father, L. G. Weeks, in 1963 and also was involved in other trips to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean and the Pacific. In 1970-75, he started and was president of Weeks-Tator Consultants in Miami, Florida and in 1970-84 was involved as a vice-president and director of Weeks Petroleum Ltd. a Bermuda Corporation. When this company was raided on the London stock exchange in 1984, he retired. Since that time, he has been involved in volunteer photography in the Miami area, producing an annual calendar. He has also been involved in funding support for the University of Miami, the University of Wyoming, AAPG Foundation, the Miami Metrozoo and SPE. Austin Weeks passed away at the age of 79 on February 27, 2005.

About Austin Weeks Grant

Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant

AimsThe American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the AAPG Foundation announce the L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant Program for the 2011-12 school year. Funding is provided through a generous endowment gift from L. Austin Weeks to the AAPG Foundation.

The purpose of the grant is to support educational expenses of undergraduate geoscience students and their departments.

Nominated recipients’ names must be received 

at AAPG headquarters by December 15, 2011

Undergraduate earth science majors need to be members of Student Chapters. AAPG membership is not required.

To obtain a form contact Student Affairs Coordinator 

Phone (US & Canada): 1-888-945-2274 ext. 653

Phone (all others): 1-918-560-2653

Grants Size and Usage

The disbursement of the grant will consist of a maximum amount of $1,000 per qualified student chapter. Half of the calculated grant ($500) will be given to a qualified undergraduate student. The remaining is for the geoscience department, and should be used to support educational activities of the Student Chapter, i.e. for equipment, conferences, fieldtrips, etc.

Requirements

Applications will be accepted for the L. Austin Weeks Undergraduate Grant from chapters who meet the following requirements, additional details of these requirements can be found in the AAPG Student Chapter Bylaws andOperations Manual.

Regulations

A local committee consisting of not less than three (3) individuals should determine the student recipient to be nominated. Recommended committee participants are:

1. faculty advisor to the Student Chapter
2. sponsoring society liaison
3. Student Chapter President (if not a candidate)
4. department chair
5. one or more graduate teaching assistants

The chapter must - strictly enforced

• be in establishment and officially active for exactly one year from the date of deadline submission to qualify for grant (an official chapter since December 1, 2010);
• have at least nine (9) members who are AAPG student members, with member numbers (dues must be paid for current fiscal year);
• have at least one faculty sponsor who maintains Active member status in AAPG (dues must be paid for current fiscal year);
• have an executive committee for the chapter (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer)
• hold at least one meeting per month throughout the school year;
• have filed at least two reports with AAPG Headquarters -- one in December and one at the end of the school year

Award Notification & Regulations

Chapter and student recipients will be announced in January 2012. The grants to successful students and chapters are issued in U.S. dollars and the grant is paid separately between the chapter and the student, usually by a check drawn on a U.S. bank. However, in some countries delivery of grants can only be assured by bank wire transfer or other methods. Students selected to receive grants will be contacted by the AAPG Foundation concerning delivery of their grants. They must confirm that they can safely accept mail delivery of the grant payable by U.S. check, or they must provide all the banking information necessary for wire transfer of the grant, including the appropriate bank account number in the name of the student recipient or AAPG Student Chapter. A grant cannot be sent to a third party or wire transferred to a third party’s account. Students who are unable to accept grants by one of these methods will be ineligible and should not apply.

If incorrect information has been provided for the grant during submission, i.e. check, wire transfer, or postal mailing address, a deadline date for the appeal on correction is May 1, 2012.

Kontrak Kerjasama Migas di Indonesia

Seiring perkembangannya di indonesia, bentuk kontrak kerjasama migas di indonesia telah memalui tiga model, yaitu sistem konsesi, kontrak karya, dan bagi hasil.

1. Sistem Konsesi, lebih dikenal dengan nama “Kontrak 5a”

Sistem ini dibuat pada zaman kolonial dengan mengacu pada Indische mijnwet 1899 yang menatur tentang pengusahan pertambangan di indonesia. Konsesi adalah suatu perjanjian yang dibuat oleh negara pemilik atau pemegang kuasa pertambangan dengan kontraktor untuk melakukan eksplorasi dan, jika berhasil, produksi serta memasarkan hasilnya tanpa melibatkan negara pemberi konsesi dalam manajemen operasi.1
Ketentuan yang berlaku pada konsesi migas antara lain,

• Kontraktor bertindak selaku operator sekaligus bertanggug jawab atas manajemen operasi.
• Kepemilikan minyak dan gas bumi berada di tangan kontraktor.
• Kepemilikan aset berada di tangan kontraktor dengan batasan tertentu.
• Negara mendapat pembagian pembayaran royalti dihitung dari tingkat produksi tertentu.
• Pajak penghasilan dikenakan kepada kontraktor dari keuntungan bersih. (pajak penghasilan dan pajak tanah).

2. Kontrak Karya, berlaku sejak tahun 1960 sampai 1963
Sistem kontrak ini dikembangkan dari UU no. 37 Psp/1960 tentang pertambangan. Perjanjian kontrak karya memuat lima ketentuan pokok, antara lain:

• Setiap perusahaan melepas hak konsesi yang diperoleh pada masa kolonial dan sebagai gantinya setuju menjadi kontraktor salah satu dari tiga perusahaan negara (Pertamin, Permina, dan Permigan).
• Perusahaan diberi kontrak berjangka waktu 20 tahun untuk melanjutkan eksploitasi ke daerah2 konsesi lama.
• Fasilitas pemasaran dan distribusi diserahkan kepada perusahaan negara yang mengntrak dalam waktu lima tahun dengan harga yang telah disetujui bersama.
• Fasilitas kilang akan diberikan kepada INdonesia dalam waktu 10-15 tahun dengan nilai yang telah disetujui bersama.
• Keuntungan operasi perusahaan asing dibagi 60:40 dengan pemerintah.

3. Kontrak Bagi Hasil (Production Sharing Contract)
Model ini diperkenalkan oleh Ibnu Sutowo pada 1960. Model ini diadopsi oleh banyak negara di dunia termasuk Malaysia dengan Petronasnya. Sistem PSC ini baru diterapkan di Indonesia sejak tahun 1964 dan telah melalui beberapa perubahan dan generasi hingga sekarang. Pada model kontrak ini, kontraktor hanya diberi hak ekonomis atas kuasa pertambangan yang dikuasai Perusahaan Negara melalui pola pembagian hasil (Production Sharing), bukan keuntungan dalam bentuk uang (profit sharing).

PERKEMBANGAN MIGAS DI INDONESIA

Pengusahaan minyak dan gas bumi di Indonesia mencatat kemajuan pesat sejak Pertamin dan Permina diintegrasikan ke dalam Pertamina. Seluruh operasi perminyakan yang mencakup berbagai aspek kegiatan dapat iarahkan pada sasaran yang dituju oleh Pemerintah.

Peranan minyak, yang menyangkut berbagai aspek pembanguna,menjadikan minyak sebagai unsur penting di dalam ketahanan nasional. Seluruh bidang perminyakan, produksi, pengolahan, distribusi,pengangkutan, maupun pemasaran minyak mentah menjadi semakin penting dan harus dipegang langsung oleh Pertamina.

Sistem bagi hasil, yang diterapkan di dalam bidang eksplorasi dan produksi, bukan saja telah memberikan keuntungan lebih besar kepada negara, tetapi juga merupakan landasan bagi kerja sama dengan para kontraktor minyak asing. Peranan minyak yang kian penting disemua sektor dan harganya yang terus melonjak, telah menyebabkan ditingkatkannya pencarian minyak ke daerah – daerah yang lebih sulit.

Pencarian minyak bumi di Indonesia, sampai tahun 60-an masih terbatas dilakukan di daratan. Sejak penemuan lapangan Cinta(1970)lapangan minyak pertama di lepas pantai Indonesia telah membuka kemungkinan mengerjakan daerahlepas pantai lainnya. Perkembangan teknologi maju telah memungkinkan pemanfaatan assosiatedgas maupun non assosiated gas untuk bahan ekspor (LNG) maupun bahan energi dalam negeri (LPG).

Sumber-sumber gas di beberapa tempat, baik di lepas pantai maupun di daratan dimanfaatkan dengan membangun unit pengolah yang memproduksi LPG. Beberapa unit pengolah LPG itu teletak di anjungan lepas pantai,yang dilengkapi dengan tangki penampung dan pelabuhan pengekspor.

Pemanfaatan sumber gas, untuk menunjang berbagai keperluan industri dalam negeri pertama kali dilakukan di Sumater Selatan dengan suatu jaringan pipa untuk pabrik pupuk Sriwijaya dan di Jawa Barat dengan sistem pipa gas Jawa Baratuntuk mensuplai pabrik pupuk, semen, pabrik baja Krakatau dankebutuhan industri dan rumah tangga di daerah Jakarta.

Naiknya kegiatan perminyakan Indonesia dapat dilihat dari kontrak bagi hasil (Production Sharing Contract – PSC Indonesia). Pertamina telah menandatangani kurang lebih puluhan kontrak dengan perusahaan minyak asing.

Pertamina sebagai “pilar” dalam usaha-usahanya di bidang eksplorasi dan produksi ini menempuh jalan intensifikais dan ekstensifikasi. Kegiatan intensifikasi meliput peningkatan kegiatan secara kwalitatif di bidang eksplorasi,baik berupa studi regional, geologi lapangan, geofisik, seismik, pengeboran eksplorasi danevaluasi. Selain itu, dilakukan juga peningkatan kuatitatif di bidang produksi seperti pengembangan lapangan,pembangunan fasilitas produksi,studi reservoir dan studi lapangan produksi yang pernah ada.

Usaha ekstensifikasi meliputi usaha-usaha untuk menemukan daerah-daerahbaru yang dapat menghasilkan minyak. Pengembangan kegiatan eksplorasi dan produksi ini, di samping faktor dana, tenaga, peralatan maupun teknologi minyak yang sudah dimiliki, terutama didorong karena potensi dan kemampuan produksi minyak dan gas bumi.

Penemuan- penemuan sumur- sumur dan lapangan baru, baik di lepas pantai maupun di darat pada sekitar tahun 1970-an telah mampu memproduksi minyak mentah 1,6 juta barrel/hari (bbl/day). Untuk meningkatkan produksi,minimal mempertahankan produksi yang ada, diperlakukan dana yang besar. Untuk itu Pertamina mencari dana pinjaman, yaitu dengan kerja sama patungan atau pinjaman yang tak mengikat, seperti yang dijalankan dengan INOCO.