IAGC Announces Election of New Board Officers and Directors

The International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) successfully concluded its 48th Annual Conference in Houston, TX on 25 February 2019.

Members elected new directors and officers at the trade-association’s annual General Membership Meeting. Magne Reiersgard of PGS is the new 2019 – 2021 Chairman and Collin Murdoch of CGG is the Vice- Chairman. Other officers include: Maurice Nessim – WesternGeco (Past Chairman), Rebecca Pitman – Shearwater (Treasurer), Tana Pool – TGS (Secretary & Legal Committee Chair), and Nikki Martin – IAGC (President).

Joining the officers are newly elected directors: Katja Akentieva – TGS, Joe Dryer – Fairfield Geotechnologies, Chris Drage – PGS (EAME Chair), Tristan Allen – WesternGeco (Asia Pacific Chair), Richard Price – Polarcus, Stephan Midenet – Seabed Geosolutions, Per Christian Grytnes – Magseis Fairfield, Vince Thielen – CGG (Global Data Licensing Chair) and Dmitry Nefedov – ION (Global HSE Chair).

“We are pleased to welcome all our board members and officers. As the IAGC sharpens its focus on accelerating exploration and expanding energy opportunities to meet the global energy demand, the insight and direction of these board members will have a meaningful impact on the industry and our association. The staff and I look forward to working closely with them,” said Nikki Martin, President of the IAGC. “Our officers will play a key role as the IAGC continues executing its mission of ensuring a viable geophysical and exploration industry now and in the decades the come. We are very grateful for their companies’ and individual support.”

The general membership meeting was held at the Annual Conference on 20 February in Houston, TX along with other meetings held during the week. This year’s sessions focused on the conference theme "Accelerating Exploration, Expanding Energy Possibilities" and explored the geophysical and exploration industry’s role and opportunities globally in accelerating exploration to safely and responsibly meet the growing global energy demand.

More than 200 attendees attended the conference which featured the IAGC’s first-ever Africa Panel with Mr. Benjamin Asante, Director, Petroleum – Upstream, Ghana Ministry of Energy and Mr. Tarek Ben Youssef, Senior Political Officer, African Union Mission to the United States. Africa Oil Week’s Conference Director, Paul Sinclair served as the moderator.

The slate of other world-class industry thought leaders and sessions included the Exploration Executive Outlook with Niall McCormack, Vice President Global Exploration, BHP; Brad Bankhead,Manager Seismic Imaging, ConocoPhillips; Martin Stauble, Vice President Exploration North America/Brazil, Shell; Joseba Murillas, Executive Director Global Exploration, Repsol and Maurice Nessim, President, WesternGeco.

Keynote Speaker, Chris Birdsall, ExxonMobil Manager, Economics & Energy Division, Corporate Strategic Planning, shared key insights about the future of the global energy landscape. His address also highlighted challenges of ensuring world access to “affordable and reliable energy supplies to support prosperity while reducing environmental impacts – including the risks of climate change.”

John Gibson, Chairman of Energy Technology at Tudor Pickering & Holt delivered an address examining market and technology drivers as the industry seeks to accelerate exploration around the globe.

The conference’s Technology Panel discussed where Exploration & Production companies are headed and their expectations now and in the near future to expand energy exploration possibilities. The panel featured Emeka Emembolu, VP Reservoir Development - Gulf of Mexico, BP; Alex Martinez, Geophysics Manager, ExxonMobil; Tom Ridsdill Smith, VP Geoscience, Woodside; Pascal Desegaulx, Manager of Global Upstream Geophysics, Total; Davide Calcagni, VP G&G Operations & Services, Eni; and Jan Helgesen, VP Geophysical Operations, Equinor. Julie Wilson, Research Director - Global Exploration, WoodMackenzie, was the panel moderator.

The conference’s Americas Energy Policy session featured Joseph “Joe” Balash, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Land and Minerals Management, U.S. Department of the Interior who provided an overview of energy policy direction for the U.S.

“Our 2019 Conference was excellent and provided stimulating dialogue on the many facets of the geophysical and exploration industry’s role in safely and responsibly exploring and delivering the oil and gas resources that will be needed for decades which support the advancement of the world’s citizens. We are so proud to have hosted this stellar group of speakers and sponsors from around the world to focus on accelerating the world’s exploration efforts and expanding its energy possibilities,” added Nikki Martin.