APSG - News

Happy Holidays from the APSG

19 Dec 2013 10:52 AM | Anonymous

Wishing APGS Members, Family, and Friends every happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year.
Our sincerest thanks for your membership and support this past year. We wish for the safe travel of anyone visiting family and friends. We appreciate the opportunity to serve our members and thank you for your continued support - Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for 2014.

Jackie Portsmouth
APGS Chair - Houston Chapter
jackiep@santosinc.com
(O) 214-389-7058
(M) 972-854-1625

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The Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 is now available

18 Dec 2013 9:25 AM | Anonymous

The Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 is now available.

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Dear APSG Members,

Please see the news release sent out by Natural Resources Canada in regards to the new Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 being released:

The Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 (CGVD2013) is now available!

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is pleased to announce the release of the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 2013 (CGVD2013), which is now the reference standard for heights across Canada. This new height reference system replaces the Canadian Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1928 (CGVD28).

The chosen reference height of CGVD2013 derives from collaborative work and is formalized in an agreement between Geodetic organizations in United States of America and Canada. The vertical datum is now compatible with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS.

The height of benchmarks is also now available in CGVD2013. These heights come from a readjustment of the entire existing federal first-order levelling network. Please note that the age of the benchmarks and the impact of regional instability since they were last observed may render them unreliable.Â Re-observation is always recommended for critical applications requiring utmost accuracy.

NRCan is maintaining the publication of heights at benchmarks in CGVD28 for those who prefer to continue using the old reference and to assure a smooth and gradual transition period to the new height reference system.

More information is available at the web site of the Canadian Geodetic Survey, Surveyor General Branch, Geomatics Canada.

Jackie Portsmouth
APSG Chair-Houston Chapter
jackiep@santosinc.com
(O) 214-389-7058
(M) 972-854-1625

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Further Details in Remembrance of Jim Cain

01 Dec 2013 10:27 PM | Anonymous


Further Details in Remembrance of Jim Cain	December 1, 2013

On behalf of the APSG Committee we would like to relay further details in regards to the sudden passing of our Dear Friend and Colleague Jim Cain.

Dear APSG Family,

Jim Cain was a man of legendary integrity, good humor, and reliability. We all feel an emptiness and he will be greatly missed. His obituary will be published in the Houston Chronicle on Monday, December 2^nd, and Tuesday, December 3^rd.

Visitation will be at Dettling Funeral Home, 14094 Memorial Drive, Houston, on Tuesday December 3^rd, from 6pm to 8 pm. The Funeral is Wednesday, December 4^th at 10am at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 15015 Memorial Drive, Houston. The Right Reverend C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Texas A&M Alumni Association.

Sincerely,

Michael Barnes
APSG Foundation Chair 2010-2011
APSG Past Chair 2008-2009
APSG Strategic and Technical Advisor (STAC)

Association of Petroleum Surveying and Geomatics

W: www.apsg.info
M: +1 713 409 8747
E: michael.barnes@cain-barnes.com

Jackie Portsmouth
APSG Chair
jackiep@santosinc.com
972-854-1625

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In Remembrance of Jim Cain

30 Nov 2013 11:00 PM | Anonymous


In Remembrance of Jim Cain	November 30, 2013

On behalf of the APSG Committee we would like to relay some sad news from Michael Barnes, Dear Friend and Business Partner of Jim Cain.

Dear APSG Family,

The Cain Family has asked me to communicate the very sad news that Jim Cain died today, Saturday 30^th of November, at 5 pm. He was a man of legendary integrity, good humor, and reliability. Jim was 70 years young while intellectually and physically still very active. We will all miss Jim Cain enormously.

He died of cardiac arrest with no prior indication of serious illness. In fact, we spoke at noon today and he was in great spirits and looking forward to his next business trip to Europe.

Liz and Jim had just returned from family Thanksgiving in Wyoming and he was preparing to travel to Rijswijk (OGP geodesy subcommittee) and London (PetroSkills geomatics class).

Personally, I am in shock by the loss of my close friend of many years and business partner of ten years. I know that all receiving this message will feel the same emptiness.

Please feel free to write a note of condolence to Liz Cain at 12418 Stafford Springs Drive, Houston TX 77077-3910, USA.

Details of his funeral will be communicated when available.

Sincerely,

Michael Barnes

APSG Foundation Chair 2010-2011
APSG Past Chair 2008-2009
APSG Strategic and Technical Advisor (STAC)

Association of Petroleum Surveying and Geomatics

W: www.apsg.info
M: +1 713 409 8747
E: michael.barnes@cain-barnes.com

Jackie Portsmouth
APSG Chair
jackiep@santosinc.com
972-854-1625

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Agenda is available for Canada Chapter Fall Meeting

22 Oct 2013 12:54 PM | Anonymous

Agenda is available for Canada Chapter Fall Meeting - October 30th, 2013

APSG Canada Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting

October 22, 2013

Dear Members,

The Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics Canada Chapter is pleased to announce the details for our Fall meeting October 30, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM in Calgary, Alberta, followed by a social. The Theme is "Examples of Oil & Gas Web Map Development". There is one spot left for registration - once the spot is filled the registration link will be disabled. Please visit the event details page to register.

Web mapping is a very interesting topic and almost everyone in our industry does or may benefit from it. We will review different kinds of implementations and the various business needs that resulted in the development. We can also expect to see a variety of technologies used. Those experienced in this area will recognize and benefit by comparing to the work others have done, and those not experienced will see a way forward to exploit this exciting technology.

Click Here for the Fall Meeting Agenda

Click Here for Event Details

We still have an open position for the Chair. The Chair is responsible for delegating any/all tasks to members of the Leadership Committee. Besides that, the Chair typically organizes meetings and communicates with Houston APSG Leadership and other organizations. The Chair also provides leadership, helps set the Canada Chapter agenda and goals, and assists the Membership coordinator with various membership tasks. If you’re interested, please submit a note to Mark. Please include a brief paragraph or two on your background and why you're interested.

Mark will continue to serve as Interim Chair until the Canada Chapter Fall Meeting, at which time we will pass the Chair position to the best candidate. Mark will continue with the Leadership Committee.

Thanks,

Mark Dumka, John Spreen, Richard Andrews, Dean Mikkelsen, Matthew Tait

Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics
Canada Chapter Leadership Committee

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APSG East Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting and Call for Papers

21 Oct 2013 12:57 PM | Anonymous

APSG East Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting and Call for Papers

APSG East Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting

October 21, 2013

Dear Members & Guests,

The APSG East Chapter is pleased to announce it's Fall Meeting on November 15th, 2013, from 1:00-4:00pm at the California University of Pennsylvania Southpointe Center, located at 135 Technology Drive, Room 315, Canonsburg, PA, 15317. The meeting will be followed by a social from 4:00-5:00pm at BLVD Sports Bar, located at 114 Southpointe Blvd., Canonsburg, PA, 15317.

In preparation for a great meeting we are looking for speakers with a passion for geomatics and an exciting, noteworthy presentation to deliver on any type of positioning, precision or accuracy challenges in relation to survey or GIS and Oil and Gas work.

Please submit your presentation title and abstract to Patrick Cunningham, at patrickc@bluemarblegeo.com , for consideration.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the meeting please contact me at your earliest opportunity.

Warmest Regards,

Patrick Cunnigham
2012-2013 APSG East Chapter Chair
Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics
W: www.apsg.info
O: +1 207 622 4622 ex. 115
E: patrickc@bluemarblegeo.com

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Registration is Open for the APSG Canada Chapter

17 Sep 2013 4:16 PM | Anonymous

Registration is Open for Canada Chapter Fall Meeting - October 30th, 2013

Registration Open for APSG Canada Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting

September 17, 2013

Dear Members,

The Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics Canada Chapter is pleased to announce registration is open for our Fall meeting October 30, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM in Calgary, Alberta, followed by a social. The Theme is "Examples of Oil & Gas Web Map Development". Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER - Registration is limited to 70 attendees, with preference given to current APSG members.

We have a Call for Presentations open until October 18th, 2013. At that time we will provide an Agenda and other meeting details. Please submit a note to Mark Dumka (MTDumka@Shaw.ca) if you're interested in making a presentation. At this time, we have presentations lined up from three major Canadian oil and gas companies, a provincial regulator, and two service companies. We will likely get three more presentations.

Web mapping is a very interesting topic and almost everyone in our industry does or may benefit from it. We will review different kinds of implementations and the various business needs that resulted in the development. We can also expect to see a variety of technologies used. Those experienced in this area will recognize and benefit by comparing to the work others have done, and those not experienced will see a way forward to exploit this exciting technology.

We still have an open position for the Chair. The Chair is responsible for delegating any/all tasks to members of the Leadership Committee. Besides that, the Chair typically organizes meetings and communicates with Houston APSG Leadership and other organizations. The Chair also provides leadership, helps set the Canada Chapter agenda and goals, and assists the Membership coordinator with various membership tasks. If you’re interested, please submit a note to Mark. Please include a brief paragraph or two on your background and why you're interested.

Mark will continue to serve as Interim Chair until the Canada Chapter Fall Meeting, at which time we will pass the Chair position to the best candidate. Mark will continue with the Leadership Committee.

Thanks,

Mark Dumka, John Spreen, Richard Andrews, Dean Mikkelsen, Matthew Tait

Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics
Canada Chapter Leadership Committee

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Agenda and Abstracts for Upcoming APSG Fall 2013 Meeting Now Available

16 Sep 2013 3:35 PM | Anonymous

Agenda and Abstracts for Upcoming APSG Fall 2013 Meeting Now Available

APSG Fall 2013 Meeting

September 16, 2013

Dear Members & Guests,

Our US Central Chapter fall meeting is almost here and I want to let you know that the meeting agenda is now posted on the web site for your perusal. In addition we’ve put the abstracts for each of the presentations online so you can get a feel for the focus and content of each talk that you will be hearing. You will see that we indeed have a great line up of presentations that should promote some interesting discussion during the Q&A times and across the coffee breaks, lunch, and the after-meeting social.

If you’ve missed the earlier messages the theme of this meeting is “The Future of Geomatics in the Petroleum Industry” and it is being held on Wednesday, September 25, at Anadarko Petroleum in The Woodlands. If you have not yet registered for this event then please do so right away. If you have already registered may I encourage you to reach out to a few friends and colleagues and invite one or more of them to come to the meeting with you? This promises to be a great meeting and they’ll be glad they agreed to come and appreciative that you asked and encouraged!

One additional note of interest to everyone. In light of the recent numeric growth and geographic expansion of the APSG the organizational hierarchy of the APSG is being re-examined by STAC. Please read their proposed recommendations here. These recommendations will be explained and time provided for discussion during the meeting so please take a few minutes to look them over and, if desired, be prepared to discuss your thoughts and suggestions at the fall meeting. Keep in mind these are only proposed recommendations at this time. If you will not be able to attend the fall meeting your comments are still valued and appreciated and may be emailed to the APSG Webmaster (apsgwebmaster@gmail.com) for distribution to STAC. We appreciate your input!

Still trying to decide whether or not to attend the meeting? Go to the APSG website and check out the agenda and abstracts, and then make the right move and sign up to attend. We want to be sure we have enough snacks and lunch for everyone, so your timely registration will really help us there. You will see from the agenda that we’ll also be making every effort to have the meeting wrapped up around 4 pm so we can all enjoy a leisurely stroll along the Woodlands Waterway to Goose’s Acre for a fun hour or two of networking and relaxing before heading home for the evening. You won’t want to miss out.

Hope to see you at the fall meeting!

Warmest regards,

Dave Byrne

2012-2013 APSG Chair

Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics

W: www.apsg.info

O: +1 832 636 3801

M: +1 713 594 7206

E: dave.byrne@anadarko.com

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APSG Canada Chapter Announces Fall Meeting

13 Sep 2013 9:10 AM | Anonymous

APSG Canada Chapter Announces Fall Meeting October 30th, 2013

APSG Canada Chapter Fall 2013 Meeting

September 13, 2013

Dear Members,

The Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics Canada Chapter is pleased to announce our Fall meeting October 30, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM in Calgary, Alberta (limit 70 members), followed by a social. The Theme is "Examples of Oil & Gas Web Map Development". We have a Call for Presentations open until October 18th, 2013. At that time we will provide an Agenda and other meeting details. Please submit a note to Mark Dumka (MTDumka@Shaw.ca) if you're interested in making a presentation. At this time, we have presentations lined up from three major Canadian oil and gas companies, a provincial regulator, and two service companies. We will likely get three more presentations.

Web mapping is a very interesting topic and almost everyone in our industry does or may benefit from it. We will review different kinds of implementations and the various business needs that resulted in the development. We can also expect to see a variety of technologies used. Those experienced in this area will recognize and benefit by comparing to the work others have done, and those not experienced will see a way forward to exploit this exciting technology.

We still have an open position for the Chair. The Chair is responsible for delegating any/all tasks to members of the Leadership Committee. Besides that, the Chair typically organizes meetings and communicates with Houston APSG Leadership and other organizations. The Chair also provides leadership, helps set the Canada Chapter agenda and goals, and assists the Membership coordinator with various membership tasks. If you’re interested, please submit a note to Mark. Please include a brief paragraph or two on your background and why you're interested.

Mark will continue to serve as Interim Chair until the Canada Chapter Fall Meeting, at which time we will pass the Chair position to the best candidate. Mark will continue with the Leadership Committee.

Thanks,

Mark Dumka, John Spreen, Richard Andrews, Dean Mikkelsen, Matthew Tait

Association of Petroleum Surveying & Geomatics
Canada Chapter Leadership Committee

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U.S. West Updates: Meet the U.S. West Chapter Leadership

11 Sep 2013 12:25 PM | Anonymous

UPCOMING EVENTS

APSG30: Fall Meeting

Dear {Contact_First_Name},

In July, the US West Chapter held its Summer Meeting and brought forth some exciting new changes to the organization of the US West Chapter. Please welcome the West Chapter leaders and its volunteers.

Message from the West Chapter Chair

"This summer began a new annual cycle for the US West APSG chapter. Our chapter continues to grow and we have the goal in the coming year of increasing participation from Operators. We will continue to have two formal meetings a year that cover topics related to geodetic information critical in the oil and gas industry."

Thanks,
Natalie Cutsforth

Meet the West Chapter Leadership

CHAIR - Natalie Cutsforth with Idea + Astadia


Natalie has 18 years of experience in the Geographic Information Systems   industry.    Her technology expertise ranges from software to data requirements, with a vision for application   of geospatial technologies for oil and gas, commercial and government clients. Based in Denver, Colorado she manages relationships with a diverse set of clients for Astadia (Idea Integration). Natalie began her career in the data side of mapping technology with satellite remote sensing and aerial photography. Then added an understanding of GIS software for creating and managing spatial data while working for ESRI. Natalie served on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Geographic Information Technology Association (GITA) from 2008-2010, as president in 2009. She has participated on the Denver Petroleum User Group (DPUG), Microsoft's Upstream Reference Architecture partner group and   actively participates in the information technology community in both Denver and Houston. In addition, she has published several technology articles in Imaging Notes magazine.

VICE CHAIR-John Farrell with Fidelity Exploration & Production Co.

John Farrell, GISP has worked as a software engineer for Lockheed Martin, Computer Sciences Corporation, IHS, and PetroWEB. For the past 18 years he has developed GIS Applications for the Oil and Gas Industry and is currently managing the GIS and GPS operations for Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. in Denver. In addition to being the Vice Chair for the West Chapter of the APSG, John is currently the chairman of the Denver Petroleum User Group (DPUG), and an active AAPG Member. John's educational achievements include: B.S. in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines, and Masters in Computer Information Systems from the University of Denver.

SECRETARY - TREASURER - Delmar "Andy" Anderson with Del Consulting
          Dr. Anderson, an Independent Consultant, Del Consulting, provides expertise in remote sensing applications. As such, Dr. Anderson has provided consulting services in remote sensing to the Intelligence Community and U.S. corporations to include: Exploitation of Ikonos satellite imagery for Space Imaging/GeoEye; Imagery product conceptualization for Raytheon; GIS needs assessment for the Massachusetts Highway Department; and Imagery analysis pilot studies for Wal-Mart and Flying J (truck plazas). He worked in the intelligence field for forty years…including tactical and strategic intelligence collection and production of assessments for policy and decision makers.   He served in numerous assignments domestically and internationally. As a USAF officer, he held positions in the Air Force Intelligence Agency, the 1381st Geodetic Squadron, the U.S. Military Assistance Command, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Overseas tours were mainly in the Pacific Rim. Policy issues included energy security, food security, water security, and other non-military issues…along with concerns relevant to political and military implications for U.S. security. Dr. Anderson’s educational achievement in geography include: BS, Kansas State University; MS, Northwestern University, and Ph.D., the University of Kansas.


MEMBERSHIP CHAIR - Bill Emison with Merrick & Company

Bill Emison currently serves as a Senior Account Manager and MARS^® Product Manager for the GeoSpatial Solutions division of Merrick & Company, a professional engineering services firm based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. In this position, Bill is responsible for the sales and marketing efforts to the commercial markets, including oil and gas, utilities, and related infrastructure organizations. Bill earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Louisville (Kentucky) and a Master’s degree in GIS (City Planning) from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. He has been involved in the geospatial industry since 1993.