We would like to thank all of the presenters during the RMS-SEPM Student Research Symposium. There was a great turnout for both days and the members were impressed by the quality of the talks.

This month we return to the Niobrara petroleum system with a look back at the classic 1998 regional study of the Niobrara by Mark Longman and Barbara Luneau.  The authors of that paper will take us through insights learned since their landmark paper, which was recognized by AAPG as such in 2013, to revisit their conclusions, provide updates on which original ideas have endured, and improvements that can be made to their original models.

Our speaker this month is Bill Drake, of QEP Resources, who will be speaking about how to better assess resource potential for source rock reservoirs in frontier areas via a new methodology utilizing organic carbon mass-balance element mapping as demonstrated in the Woodford shale.  Please join us for this important and interesting look at exploration and play assessment of unconventional source-rock reservoirs.