Mike Simmons is Halliburton’s Technology Fellow for Geoscience & Energy Transition. He has enjoyed a 40-year career associated with the energy industry, working for a supermajor, universities, and consultancies. He is well known for his expertise in Middle East geology and has published extensively on stratigraphy around the world and its applications to subsurface characterisation (e.g. “Arabian Plate Sequence Stratigraphy”). His current focus is accelerating exploration workflows whilst ensuring geological plausibility. 

Abdulkader M. Afifi is a professor of geology at King Abdullah University of Science andTechnology since 2018. He leads the Arabian Plate Geology (APG) research group focused on the geology and natural resources of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea. He started his career in1980 with the USGS Mission in Saudi Arabia in geological mapping and mineral exploration. He worked from 1991 until 2017 in Aramco’s Exploration Organization where he held technical and management roles in oil and gas exploration, reservoir characterization, and upstream joint ventures.

Abdulkader holds a PhD in geology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a Masters fromthe Colorado School of Mines, and a Bachelors (high honors) from KFUPM. He also completedthe General Management Program at Harvard Business School.

He is active in professional societies as an author, lecturer, conference organizer, and field trip leader. He served for two decades as an associate editor of GeoArabia. He served theAmerican Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) as an international distinguished lecturer, council and, president of the Middle East region, and received AAPG’s DistinguishedService Award and Technical Contribution Award.