Mike Bahorich invented two technologies that are used extensively by oil industry geophysicists. He received SEG’s 1998 Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal for his Coherence Cube patent. This method reveals stratigraphic features and numerically highlights 3-D seismic fault surfaces. A service company, Coherence Technology, was founded on this work. Years earlier, he patented interval/volume attribute mapping. This is now available on most geoscience workstation software platforms.

He is an officer of Apache Corporation where he is executive vice president, Exploration and Production Technology. He has spent his career at Apache and Amoco in a number of broadening positions as a successful explorer, geophysical interpreter, development geophysicist, seismic processor, stratigrapher, researcher, software developer, research supervisor, exploration manager and chief geophysicist.

He edited a geophysical textbook and has published in a variety of areas including seismic attributes, multivariate statistical analysis, statics, seismic acquisition, seismic processing, seismic interpretation, workstation software, and stratigraphy.

Employment with both a large independent and a major oil company have led to meeting and working with many international technical leaders in the global oil industry. Mike has worked closely with the software industry to bring a number of geophysical applications to market.

He received a BS degree in geology from the University of Missouri (Columbia) and an MS degree in geophysics from VPI. Mike has served SEG in a variety of functions including first vice president in 1999-2000.

He is a member of AAPG, SPE, HGS, and GSH and serves on advisory boards at VPI and Stanford University.

Position Statement

The variety of positions I have held, leading up to my current one as an officer of an S&P 500 corporation, have given me the opportunity to develop a broad understanding of the science of geophysics within the context of international business. Working in a number of basins and cultures, I have benefited and grown from a worldwide network of colleagues developed over the years.

If elected, I will focus on geophysics’ most precious commodity, people. With oil and gas prices recently hitting the lowest levels since the Great Depression and then rebounding sharply, our industry is going through very tumultuous times with mergers and acquisitions at a frantic pace. Again, the people of our industry face uncertainty. For our colleagues who are displaced, SEG should become an ideal place to turn with the largest network of geophysicists in the world.

A crisis is upon us—a huge wave of retirements are subjecting our industry to an unprecedented loss of human capital. We must encourage business leaders to retain experienced geophysicists while also attracting talented university students.

I thank SEG for another opportunity to serve with the executive committee.