Join us as we showcase innovative palynology at AASP 2025 in Rabat

AASP is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to promoting the study of palynology and its applications across a variety of fields. They have been strong supporters and promoters of the palynological community since 1967.

Our Commitment to Advancing Palynological Science

PetroStrat is a global leader in palynology, harnessing the power of these tiny organic fossils and the insights they provide as part of our best-in-class innovative integrated geoscience solutions. We are a major employer and investor in palynologists, with an ever-growing team forming an integral part of our diverse scientific departments. We encourage our scientists to pursue their research interests, as well as to actively contribute to the field through publication wherever possible.

Proudly spotlighting our scientific team’s presentations

The abstracts are in! We are proud to have three of our world-leading scientific team members presenting at AASP this year

Our presentations will cover a diverse range of topics, demonstrating the versatility of palynology in addressing contemporary geoscience challenges. We will be delving into:

• CCUS applications of palynology: Examining the role of palynology in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, highlighting its importance as a tool for understanding the subsurface and de-risking assets.
• Spotlighting one of our innovative multiclient studies: Presenting insights from one of our comprehensive multiclient studies, showcasing how palynological data is used alongside other data streams to enhance regional geological interpretations.
• Sharing results from some impactful PhD research: Showcasing the importance of new palynological research and its role in advancing our understanding of past climates, ecosystems, and vegetation dynamics.

Shaan Heydenrych

Shaan will present on some of her PhD research. She will talk about the Late Triassic (251.9–201.4 Ma), a period marked by major climatic, tectonic, and biotic changes. The research she will present will focus on data collected from her palynological analyses of six wells in the North Sea and Barents Sea. Her findings improve our understanding of Late Triassic vegetation at higher latitudes, providing insights into ecosystem stability and the effect of climate dynamics and ecosystem stability before the end-Triassic extinction.

Lewis Howell

Lewis will share insights from one of our innovative integrated multiclient projects: the 2024 multidisciplinary study of the Albian to Coniacian aged section of offshore mid-Norway, which includes the intra-Langebarn Formation sands (Smørflyndre & Breiflabb Members) & Lysing Member sands. An analytical dataset was generated from first principles across 31 study wells, integrating biostratigraphy, core descriptions, petrographic analyses, QEMSCAN analyses, seismic interpretation, and heavy mineral ratios to explore the relationships between reservoir sand distribution, provenance and quality. Gary’s talk will focus upon the use of palynology to track reworked sedimentary material sources, revealing complex patterns of recycled Carboniferous to Cretaceous strata across the project AOI, and through the study period.

Fernando Mantilla-Duran and Martha Gibson

Fernando and Martha will be talking about how palynology can refine the stratigraphy of the seal rock and reservoirs of CCS sites, providing key insights required to evaluate and identify safe CO2 storage. He will also present examples of how palynology can provide a better understanding of the reservoir architecture and connectivity, including sub-seismic buffer zones that can affect the reservoir efficiency and storage capacity.

Early Career Scientist (ECR) Mentorship – Sharing perspectives on career development within palynology, offering guidance and insights for aspiring professionals.

The Early Career Scientist (ECR) Mentorship session provides an important space for students and early-career professionals to connect with experienced palynologists from academia and industry.

This session will;

• Offer career guidence to students and young professionals
• Provide useful tips for networking, interviews and job applications
• Forge working relationships between ECR’s and experienced palynologists
• Highlight the diverse voices and backgrounds of mentors

Shaan Heydenrych, Palynologist at PetroStrat and AASP Student Director-at-Large, will lead the session. Shaan will share her personal career journey, drawing from personal experience navigating early career challenges in palynology.

“The world of geology is large but the world of palynology is small and knowing what to do and where to go after studying is daunting and overwhelming. The mentorship session helps ECR’s to know the paths available to them and how to set about on those paths and has been particularly helpful for myself in finding work after my PhD. It also enabled me to understand what recruiters in industry may be looking for and how to best present myself for the career path I wanted. Support specifically for palynology is rare to come by and so this session fulfills an important role in helping ECR’s like myself.”

Alongside Shaan, there will also be the following mentors;

• Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe (Missouri University of Science and Technology). Francisca is a professor of Geology and Geophysics where she teaches and conducts collaborative research across five continents. Francisca will share her career journey and offer advice to ECR’s on career paths for academia and research.
• Martha Gibson (PetroStrat). Martha will be sharing first-hand insights about what a career in industry is really like; from her time as an independent consultant to her current role as a biostratigrapher.
• Viktória Baranyi (Croatian Geological Survey). Viktória will be sharing about her journey from PhD in Norway to her work as a postdoctoral researcher and senior scientist at the Croatian Geological Survey.
• Stephen Louwye (Ghent University). A professor at Ghent University, Belgium, with an interest in Neogene palynology. Stephen will share advice on a career in research and academia and offering insight from his multiple postdoctoral positions.

PetroStrat is proud to sponsor AASP 2025

We are proud to be one of the major sponsors of AASP. We hope you enjoy the icebreaker, and look forward to meeting you all there.

Everything You Need to Know