The 2025 “Discovery Thinking” Forum will mark the thirtieth presentation in the AAPG Discovery Thinking initiative. This session emphasizes exemplary case studies that showcase how integrated geology and geophysics are used to identify and develop significant discoveries. Building on a seventeen-year tradition featuring over 100 discoveries, this forum will include five outstanding presentations. Speakers will share exploration philosophies, career stories, professional insights, and key lessons learned. These narratives offer valuable analog case studies, especially for emerging geoscientists, highlighting how explorers overcame business, technical, and professional challenges—often referred to as the “art of exploration”—supported by technical data and insights.
• From Moosehead to Mopane: Access to High Quality Data as a Key Driver for Successful DHI Led Exploration in Namibia – Teresa Martins
• Colombia and Sirius Discovery: Unveiling a New Frontier in Gas Exploration – Marcos Vallério Gonçalves Galvão
• Sirius Gas Discovery: Geological Setting and Caribbean Offshore Exploration Historical Perspective – Antonio Jose Velásquez
• Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators in Carbonates: Current Landscape, Future Potential? – Henry S. Pettingill
• New Frontiers in the Last Frontier: Pantheon Progress on the North Slope of Alaska – Max Easley