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May 2006

Vol. 11, No. 19 Week of May 07, 2006

Bush nominates Myers for top USGS slot

Petroleum News

On May 3, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated former Alaska Division of Oil and Gas Division Director Mark Myers to head the prestigious U.S. Geological Survey. Myers replaces Charles Groat, who resigned almost a year ago after serving as director since the Clinton administration in 1998.

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the USGS’ 10,000 scientists, technicians and support staff are assigned to almost 400 offices in every state of the union, as well as several foreign countries. With a budget of more than $1 billion a year, the agency leverages its resources and expertise in partnership with more than 2,000 agencies of state, local and tribal government, the academic community, other federal allies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

“The USGS is one of the premier scientific organizations in the world. I am honored and humbled to be nominated to lead the survey,” Myers told Petroleum News. May 4.

In addition to serving as Alaska’s oil chief, Myers concurrently served as Alaska’s State Geologist and director of the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey. Prior to that, he was a senior staff geologist for exploration at ARCO Alaska and then Phillips Alaska.

Earlier in his career, he was a petroleum geologist for the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas.

Myers received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He later received his PhD from the University of Alaska.

Scarlett praises Myers

Acting Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett praised President Bush’s nomination of Myers to the top post at USGS, a nomination that is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Patrick Leahy will continue to serve as acting director until Senate confirmation.

“Mark is known not only for his accomplishments as a geologist and state survey manager but also for the consensus building approach he has emphasized throughout his career,” Scarlett said. “He brings more than 22 years of wide ranging experience in geological science and strong leadership skills to the U.S. Geological Survey.”

As State Geologist and director of DGGS, Myers managed a research organization that included 38 scientists and support staff. The state survey generates analyses and interprets data on geologic resources and natural conditions and maps and inventories mineral and energy resources on state land. That information is used by the government, private industry, scientists, educators and the public.

As director of the Division of Oil and Gas, Myers oversaw a professional staff of nearly 100 employees, including geoscientists, engineers, land managers, accountants, commercial analysts, and auditors.

Myers, an expert on North Slope sedimentary and petroleum geology, served as survey chief for field programs in the Mackenzie Delta (ARCO, 1985), Cook Inlet (State of Alaska/U.S. Geological Survey, 1997), and North Slope (ARCO, 1999). He also served as sedimentologist for 13 other North Slope field programs.

A past president and board member of the Alaska Geological Society, he is a certified professional geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists; a certified petroleum geologist with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists; and a licensed geologist with the State of Alaska.

Myers served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1977 to 2003, retiring as a Lt. Colonel.

He received his doctorate in geology from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1994, specializing in sedimentology, clastic depositional environments, surface and subsurface sequence analysis and sandstone petrography.






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