Majority of the known oil and gas occurrences of the World are either related with Gondwanan Paleozoic Petroleum Systems or one of the elements of the respective petroleum systems is of Gondwanan origin.

Recent developments in the fields of petroleum systems, paleogeography, tight reservoirs, hot shales of different Gondwanan terranes resulted in the necessity of a new insight in to the this old terrane.

We therefore believe that a field workshop on the "Paleozoic of Northern Gondwana and Its Petroleum Potential" will enable a timely platform, where different aspects of "Stratigraphic Frame & Paleogeography - Sedimentary Basins – Petroleum Systems – Climate & Sea Level Changes and Unconventional Resources & Hot Shales" will be presented and discussed in length not only within the frame of oral and posters presentations but also in the field.

The Eastern Taurids offer one of the best and complete profiles of the Paleozoic of Northern Gondwana. A sequence ranging from Cambrian to Permian can be observed along a several thousand meters thick succession, where a wide spectrum of litho- and biofacies characteristics of the Northern Gondwanan Paleozoic can be observed. Unique features, such as a Cambrian with Archaeocyatha, glacio-marine Late Ordovician deposits, Silurian-Devonian-Carboniferous hot shales, Devonian events, a mixed (clastic-carbonate) Carboniferous sequence and a typical Permian transgression, will ensure a memorable excursion.

The field workshop will be organized by Turkish Association of Petroleum Geologists (TAPG) in Kayseri in Central Anatolia. It is located at the foot of the extinct volcano Mount Erciyes that towers 3916 m over the city. Kayseri with a population over one million is served by the Erkilet International Airport, one of the starting points to Cappadocia. The city is also rich in historical monuments from Seljuk and Ottoman era and renowned for its culinary specialities.

We believe that the Field workshop on "Paleozoic of Northern Gondwana and Its Petroleum Potential" will provide an excellent platform, where various aspects and problems of the geology and petroleum exploration will be presented and discussed. We would be honoured to see you at the workshop on September 09-14, 2012 in Kayseri.

Prof. Dr. M. Namık Yalçın
Chairman