The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is the leading professional society for petroleum and energy geoscience. Founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1917, it serves roughly 17,000 members across more than 120 countries, and its mission is to advance the science of geology as it relates to petroleum, natural gas, other subsurface fluids, and mineral resources. Unlike large commercial publishers, AAPG runs a small, deeply specialist publishing program: the monthly AAPG Bulletin - in continuous publication since 1917 - and Interpretation, a journal of subsurface characterization co-published with the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). Both are hosted online on the GeoScienceWorld platform.

This guide covers what AAPG publishes, how open access works at a society publisher of this kind, the peer-review process, and how to prepare and submit your manuscript.

• AAPG Bulletin - the society's flagship peer-reviewed monthly journal, published continuously since 1917. It covers geosciences and associated technologies relating to the energy industry: petroleum systems, reservoir geology, sedimentary and structural geology, and increasingly the environmental topics associated with energy resources. Indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, GeoRef, GEOBASE, and PubMed, with a 2024 Journal Impact Factor of 2.5.
• Interpretation - a peer-reviewed journal of subsurface characterization co-published with SEG since 2013, focused on the practice and technology of interpreting geophysical and geological data.
• AAPG Explorer - the society's member magazine covering industry and science news (not peer-reviewed).
• Search and Discovery - an open-access online publication carrying presentations and applied contributions from AAPG's Geosciences Technology Workshops.
• Books - the Memoirs, Studies in Geology, and related series, which include many of the standard references in petroleum geoscience.

AAPG operates a subscription-first model typical of specialist society publishers:

• Subscription (default) - both journals are available to AAPG members as a membership benefit and to institutions via subscription, primarily through GeoScienceWorld.
• Hybrid OA - an open-access option is available on a per-article basis; where an article is made open access, a CC BY licence applies. Fees vary by journal and are not published as a single price list, so confirm the current article-processing charge with the editorial office (bulletin@aapg.org for the Bulletin) before submission.
• Green OA (self-archiving) - self-archiving of the accepted manuscript is permitted; check the journal's current policy entry in Sherpa Romeo for version and embargo details.
• Transformative agreements - AAPG does not run a large-scale read-and-publish program of the kind offered by major commercial publishers; authors under funder OA mandates should confirm compliance routes with their library before submitting.

• Model: single-anonymized peer review - reviewers know the authors' identities, authors do not know the reviewers'.
• Editorial structure: the AAPG Bulletin is led by an editor supported by senior associate editors and an international board of associate editors drawn from both industry and academia - a hallmark of the journal's applied orientation.
• Ahead of Print: accepted, peer-reviewed Bulletin articles are posted online ahead of issue publication, which shortens the effective time to visibility even though formal turnaround times are not published.

1. Pick the venue. Full research papers on petroleum geoscience go to the AAPG Bulletin; interpretation-focused geophysics papers go to Interpretation (submitted via SEG's system).
2. Read the author guidelines. The Bulletin's submission guidelines are available on aapg.org; note the 800-word limit for memorials and the journal's expectations for figures and stratigraphic nomenclature.
3. Format your manuscript. AAPG uses its own author-year citation style. SciSpace's AAPG templates apply the correct reference format and manuscript layout automatically.
4. Submit online. The Bulletin uses AAPG's online editorial management system; you will create an account, upload your files, and suggest reviewers.
5. Respond to review. Expect substantive technical review from industry and academic specialists; revised manuscripts go back through the handling editor.

AAPG is a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), and its journals follow COPE-aligned practice on authorship, conflicts of interest, corrections, and retractions. As a professional society, AAPG also maintains its own code of ethics for members, which extends to professional conduct in publication. Questions about publication ethics for the Bulletin can be raised directly with the editorial office.