The Great Plain Chapter of the
Association of Hungarian Geophysicists in Szolnok

ELGI moved its mineral prospecting well-logging department to Miskolc while two well-logging teams of OKGT prospecting for CH were settled in Szolnok (Great Plain) and in Eger (Northern-Hungary). The professionals of the industrial teams and the academics of the Geophysical Chair of the University of Miskolc formed the Great Plain Chapter of AHG in 1960 and elected János Csókás, professor of geophysics, as president of the chapter.

The Chapter operated very well, held together its members in Miskolc and Szolnok, organized several lectures and mutual visits a year, established friendships and professional connections lasting up to the present day. In spite of the good connection between Szolnok and Miskolc the Chapter lived a dual life; the local interests became obvious in the topics of the lectures. In Miskolc the mineral exploration, water prospecting, mining geophysics and methodological studies of applied geophysics were in the centre of interest while in Szolnok CH exploration and production were the focal subjects.

From 1961 to 1981 the two parts of the Chapter located in the two cities had two co-chairmen and two co-secretaries to emphasize the importance both areas. Already in 1965 arouse the demand of splitting the Chapter into two parts and bring its CH centre into Szolnok, but then the opinion got the majority that it is not advantageous to specialise the profile too much and the idea was rejected. Later the local professional interests got stronger, the membership grew and the number of the separately organised events increased, therefore the idea of splitting came up again and in 1981 it became an official proposal at the electing assembly in Miskolc.

The proposal was accepted by the Council of MGE and from that year the Great Plain Chapter continued its work with a centre in Szolnok while the Miskolc part formed a new Chapter called Northern-Hungarian Chapter based on Miskolc.

The majority of the Szolnok membership was active in the oil industry; they worked as geophysicists, geologists or mathematicians in different OKGT plants of the region.

The interaction between the activity in the Association and in the employment appeared in several areas. The mangers of different company levels have not only sponsored the activity of the Association but they were actively involved in the Chapter’s affaires. Besides continuing education courses, professional lectures were organised on several topics to improve the quality of the professional work. The Association issued the discussed or presented topics in written form too (e.g. “Aid of well-logging” – 160 pages, “Practical Know-How of Well-Logging” – 220 pages).

Characteristic of the Chapter has been to keep “integration” always in view, in other words, to organize common events with other professional associations to widen the professional horizon of the membership. Close connections with the Northern-Hungarian Chapter has been regarded as one of the guarantees of the professional development of the Chapter and therefore especially important. The activity of the Chapter included the organization of professional events (regional meetings, lecture days and courses) and the providing the lecturers for them. Those events contributed to the professional development of the participants and of the general professional level of the companies with providing them integrated professional knowledge and with promoting the common thinking of professionals. The events of the Chapter generated always large interest almost independent of their character.

It can’t be denied that the great political changes of the early nineties have brought some changes also in the life of the Chapter, since the newly privatized companies ─ as MOL and GEOINFORM  ─  have started to look on the work in the Association in quite an other way,  though, they haven’t refused to support it further. In the new situation the membership’s professional view of life has been formed and transformed in a way, and it has become difficult to hold them together. The number of the members has decreased several times and now after some fluctuation it seems to be stabilized at about 50.

The oil company MOL very much present in the area supports the Chapter since almost the full membership is MOL employee. The mutual goodwill between company and Chapter might make certain the continuous development of the profession and the professionals and the rising level of the work. Meetings are regularly organized also together with other professional groups. The local organizations of the miners and geologists are also interested in most of the cases in the topics of the Chapter events thus the Chapter has an active connection with them.

Other subjects, like education, course books, university graduations, summer practices, are binding the Chapter together with the Northern-Hungarian Chapter and with the University of Miskolc.