Geoheritage and advanced training for the oil industry: The Lusitanian Basin case study (Portugal) Rui Pena dos Reis and Maria Helena Henriques ABSTRACT The Lusitanian Basin (central Portugal) is a recurring subject of study within different disciplines of earth sciences, mainly because of the excellent stratigraphical and paleontological records, as well as the world-class quality of outcropping elements of petroleum sys- tems and salt tectonics geometries. In fact, in the Lusitanian Basin, three global stratigraphic references were defined for the Jurassic System—the Toarcian Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), the Bajocian GSSP, and the Bathonian Auxiliary Stratigraphic Section and Point—but the sedimentary record of the Lusitanian Basin includes a set of geosites that provide favorable conditions for educational activities, in the frame of the Portuguese educational system, which are increasingly being sought for the development of advanced training activities in the context of the hydrocarbon ex- ploration models. This paper presents the main reasons that attract this particular public, which includes geospecialists and geoexperts, to the Lusitanian Basin outcrops, as well as the geosites that are currently visited for advanced training purposes by different oil companies. As such, the geological heritage of the Lusitanian Basin represents a paradigmatic example of the relevance of enlarging the traditional vision that confines technical applications of geo- conservation to scientific research, education, and geotourism, the last of which is considered in the sense of an activity intended exclusively for geoamateurs and/or people who are either unaware of or interested in learning about geological issues. INTRODUCTION Geoconservation plays a distinctive role in society that may be of great interest to different social groups through the production of AUTHORS Rui Pena dos Reis ~ Geosciences Center and Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua S´ ılvio Lima, Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal; penareis@dct.uc.pt Rui Pena dos Reis is a professor at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and is a researcher at the university’s Geosciences Center. He has a Ph.D. and an Sc.D. in stratigraphy and basin analysis, does consulting in exploration projects, and conducts advanced courses and field training for the industry. Maria Helena Henriques ~ Geosciences Center and Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Rua S´ ılvio Lima, Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal; hhenriq@ dct.uc.pt Maria Helena Henriques is a professor at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and is a researcher at the university’s Geosciences Center. She has a Ph.D. and an Sc.D. in palaeontology and stratigraphy, is the convener of the Aalenian Working Group of the International Subcommission on Jurassic Stratigraphy, and integrates the Portuguese Committee for the International Geoscience Programme. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by Fundação para a Ci ˆ encia e a Tecnologia, through Portuguese funds, in the frame of research project UID/ Multi/00073/2013 of the University of Coimbra (Portugal) Geosciences Center. The authors are grateful to Nuno Pimentel, Roberto Fainstein, Barry J. Katz, and to an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments and suggestions. Copyright ©2018. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved. Manuscript received May 24, 2017; provisional acceptance August 31, 2017; revised manuscript received September 27, 2017; final acceptance October 18, 2017. DOI:10.1306/10181717238 AAPG Bulletin, v. 102, no. 8 (August 2018), pp. 1413–1428 1413