AAPG Executive Director David Curtiss, accompanied by the Africa Region programs director Delia Kuye, paid a courtesy visit to Clay Neff, chairman/managing director, Chevron Nigeria Ltd., on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

The visit was to thanks Chevron for its long-standing support — not just in Nigeria, but globally.

"We thank you for all your support," Curtiss said. "Not only does Chevron sponsor the membership dues for all student members globally, they also pay for faculty members that join the Association.

"We also appreciate your support for your employees who are AAPG members that volunteer to serve the Association in different capacities," he said. "We don't take it for granted."

David also thanked the company for the sponsorship of the Imperial Barrel Award (IBA) program, which is an annual competition for geoscience graduates all over the world. Chevron sponsors the competition globally as a member of the Corporate Advisory Board (CAB), as well as the Africa Region semi-finals.

He expressed concern about the dwindling number of geologists and called for a more concerted partnership between AAPG and Chevron, especially in the area of capacity building.

"We need to sustain the relevance of the geosciences as a profession," he said. "AAPG can be of support to Chevron in the area of capacity enhancement because we don't want to lose the next generation of geologists."

Neff appreciated the AAPG leadership for the visit, saying that the company is very proud of its association with the AAPG.

"You are a critical technical organization, and we are very proud of our employees that get involved in all your programs," Neff said. "This helps us improve our business, and for that we are glad to contribute in all levels that we can".

Clay advised the organization to stay true to its fundamentals: "In these challenging times, it is important that associations like the AAPG stay true to the fundamentals," he said. "That will continue to build your credibility."

Neff agreed that dwindling numbers of geologists are a concern, and mentioned the company's support for getting students motivated to going into technical professions by educating them on the exciting opportunities involved.

Chevron's involvement with AAPG includes membership dues payments for student members and faculty members globally; university lecturers who serve as faculty advisors to active AAPG student chapters; and sponsorship of the Imperial Barrel Award Program (IBA), which is an annual prospective basin evaluation competition for geoscience graduate students from universities around the world. Forty-one CNL employees are members of AAPG and serve in various capacities, such as Executive Committee members and coordinators, judges, coaches and mentors to IBA teams throughout the African continent.

Others in attendance included Femi Esan, earth science team lead; Okan/Meji, current AR vice president; Jacob Diedjomahor, exploration manager and one of the judges for the 2016 AAPG Africa Region IBA competition; Adedoja Ojelabi, manager-Reservoir Management Organizational Capability, who also is an AAPG Global IBA Committee member and former AR vice president; and Adesola Adebawo, manager, communications.