This is my penultimate write-up as President of this great Association. It’s been very busy 11 months, but as most good things, gone before you know it. It’s been a pleasure and honour serving as the NAPE President and these next few weeks will be busier still as we prepare for the Annual Conference. My office remains open though till the November 16th, 2023, handover and even after that as Immediate Past President, I still hope to be able to contribute to NAPE’s continuous growth.
The month of September was heralded by the NAPE/NMGS Students “Mini-Conference”, which was held Sept 6th -9th at the University of Lagos. I once again salute the collaboration of these two Associations (NAPE and NMGS) and the round-the-clock efforts of the Local Organizing Committee led by our own UAP Chairman, Philip Ajaebili. It was refreshing to meet with the students and faculty and share in technical and social discourse. The Awards Night at the end of the Conference closed the curtains appropriately on what was a hugely successful Conference. I also want to thank the Vice Chancellor, Faculty, staff and students of the University of Lagos for hosting this event as well as our panelists and guests for their attendance.
I was privileged to attend the African Conference of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB, now re-named Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain, GESPB) at the Kia Oval in Vauxhall, London, September 20-21. Themed ‘Unlocking African Energy to Power the Future’, the Conference focused on latest technical updates emerging from Africa over the last few years. The networking event also provided opportunities to meet up with some Nigerian post-doctoral students as well as energy practitioners.
I also attended a panel session September 27th under the auspices of the 2023 PIVOT Geothermal Conference, with the theme ‘Geothermal Industry Development in Nigeria – Leveraging the Oil and Gas Workforce.’ Many thanks to Princewill Okechukwu, a NAPE Young Professional, for moderating the event.
NAPE’s Continuing Education Programme continued across the various Chapters and in Lagos. The Lagos Technical Meeting that held September 20th was presented by Vincenzo Spina, Structural Geology Specialist with Total Energies E&P, and titled ‘Deformation Timing & Structural Geometries – Implications for Trapping & Overpressure in Deep Offshore Niger Delta.’ The UK/Europe Chapter Technical Meeting held the next day, September 21st and was presented by Opeyemi Ibukun, CEO of Argyle IT& Education Limited and titled ‘Application of Education 4.0: Enhancing Learning & Preparing Future Geoscientists.’ The Warri Chapter Technical Meeting closed out the meeting series September 28th and was presented by Dr. Ufuoma Olimma, Principal Geoscientist, IFDC & Vein Petroleum and titled ‘Sequence Stratigraphy and Play Demarcation in Predicting Stratigraphic and Hydrocarbon Distribution.’ It was refreshing to listen in on a broad spectrum of topics and many thanks to the presenters, sponsors and all those who continue to contribute to the success of these Technical Meetings.
It was a solemn evening as NAPE hosted a Night of Tributes in honour of a member of the Advisory Council, Reginald Mbah, FNAPE on the 26th of September and members of the Association joined the Mbah family in bidding farewell to a fine gentleman days later. We wish the Mbah family continued strength to bear his irreparable loss.
The voting process in the 2023 election cycle closes October 15th, so members still have a few days to vote, but I would suggest members update their financial status and reach for the voting buttons. We need to elect credible leaders to help steer the Association, especially in economically challenging times such at this.
The Annual Conference is about a month away and the Conference Planning Committee and Secretariat are swamped with preparations for this showpiece event. We invite members and non-members to mark their calendars and join us starting from the 6th of November for the Pre-Conference Workshop, through to the 12th-16th Conference week.
Thank you and do have a great month ahead!
Elliot Ibie, FNAPE,
President, NAPE