Northwest Energy Association

May 7, 2015

NWEA Sponsored Students attend Pacific Section AAPG Meeting

During May 1-6, six University of Oregon students attended the 2015 Pacific Section Annual Meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) held in Oxnard, California.  The students are members of the Willamette Valley AAPG Student Chapter sponsored by the Northwest Energy Association (NWEA).

Prior to the meeting the group participated in a field trip to the Type Monterey Formation along the west side of the southern San Joaquin Valley.  The Monterey Formation is both the primary petroleum source rock and reservoir rock of oil in California, and a major topic of discussion at the Pacific Section meeting.  The field trip was arranged and lead by technical staff members of California Resources Corporation, the West Coast division of Occidental Petroleum Corporation.  Michael Johns, CRC Exploration Manager and OSU graduate, sponsored the field excursion.

The PSAAPG Annual Meeting was attended by more than 500 geoscientists.  The U of O students had the opportunity to attend technical presentations, posters, visit with industry service company representatives, and students from other universities.  Perhaps the most beneficial opportunities were the Student Forum where career survival tips were discussed and student questions answered by a diverse panel of career professionals.  The six Ducks also participated in an unscheduled breakfast discussion on career entry and survival with Michelle Judson, retired BP geoscientist.

Within hours of arrival, and throughout the meeting, industry professionals were commenting to the trip leaders about the professional demeanor and enthusiasm of the University of Oregon contingent.