Abel Lobato
Abel Lobato and Dr. Chen at the 2007 Dr.
Chen Classic
Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering (BS): 1992
"I was born in Blanco, New Mexico and grew up in the middle of the San Juan Basin
oil and gas industry. My father was a field specialist for El Paso Natural Gas and
he gave me my first taste of the oil patch.
The U.S. Navy was my family after graduation from Bloomfield High School. After the
Navy I returned to the San Juan Basin and worked a few construction jobs before starting
my career as a husband, father and oil field hand. My first job in the oil and gas
industry was working as a roughneck on drilling rigs. These were the "good old days"
and I worked my way up the ladder and was eventually promoted from a "worm" to a "boss".
But being a boss wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be so I decided to try something
a little different.
In 1987 my family and I started a new adventure by walking through the doors of New
Mexico Tech. I met so many good people at New Mexico Tech (Dr. Lyons, Dr. Lee, Dr.
Bretz, Dr. Mitska and so many more...). The adventure took 5 years to complete but
I finally graduated with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering in 1992 and more importantly,
I landed a Petroleum Engineering job with Chevron. I've been with Chevron 15 years
and spent that time as the PE for various fields spread through out the Permian Basin
and Rocky Mountain regions.
I owe a sizeable portion of my good fortune to the knowledge and experience I earned
from New Mexico Tech, so a goal I've set for myself is to pass along my experience
and help my New Mexico Tech alumni succeed in their careers. I started recruiting
for Chevron at New Mexico Tech in 1998 and have been the Chevron Recruiting Team Leader
for New Mexico Tech since 2003. I truly enjoy returning in the fall to Tech to visit
with Dr. Chen, Karen, faculty and all the students, old and new. Some recruiting years
have been better than others, but that's the way life is. What I think is important
is that we choose to enjoy and make the best of today and continue to look forward
with faith."