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."