Imperial Barrel Award Program 2014 Officially Opens; Universities and Corporate Sponsors Around the World Sign On for Prestigious Scientific Competition

TULSA, Okla., Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Imperial Barrel Award (IBA), a joint student development program of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the AAPG Foundation, announced today the opening of its IBA 2014 competition.  Deadline for entry is Dec. 13, 2013.

The IBA program is a basin evaluation competition wherein participants analyze geological and geophysical datasets to determine hydrocarbon potential.   Considered one of the most rigorous scientific competitions for graduate petroleum geosciences students, the IBA is designed after a similar program for students at Imperial College in London.  The 2014 competition will mark AAPG's seventh year to conduct the event. 

"We are pleased to announce the opening of this prestigious competition and look forward to another year of identifying and awarding best-in-class student teams," said David Cook, IBA program co-chair.  "Participating in the IBA competition is an honor and challenge for students, whereas hosting and sponsoring the competition helps universities and exploration and production companies foster the advancement of petroleum geosciences and build the geoscience human resources required for the future."

Chuck Caughey, IBA program co-chair adds, "The Imperial Barrel Award program continues to attract the world's highest achieving petroleum geoscience graduate students who have a unique opportunity to demonstrate both creative thinking and complex problem solving on a big stage.  We continue to be impressed with the finalists every year."

Since the program's adoption, more than 2,400 graduate students from 230 universities in 43 countries have gained academic and international recognition by participating in the IBA competition and have earned their schools tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship funds.

During the eight-week competition, university teams draws upon their body of knowledge in geology, geophysics, and other geoscience disciplines to determine the hydrocarbon potential of a sedimentary basin.  Teams then present their findings to a panel of judges comprising industry experts.  Winning teams are awarded scholarship funds for their respective schools, and exclusive exposure to energy industry executives and recruiters.

Since its adoption, the IBA program has awarded more than $300,000 in scholarship funds to university petroleum geoscience graduate programs.

To learn more about sponsoring or participating in the Imperial Barrel Award program, visit http://www.aapg.org/iba/aboutIBA.cfm or call Vern Stefanic at 918.560.2657.

About AAPG

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is a professional geological organization with 38,000 members in more than 120 countries.  With offices in Tulsa, Okla.; Washington, D.C.; Bogotả, Colombia; Dubai, UAE; Lagos, Nigeria; London; and Singapore, the AAPG advances the world of geosciences through world-class publications, advanced education and training, professional development, and global technical events.

About the AAPG Foundation

Established in 1967, the AAPG Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that provides funding for a variety of educational and research programs that benefit the geologic profession and the general public.  The Foundation continues to promote a better understanding and advancement of the geosciences through the dissemination of technological information, recognizing outstanding achievements, and by funding grants, publications and other initiatives that support the preservation of data, training and career enhancement for current and future geoscientists.  

SOURCE AAPG