ExxonMobil Production Company president Neil Duffin to speak at Fields Engineering Center dedication ceremony May 11
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
ExxonMobil Production Company president Neil W. Duffin will be flying to Nashville from Houston on Thursday, May 11, to help Lipscomb University officially dedicate its new Fields Engineering Center.
The 26,800-square-foot Fields Engineering Center, home of Lipscomb University’s Raymond B. Jones Center for Engineering, is named for longtime ExxonMobil executive Charles Fields and his wife, Margaret. Fields was executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company, the company responsible for planning and executing all major oil and gas developments for the corporation, when he retired from the company in 2006 after 38 years of service.
“ExxonMobil is an organization that definitely understands the value of an excellent engineering program that prepares engineers to have a positive impact in the workplace and on the world around them,” said Justin Myrick, dean of the College of Engineering. “We are honored that Neil Duffin will help us celebrate this exciting milestone for Lipscomb and for our engineering programs.”
The dedication ceremony and celebration on Thursday, May 11, will officially mark the opening of this facility, which unites engineering faculty and students under one roof for the first time. The dedication ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and will be followed by a lunch and tours of the new facility at 11:45 a.m. The event is open to the public. R.S.V.P. by May 5 at lipscomb.edu/fieldsdedication.
Duffin was president of ExxonMobil Development Company for 10 years prior to his appointment as president of ExxonMobil Production Co. on Jan. 1, following the retirement of his predecessor Tom Walters. He also serves as a vice president of ExxonMobil Corp. As president of ExxonMobil Production Company, Duffin stewards production of over 3.3 million oil equivalent barrels per day in over 20 countries.
Duffin joined Mobil Oil Company in 1979 after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. He held managerial positions in production, operations and development while with Mobile.
In 1992, he was named producing advisor for Europe and Africa based in Fairfax, Va. In 1995, he moved to Aberdeen, Scotland, as operations and northern North Sea manager. In 1998, he was named senior vice president of Mobil Oil Indonesia.
A native of Saint Andrews, Scotland, Duffin became vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company for Russia/Caspian Sea and the Middle East in 1999. He became vice president of ExxonMobil Production Co. for Africa in 2004. He became executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company in 2006. In addition to his responsibilities with ExxonMobil Production Company, Neil also serves on the Board of Directors for the U.S.-Russia Business Council and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
Duffin and Fields were colleagues at ExxonMobile and have been friends for many years. Duffin will share remarks about Fields and his impact on the field of engineering at the ceremony.
A 1964 graduate of Lipscomb Academy, Fields graduated with a chemical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and began his career in Houston, Texas, with Humble Oil and Refining Company, which later became ExxonMobil Corporation.
In 2001, Fields was named executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company, the company responsible for planning and executing all major oil and gas developments for the corporation. He retired from ExxonMobil in 2006 after more than 38 years of service. He was a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers throughout his career and lived in a number of locations, including Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and Australia.
For more information about the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering, visit engineering.lipscomb.edu.