Chidera Okonkwo-Samuel is an aspiring geologist passionate about improving the African energy landscape.

She engages in a range of activities cutting across economics and finance, management consulting, and international business, to develop a holistic approach to energy and geosciences. She interned at SLB (formerly Schlumberger) where she drove and executed a 6S Lean project that improved one of the sections in SLB’s Port Harcourt Operations Base. She is a Nigerian Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) Scholar, of the fellowship class of 2023. She is a student member of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), where she was a mentee in the one-year EAGE International Mentoring Program from 2022 to 2023 and a University of Lagos participant in the AAPG Imperial Barrel 2025 Awards Global Basin Evaluation.

In her effort to simplify technical Geology concepts and drive energy leadership online, Chidera launched a newsletter on LinkedIn, The G-Bloc, where shares insights on different sectors and value chains in Energy in Africa. From hydrocarbons and geological storage mechanisms for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) to geothermal energy reservoirs and hydrogen energy, she analyzes the geologist’s role in developing these energy sectors and the global energy mix and provides readers with a well-informed geological insight about energy.

Chidera is currently a final year undergraduate Geology student at the University of Lagos and serves as the Vice President of the school’s NAPE Chapter.