Geo-Generations: 60 Years in the ‘Patch’ and Counting

Abstract

When C. N. ‘Tom’ Tinker graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955 with an M.S. in Geology, he went to work for Shell Oil Company, retiring from Shell 39 years later after a full and satisfying career. “Old wireline logs. Low-resolution 2D seismic. Slide rulers. Oil was hard to find in those days,” Tom said, “but easy to produce!”

When Scott W. Tinker graduated from the University of Michigan in 1985 with an M.S. in Geology, he had little expectation that he would work at the same company, or even in the same industry, for his full career. He worked for three oil and gas companies before joining the University of Texas at Austin in 2000. “In my industry years, computer technology exploded and we were making some of the first 3D computer reservoir models integrating core, log, and seismic data,” recalls Scott. “It was a blast!”

Today, Nathan S. Tinker is working toward an M.S. degree in Geology at the University of Texas at Austin. “We are gathering massive amounts of digital outcrop data using drones; conducting full-basin analyses on integrated computer systems; and bringing in chemistry, physics, biology, and nanotechnology. Unconventional reservoirs are pretty easy to find, but really hard to produce!” laughs Nathan. “Who knows where my career will take me? But it will likely be around the world.”

During their facilitated panel, Tom, Scott, and Nathan (Fig. 1) will consider industry, technology, science, political, and economic trends that have impacted and will continue to impact geoscientists in the oil and gas industry. And, of course, share a few fun stories along the way!

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90219 © 2015 GCAGS, Houston, Texas, September 20-22, 2015