17-10 From Drawn in the Dirt to Built in the Cloud: A Century of Learning in the Permian Basin

Session: One Century of Oil and Gas in the Permian Basin

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For more than a century, the Permian Basin has served not only as one of the most productive hydrocarbon provinces in the world but also as a training ground for generations of geoscientists. Early exploration was literally drawn in the dirt, relying on surface mapping, hand-drawn cross sections, mud logs, and mentorship in the field. Geologists were trained through rigorous field schools and on-the-job experience, developing the observational and interpretive skills that laid the foundation for basin-wide exploration and development. For decades, field schools in the Guadalupe and Glass Mountains, led by institutions such as UT Austin, Texas Tech, and New Mexico Tech, along with industry-sponsored training programs, provided hands-on experience in classic Permian outcrops that continue to serve as benchmarks for subsurface interpretation.

As exploration advanced, so did the tools of the trade. The mid-20th century brought the widespread adoption of wireline logs, core analysis, and seismic reflection surveys, ushering in new methods to visualize the subsurface. By the late 20th century, geoscientists were integrating computer-based mapping and early 3D modeling, transforming both research and training. The Permian Basin remained at the center of this evolution, serving as a proving ground for new technologies and interpretive approaches.

Today, the training of geoscientists in the Permian Basin has entered an era built in the cloud, with data-rich workflows increasingly balanced with field experiences. A recent class project in the Delaware Basin at Stephen F. Austin State University, for example, used more than 18,000 formation tops in ArcGIS, accompanied by cuttings analysis and field studies in the Guadalupe Mountains. These approaches integrate subsurface mapping, geochemical calibration, and quantitative methods such as residual surface analysis to expose subtle structural controls on deposition, illustrating how evolving tools continue to shape geologic interpretation.

Looking ahead, the next century of work in the Permian Basin will expand well beyond oil. Training geoscientists to address CCUS, geothermal energy, critical minerals, and hydrogen storage will be essential. Emerging tools such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and open data platforms are transforming how we analyze and visualize the subsurface. Yet while technologies evolve, the enduring foundations of Permian Basin geoscience, professionalism, collaboration, and geologic intuition, remain vital. As the saying goes, the best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks!

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-11180

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