“My hope is to expose scientists to the many advanced analytical techniques used in studying siliciclastic reservoirs and particularly to explain the mechanism for the growth of porosity-preserving microcrystalline quartz in sandstone reservoirs. I would also like to share my experiences from my 34-year career in industry to help others.”
Marsha French is an associate research professor in geology at the Colorado School of Mines. She retired from ExxonMobil in October 2012 after 34 years as a senior research associate at ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Lab in Houston.
Her current research is focused on predicting porosity preserving microcrystalline quartz in high temperature reservoirs.
Marsha began her career at Mobil Oil in the minerals division in Denver where she worked in coal uranium and lead/zinc exploration. In 1982, she moved to Mobil’s oil and gas division in Dallas, and worked in onshore and offshore exploration and production.
In 1987, she began supervising teams exploring in the onshore U.S., as well as Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Following these assignments, she worked in Mobil’s headquarters in E&P planning, and in 1997 moved to Norway as the manager of planning and performance analysis. In 2000, French returned to her technical roots in ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Company to work on her passion – reservoir quality in sandstone reservoirs.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s degree in geochemistry from the University of Wyoming, and a doctorate in geology from the University of Liverpool in England.
Bachelor's degree in Geology from University of Wyoming
Master Degree in Geochemistry from University of Wyoming
Doctorate degree in Geology from University of Liverpool, England
Colorado School of Mines