Walter K. Link (1902–1982) was an American oil geologist.

Career

In 1926, Link went to work for the

Standard Oil Company of New Jersey ExxonMobil, an American multinational oil and gas corporation presently based out of Texas, has had one of the longest histories of any company in its industry. A direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the company traces its roo ...

as a junior geologist mapping deposits in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. His work for Standard Oil then took him to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States Census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was incorporated in 1901. Ada is ...

, and the American Gulf Coast. From 1940–1945, Link was Standard Oil's Chief Geologist for much of Latin America, living in

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San ...

and later

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Commercial shipping across the Caribbean was hazardous during World War II, making sources of oil closer than Venezuela increasingly desirable. In 1955 Link returned from semi-retirement when he accepted an invitation to become the leader of an exploration program for the new Brazilian petroleum monopoly,

Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state owned enterprise, state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name transla ...

. This led to the Link's memorandum summarizing the onshore petroleum potential of Brazil. Link recommended that Petrobras begin offshore exploration. The recommendation was unpopular with both Petrobras and the Brazilian press, but was borne out when after seven years the company took his advice.

Personal life

Link was born in La Porte,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the ninth of 10 children. In 1924, he graduated from

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

with a bachelor's degree in geology. In 1927, he married Miriam Wollaeger, a fellow graduate of the UW geology department. They divorced in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1945. They had three children. In 1953, Walter married Barbara King. Walter Link died in 1982.

References

''Linkages''
by Robert H. Dott Jr. at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Link, Walter K. American petroleum geologists University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 1902 births 1982 deaths Petrobras