Jon Olson
Professor
Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering #17
Research Areas
Integrated Reservoir Characterization
Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Geomechanics
Unconventional Resources
Natural Gas Engineering
Educational Qualifications
Ph.D., Applied Earth Sciences, Stanford University, 1991
B.S., Civil Engineering, B.S., Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 1984, magna cum laude
PGE Courses Taught
PGE 334: Reservoir Geomechanics
PGE 301: Engineering, Energy and the Environment
PGE 379: Hydraulic Fracture Design and Evaluation
Research
My research currently focuses on production optimization and environmental impact issues related to hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas development. My students and I work on problems of induced seismicity, physical and numerical modelling of hydraulic fracture propagation from horizontal wells, the interaction of hydraulic fractures with natural fractures, shear-enhanced permeability due to deformation in heavy oil reservoirs stimulated by steam injection, modelling production from unconventional gas and oil reservoirs, wellbore stability and reservoir compaction and subsidence. I also continue to do work in quantitative structural geology related to natural fracture characterization.
Awards & Honors
SPE Regional Faculty Award, 2019.
SPE Distinguished Member Award, 2016.
Frank W. Jessen Professor in Petroleum Engineering, 2015–present.
The Lois K. and Richard D. Folger Leadership Chair, 2015–present.
George H. Fancher Professorship in Petroleum Engineering, 2014–2015.
SPE Distinguished Lecturer, 2014–2015 tour.
AAPG Distinguished Lecturer, 2007–2008 tour.
Michel T. Halbouty ’30 Visiting Chair in Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, Fall 2005.
Halliburton Faculty Award, 2000.
Halliburton/Brown & Root Young Faculty Award, 1998.
Anadarko Fellowship #2 in Petroleum Engineering, 1996–2014.
Highlighted Publications and Google Scholar Profile
Lee, HP, Staniewicz, Scott, Chen, Jingyi, Lee, H., Hennings, P., and Olson, Jon E., September 2023, “Subsurface deformation monitoring with inSAR and elastic inversion modeling in west Texas,” Geoenergy Science and Engineering.
Staniewicz, Scott, Chen, Jingyi, Lee, H., Olson, J., Savvadidis, A., Reedy, R., Breton, C. Rathje, E., and Hennings, P., November 2020, “InSAR reveals complex surface deformation patterns over an 80,000 square kilometer oil-producing region in the Permian Basin,” Geophysical Research Letters, 47 (21).
Laubach, S.E., R.H. Lander, L.J. Criscenti, L.M. Anovitz, J.L. Urai, R.M. Pollyea, J.N. Hooker, W. Narr, M.A. Evans, S.N. Kerisit, J.E. Olson, T. Dewers, D. Fisher, R. Bodnar, B. Evans, P. Dove, L.M. Bonnell, M.P. Marder, L. Pyrak‐Nolte, August 2019, “The Role of Chemistry in Fracture Pattern Development and Opportunities to Advance Interpretations of Geological Materials,” Reviews of Geophysics, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000671.
Yue, Kaimin, Lee, Hunjoo P., Olson, Jon E., and Schultz, Richard A., May 2020, “Apparent Fracture Toughness for LEFM Applications in Hydraulic Fracture Modeling,” Engineering Fracture Mechanics, v 230, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.106984.
Wang, W., Wu, K., and Olson, J., January 2019, “Characterization of hydraulic fracture geometry in shale rocks through physical modeling,” International Journal of Fracture, 216 (1), pp. 71–85.
Lee, H., & Olson, J. E., October 2017, “The effect of remote and internal crack stresses on mixed-mode brittle fracture propagation of open cracks under compressive loading,” International Journal of Fracture.
Wu, K., & Olson, J. E., June 2016, “Mechanisms of Simultaneous Hydraulic-Fracture Propagation From Multiple Perforation Clusters in Horizontal Wells,” SPE Journal, doi:10.2118/178925-PA.
Wu, K. and Olson, J.E., June 2015, “A simplified three-dimensional displacement discontinuity method for multiple fracture simulations,” International Journal of Fracture.
Hornbach, M., DeShon, H., Ellsworth, W., Stump, B., Hayward, C., Frohlich, C., Oldham, H., Olson, J., et al., April 2015, “Causal factors for seismicity near Azle, Texas,” Nature Communications, 6:6728 doi: 10.1038/ncomms7728.
Lee, H., Olson, J.E., Holder, J., Gale, J.F.W., and Myers, R.D., Jan. 2015, “The interaction of propagating opening mode fractures with pre-existing discontinuities in shale,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
