Thomas Cronin

I grew up in Knoxville, and really appreciated the natural environment of the area – the lakes, mountains and other outdoor areas made it a great place to live. I enrolled at UT, uncertain of a major, but leaning toward a science.  In my second year, on a whim, I took several Geology classes and was hooked. I specifically remember Dr. McSween’s Petrology class and Dr. Misra’s Economic Geology class as two very influential ‘capstone’ courses that helped me to integrate many geologic concepts. 

After earning a B.A., I continued into the M.S. program. My thesis investigated the petrology and geochemistry of chromite mineralization in metamorphosed ultramafic rocks in North Carolina. I gained an appreciation for the value of a multi-pronged approach to a project, using geochemical, petrographic and structural approaches towards my thesis problem.

I spent 34 years working in the energy (oil & gas) industry, enjoying a wide range of assignments for Gulf, Amoco, Burlington Resources and BP. Most of my projects involved detailed field development, reservoir delineation, production challenges, prospect generation, risk assessment, geologic operations, and 3D modeling.  Other projects were more regionally focused.

I was fortunate to work on and travel to projects around the world, including Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad, SE Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh & China), and parts of onshore U.S.  My favorite assignment lasted 16 years, where I was primarily involved with the planning and drilling of 125+ wells in the Arkoma, Anadarko, and East Texas basins. The opportunity to work with and mentor several dozen new hires were highlights of that post. I thoroughly enjoyed working on multidisciplinary teams with reservoir engineers, land negotiators, economists and drilling/completion engineers.

Now I’m involved in many ‘Volunteer’ projects in the Houston area and beyond. One I’ve really enjoyed is working with local elementary and secondary school teachers to get access to Earth Science teaching materials. I also continue working with both AAPG’s Grants-In-Aid committee and the Critical Minerals Committee, as well as serving on the board of a local private high school and the Houston Chapter of the UT Alumni Association. Most of my time though, is spent with the Houston Food Bank and a neighborhood food pantry helping to deal with food insecurity issues for fellow Houstonians.

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Contact

Email: thomascronin949@yahoo.com

Professional Website: linkedin.com/in/thomas-cronin-89773631/

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Research Interests

Economic Geology // Oil & Gas Field Development; Geology Education

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Education

B.A. 1980 Geological Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville M.S. 1983 Geological Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville