Dr. Omar J. Varela MSPE ’99, PhD ’03
Dr. Omar Varela’s academic background and interests — he holds bachelor's degrees in petroleum engineering and geology — led him to apply to the University of Texas at Austin where he received a full scholarship to pursue an MSPE. He enjoyed the academic and research experience so much that the initial plan changed when he decided to pursue his PhD with Professors Carlos Torres-Verdin and Larry Lake. His academic adventure took him on a journey into reservoir engineering, flow in porous media, optimization and geophysics, on which topics Varela has several publications. He held multiple summer jobs in the oil and gas industry while pursuing his degrees. These jobs supported one of his interests: traveling to nature destinations like the Amazon rainforest and Norwegian fjords.
As a graduate student, Varela held numerous academic- and research-based scholarships, including two UT Austin Presidential Fellowships. His MS thesis was part of Dr. Lake’s SPE Distinguished Lecture Series around the world on “Using Simulation Models to Predict Uncertainty.” Varela’s pioneering PhD work on joint inversion algorithms for the static and dynamic characterization of hydrocarbon reservoirs led him to receive various awards, including a Student Grant from the European Association of Geoscientist and Engineers (EAGE) and the 2003 Best Paper Award from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). He was also recognized with the Dan P. Lowenthal Award for original research contributions. Varela became a lifetime member of the UT Ex-Students Association after his graduation.
Since joining ExxonMobil in 2003, Varela has held multiple positions in numerous areas: reservoir characterization, reservoir simulation, breakthrough projects, and research applications on development/depletion planning and evaluation of assets around the world. Currently, he supervises a team of scientists, software developers and engineers charged with the development of the ExxonMobil reservoir simulator. Varela is also involved in teaching, recruiting and community volunteering programs such as the United Way.
Varela has been continuously involved in professional activities with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). He was vice president of the SPE student chapter during his undergraduate days. He has been part of the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) program committee for many years and in various positions, and has served as technical editor for SPE journals. Currently, he is a member of the SPE Reservoir Description and Dynamics Advisory Committee, associate editor for the SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering Journal, and member of the ATCE Executive Advisory Committee. Varela received SPE’s Editorial Review Committee Award in 2006 and the Peer Apart Award in 2010. He was also recognized by the National Academy of Engineering’s Outstanding Young Engineer Program in 2008.
While attending UT Austin, Varela enjoyed hiking and biking as well as taking nature photographs. He and his family make their home in Houston, Texas, and now look for opportunities to visit Austin.
