Neal B. Nagel, Ph.D.
Dr. Neal Nagel, who is currently Chief Engineer and Principal at OilField Geomechanics LLC, has more than 35 years of industry experience, having been a University professor for three years, having worked with ConocoPhillips for 20 years as a world-wide geomechanics specialist in areas such as compaction/subsidence, drilling and completions geomechanics and cuttings reinjection, and having worked with Itasca Houston where he was Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering for 5 years. Since 2014, Nagel has been Chief Engineer at OilField Geomechanics.
Dr. Nagel has taught extensively throughout his career as well as given many invited presentations – including serving as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2004 and again in 2016. Among other industry activities, he was the chief editor of the SPE Monograph on Solids Injection and is the immediate past-chairman of the SPE Geomechanics Technical Section having stepped down in 2021.
Dr. Nagel’s recent work has focused on the geomechanics of unconventional plays, particularly the geomechanical issues around completion optimization (hydraulic fracturing) in naturally fractured shale formations. In addition, he has investigated solution mining/salt cavern geomechanical behavior and modeling as well as the causes of earthquake activity associated with salt water injection. He has authored or coauthored more than 55 technical papers, with more than 20 of these addressing the geomechanics of unconventional plays. Throughout his career, Nagel has given numerous SPE, ARMA, AAPG, SEG, SPWLA and PTTC invited presentations.
Dr. Nagel has also been active in professional organizations having served in multiple positions within SPE (most recently the Chair of Geomechanics Technical Section) and ARMA (most recently as the 2018 ARMA Conference Petroleum Track Co-Lead). Dr. Nagel, along with Dr. Sanchez-Nagel, is also affiliated with the Petroleum Engineering program at Universidad Surcolombiana.
Marisela Sanchez-Nagel, Ph.D.
Dr. Marisela Sanchez-Nagel, who is currently the President of OilField Geomechanics LLC, has more than 25 years of industry experience, having worked with PDVSA, the Venezuelan national oil company, for 15 years as a geomechanics specialist in areas such as reservoir and drilling geomechanics, having worked for GMI, and having opened the Itasca Houston office and serving as President and GM for 7 years. Since 2014, Dr. Sanchez-Nagel has been President of OilField Geomechanics.
Among her many industry activities, Dr. Sanchez-Nagel was recently recognized as an SPE Distinguished Member, served as an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2013, served on the program committee for the SPE Applied Geomechanics in the E&P Industry workshop, was co-editor of the recent publication “Women in Hydraulic Fracturing” and is a past Director for the SPE Geomchanics Technical Section; was on the 2014 Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering conference (LACPEC) program committee; and was a member of the ARMA Future Leaders program and currently serves on the board of the ARMA Foundation and 2021 ARMA Conference program committee,
Dr. Sanchez-Nagel has taught numerous courses throughout her career, often in Spanish and most often with her husband, Dr. Neal Nagel. Her training focus has been on geomechanics fundamentals, laboratory testing, and the acquisition of the geomechanical parameters for rock fabric.
