Dr. Joe Smith has 35 years’ experience in leading, performing, and communicating the results of studies of the effects of offshore oil and gas operations on the marine environment, with a particular emphasis on studies carried out to address regulatory concerns. He has expertise on the environmental aspects of marine discharges of drilling and production wastes, seawater usage by offshore facilities, the decommissioning of offshore facilities, and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) associated with oil and gas operations.  

Offshore Oil & Gas Industry

Research Communication

Previous Experience

Dr. Smith has led joint industry environmental studies sponsored by organizations such as the Offshore Operators Committee, the American Petroleum Institute, and the International Organization of Oil and Gas Producers. He served on the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement Outer Continental Shelf Scientific Committee from 2003 to 2011. In recognition of his contributions to the offshore industry, the Offshore Operators Committee made him its first Lifetime Member in 2015.

Professional Background

Marine Ventures International Inc., Senior Consultant | Current

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Technical Staff | 35 years

Education

Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1978

B.S., Chemistry, University of Rochester, 1972

Muller-Karger, F.E., J.P. Smith, S. Werner, R. Chen, M. Roffer, Y. Liu, B. Muhling, D. Lindo-Atichati, J. Lamkin, S. Cerdeira-Estrada, and D.B. Enfield. 2014. Natural variability of surface oceanographic conditions in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Progress in Oceanography 134: 54–76

Smith, J.P., M.G. Brandsma, and T.J. Nedwed. 2004. Field Verification of the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) Mud and Produced Water Discharge Model. Environmental Modeling and Software" 19: 739-750.

Brandsma, M.G., J.P. Smith, J.E. O'Reilly, R.C. Ayers, Jr., and A.L. Holmquist. 1992. Modeling Offshore Discharges of Produced Water, pp 59-71. In: J.P. Ray and R. Englehardt (eds). Produced Water: Technological/Environmental Issues and Solutions, Plenum Press, NY.

Smith, J.P., M.A. Francisco, and P.J. Houser. 1988.  Wetting and Chemical Interactions Between Crude-Oil Components and Berea Sandstone. J. Energy and Fuels, (1988) 3: 299-303.

Smith, J.P., S. Lefkowitz, and A.D. Trifunac. 1982. Observations of Short Lived Radical Ion Pairs in Pulse Radiolysis of Alkane Solutions by Time Resolved Fluorescence Detected Magnetic Resonance. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectra of Alkane Radical Cations. J. Phys. Chem. (1982) 86, 4347-4351.