Pinar Oya Yilmaz

Pinar Oya Yilmaz is a geologist known for her work in the oil and gas industry.

Education and career Pinar Oya Yilmaz was born in Izmir, Turkey. After obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Geology from Hamilton College in 1976, she received her master's degree from Bryn Mawr College, in which she chose the Taurus Mountains in Turkey as her field of work in 1977. She then earned her Ph.D. at the University of Texas in 1978-1981. She began working for Mobil Oil in 1980 and completed her Ph.D. a year later.

For Yilmaz’s first well site work with Mobil Oil, she was placed offshore of the Cook Inlet, Alaska, United States. In a 2018 interview Yilmaz shared some of the challenges she faced while working as a woman in the oil and gas industry.

She was elected from the America Association of Petroleum Geologists and currently serves as Chairman of the 2024 International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Selected publications Yilmaz, P. O. (1988). Tectonic Framework of Turkish Sedimentary Basins: ABSTRACT. AAPG Bulletin, 72. Norton, I. O., Yilmaz, P. O. (1995). Mesozoic to Cenozoic Paleogeography and Tectonics of the Apulian Platform: Abstract. AAPG Bulletin, 79. .

Awards and honors

In 2000 the American Association of Petroleum Geologists awarded Yilmaz with their Distinguished Service Award. ExxonMobil presented her with the President’s Award in 2008. In 2020 the Geological Society of America presented Yilmaz with their International Distinguished Career Award. She was recognized as an Energy Trailblazer by the Leadership Excellence for Women Awards & Symposium in 2020 (LEWAS). In 2021 Yilmaz was given the ElaPorElas Leadership Award by the Association of Brazilian Petroleum Geologists for her contributions to workplace gender equality.