Career

In 1926, Walter Link went to work for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey as a junior geologist mapping deposits in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. His work for Standard Oil then took him to Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Ada, Oklahoma

Ada, Oklahoma

Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,008 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the city population was estimated at 17,019....

, and the American Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast of the United States

The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...

. From 1940–1945, Link was Standard Oil's Chief Geologist for much of Latin America, living in San José, Costa Rica

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

 and later Havana, Cuba

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

. Commercial shipping across the Caribbean was hazardous during World War II, making sources of oil closer than Venezuela increasingly desirable.

In 1955 Link returned from semi-retirement when he accepted an invitation to became the leader of an exploration program for the new Brazilian petroleum monopoly, Petrobras

Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...

. This led to the Link's memorandum

Link's memorandum

Link's memorandum is a group of three letters written by American oil geologist Walter K. Link after accepting an invitation to establish an onshore exploration program in 1954, for Petrobras, the Brazilian petroleum monopoly. After having completed his six-year contract, his detailed evaluation...

 summarizing the onshore petroleum potential of Brazil. Link recommended that Petrobras begin offshore exploration. The recommendation was unpopular with both Petrobras and the Brazilian press, but was borne out when after seven years the company took his advice.

Personal life

Link was born in La Porte, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, the ninth of 10 children. In 1924, he graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 with a bachelor’s degree in geology. In 1928, he married a fellow graduate of the UW geology department. They divorced in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

in 1945. They had three children. Walter Link died in 1982.