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FRED H. POETTMANN
1919-1995
BY LLOYD E. ELKINS, SR.
A TRUE SCIENTIST-ENGINEER, Fred H. Poettmann was elected to
the National Academy of Engineering in 1978. He also had
the qualifications to be considered for membership in the
National Academy of Sciences.
Fred's main attribute throughout his career was the ability
to bring to engineering systems the appropriate mix of scien-
tific facts. He knew how to match engineering systems to the
rigid requirements of plant design or to the highly complex
porosity systems forming underground of! anct gas reservoirs.
Fred realized early in his career that one must ask the right
questions or pay the penalty for making choices leacling
down blind alleys.
The first two phases of his career were in research with major
companies-Phillips Petroleum (1946 to 1955) and Marathon
Oil Company (1955 to 1983) his leadership and research on
oil and gas recovery highlight the technology profile now be-
coming available to the world at large on the Tnternet.
The last phase of Frecl's career was teaching and challenging
graduate students at the Colorado School of Mines in of] and gas
recovery and in refining operations (1983 to 1995~. Upon his
cleath he left a legacy of technology and, through his students, a
legacy of talent to a variety of of! en cl gas resource systems need-
ing special consideration as we move into the next century.
187
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188
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Born on December 20, 1919, in Moers, Germany, Fred came
to the United States with his parents at an early age. He was left
with a walking disability after a childhood bout with polio. But
rather than let this handicap hold him back, he user! his
"recreation time," while his friends took part in athletics, to
advance his interest in scientific and engineering matters. His
academic education began at the Case Institute of Technology,
where in 1942 he earned his B.S. degree in chemical engineering.
He then went on to the University of Michigan, where he
received a master of science degree in 1944 and a doctor of
science degree in 1946, both in chemical engineering.
While earning his doctorate, he was exposed to the many
phase-relation problems prevailing in petroleum processes.
His professor at the University of Michigan advised the Phil-
lips Petroleum Company of Fred's great potential. So upon
graduation in 1946 he joined the Phillips Research Depart-
ment as a manager of hydrocarbon phase research in of] and
gas production. During his nine years at Phillips, Fred demon-
strated to both Phillips en c! the industry at large the need to
incorporate the funclamentals of phase relations in most oil
and gas operations.
In the early 1950s Marathon took steps to join the ranks of
a dozen other major oil and gas companies and create a strong
program in exploration and production research. The compa-
ny built a large research center in Littieton, Colorado, and
wisely chose to build personnel from the top clown, selecting
Fred to fill a key spot in the production research effort. This
was the beginning of a highly productive program in which he
played a major role for twenty-eight years (1955 to 1983~.
It was during this period that the major of] and gas compa-
nies began cleveloping en cl improving technology for
maximizing of! recovery over that achieved by primary and
conventional gas injection ant! water flooding. Their primary
motivation was to perfect performance parameters and trans-
fer the technology to their own company operations. For
example, they sought unique chemical combinations that
would make a process more effective. Many of the patents
filed were defensive in nature. Under Fred's stimulating leaci
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FRED H. POETTMANN
189
ership, Marathon mastered most of the enhanced of! recovery
(EOR) methods offered through the industry's technology-
transfer programs. Marathon obtained a patent on a
microemuIsion MicelIar-Polymer-Flooding System, which was
then trademarked as Maraflood and available under license.
At the same time, a group of EOR systems was being de-
signed and pilot tested. The basic technology and field test
results were documented in the appropriate technical litera-
ture. There were four broad types of systems, all of them
involving phase shifting, interfacial forces mollification, or vis-
cosity adjustments: (~) thermal steam front sweep; and in
situ combustion sweep, (2) improved water flood sweep en c!
displacement efficiency; (3) injection of hydrocarbon fluids
miscible with reservoir oil; and (4) carbon dioxide injection to
swell of! and reduce viscosity and significantly improve water
flood clisplacement and sweep efficiency. In all these systems
the reservoir, after of! recovery, is left full of fluid essentially
water, residual oil, and perhaps some trapped gases.
Fred was involved in several national studies pointing up
the potential of EOR techniques for significantly adding to
U.S. oil reserves. However, two major hurdles had to be cleared
first; the well-definec3 technologies had to be selected and ad-
justed to match individual reservoir systems, and the price of
crude oil had to be adequate for profitability.
While some massive EOR projects are getting by at prices con-
trolled by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(e.g., Prudhoe Bay miscible gas injections), many smaller scale
projects are lingering on the shelf waiting for a sustained world
price increase of 10 to 20 percent. Whether or not Fred sensed
that the aggressive type of research that he had been directing
had accomplished its major objectives, he only knows.
In the early 1980s, the Colorado School of Mines (CSM)
apparently sensed the need to strengthen its petroleum engi-
neering teaching staff. Fred was a natural candidate because
of his vast knowledge and the fact that he lived only a short
drive from the campus. Taking early retirement from Mara-
thon, he joined the CSM staff as a professor in the Petroleum
Engineering Department in 1983.
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190
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
From early in 1984 until late 1994, Fred coauthored with grad-
uate students twenty-six technical papers. Every one of the
students who had the privilege of working with this brilliant man,
whether they realizer! it or not, Earned one great truth: keep
asking the right questions, and with perseverance a defensible
answer can be developed. After formally retiring from CSM in
1990, Fred became an adjunct professor and remained as a part-
time teacher and director of graduate research.
The most straightforward way to reflect on Fred Poett-
mann's total commitment to his profession and on his life of
service is through the many honors en c] awards he received. In
the following list, awards granted in recognition of outstand-
ing overall achievement are indicated with an asterisk.
participated in Department of Energy (DOE) Peer
Review on "EOR using
19S6 Carbon Dioxide" ant! "FOR Heavy Oil Program",
respectively
1987 chairman, Panel on "Reservoir Management" Con-
ference on Research Needs for Hydrocarbon
Fuels, sponsored by DOE
Publications: sixty-four publications forty-six plus U.S.
and foreign patents coauthor or coeditor
of ten books
Professional Societies:
Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) of the American In
stitute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers,
1 946-1 995
director, Denver Section, 1958 to 1962
chairman, Denver Section, 1961
national SPE director, 1966 to 1969
AIME board of directors, 1970 to 1973
vice-president, AIME, 1973
ctistinguished member SPE, 1983
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FRED H. POETTMANN
honorary member AIME, 1985
chairman or member of twenty plus AIME or national
SPE committees over the period 1962 to present
National Academy of Engineering
Chemical/Petroleum Peer Committee, 1980 to 1983
191
member, National Research Council's Commission on
Engineering and Technical Systems Committee on
Innovative Concepts for Energy Conservation, 1984 to
1985
American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1943-1995
Denver Section secretary and treasurer, 1957 board
member, Denver Section, 1962
chairman of joint symposium committee member of
AIChE-SPE, 196Ichairman, National Program Com-
mittee, 1962 fellow, AIChE-1974 member, executive
committee, Toledo Section, 1976 to 1977
American Chemical Society, 1942 to present
member, Petroleum Research Fund Advisory Boarcl, 1963
to1966
American Petroleum Institute, 1955 to 1983
member of Research Committee, 1947 to 1965 Oil Re-
covery Domain Committee, 1947 to 1965 Project 37
"Fundamentals of Hydrocarbon Behavior", late 1940s
Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 1967-1995
appointed by Governor Love to the Research Committee,
1967 to present
appointed by Governor Lamm to the Enhanced Oil
Recovery Committee, 1980 to present
chairman, Research Committee, 1988 to 1991
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192
Honors and Awards:
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Lester C. Uren Award of SPE, 1966
University of Michigan Sesquicentennial Award of
College of Engineering as Outstanding Alumnus, 1967
John Franklin CarI! Award of SPE, 1971
fellow, AIChE, 1974
elected to the National Acacl emy of Engineering, 1978
distinguished member, SPE, 1983
FOR pioneer, SPE/DOE, 1984
honorary member, AIME, 1985
Herbert C. Thober Award for Chemical Engineering,
Toledo Section, AIChE, 1975
Henry Mattson Technical Service Award, Denver SPED
1983
honorary member, SPE, 1985
Halliburton Professional Award in Teaching, 1986
DeGolyer Distinguished Service Meclal of SPE, 1990
Charles F. Rand Memorial Award of AIME, 1992
honorary doctorate from the Mining University of
Leoben, Austria, June 1992
~ Katz Medal of the Gas Processors Association, March 1993
Civic Activities:
South Suburban Metropolitan Recreation and Park
District (elected office-Littl/ton, Coloraclo),chairman,
1966 to 1971
Littleton Press Council, chairman, 1967 to 1971
board member, Hancock Recreation Center (FindIay,
Ohio), 1973 to 1977 chairman, South Suburban
Foundation (Littleton, Colorado), 1980 to 1983
presiclent, Columbine Villas Townhouse Association,
198:1 to 1982
member and president of board, Columbine Villas
Townhouse Association, 1989 to 1992
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FRED H. POETTMANN
193
By all standards, Fred has left to all a legacy of technology
that can lead to maximizing of! and gas recovery worldwide.
This shouIcI be of special significance to interests in North
Arx~erica, where premature abandonment of marginal wells
can make reentry into reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery a
little too costly.
When any engineer accesses the various on-line sources of
information on of] and gas recovery technology, Fred's name
will be a frequent discovery. In fact, a printout of all of his
papers on any specific of] or gas recovery technology would
lead to most of the FOR technology available today.
Fred is survived by his wife, Anna Bell, who was his constant
traveling companion on his innumerable trips to worlclwicle
symposia, conferences, and society meetings. In her special
way, she assisted and supported Fred. She is therefore behind!
the legacy that Fred has left to all of the technologists in tran-
sition into the next century. He is also survived by a son, Phil,
who graduated from Colorado School of Mines, and a daugh-
ter, Trucly, and their families.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
denver section
