The University of Tulsa's Petroleum Engineering Department

Roy H. Koerner, a SPE Distinguished Member and 1995 SPE President, retired from Texaco Exploration Inc. during 1996 in Denver, Colorado. Koerner, an Eagle Boy Scout, grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Tulsa in 1958, he joined Texaco as a field engineer in Electra, Texas. Koerner held several engineering posts in Texas and Louisiana and earned his Master of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 1968.

Koerner was appointed Division Petroleum Engineer at Denver in 1973. In 1976 he served in Texaco’s Strategic Planning Department at Corporate Headquarters in New York. Subsequently, in 1981, Koerner was named Assistant to the General Manager in Houston and there followed several Producing management positions in Houston and Midland, Texas. In 1989 he was named Division Manager of Joint Interest Operations in Denver.

Koerner has held many SPE positions since joining as a student member in 1957. He was Section Chairman in Midland and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1989. He began his three-year officer term as President-Elect in 1993. He became President of AIME in 1998 and also served as a Vice President of the SPE Foundation. Currently, he is assisting the SPE Foundation to raise five million dollars for the SPE.org project by chairing an effort to create a CD/Video and brochure for the solicitation effort. He was inducted into the University of Tulsa College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Hall of Fame in 1995. Koerner has been a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the University of Tulsa Petroleum Engineering Department for several years. Koerner has been involved in community affairs including serving six years as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Samaritan Institute, a pastoral, psychological and medical counseling organization headquartered in Denver. He presently serves that organization as Secretary of the Foundation Board. He is presently Chairman of the Board of the Colorado Ethics in Business Awards, an organization that annually honors businesses that exemplify ethical business practices in the workplace and promotes educational activities regarding business ethics. He has written several papers on the subject published by JPT, Harts E&P and Petrotecnia (Argentina). He is active in his Church and presently serves on the Session as an active Elder.

Currently, Koerner and his wife MaryAnn are studying to become Commissioned Lay Pastors in the Presbyterian Church.

Koerner’s hobbies are golf, skiing, fly-fishing, reading and he is a Jazz aficionado. He now resides with his wife near Denver, Colorado. They have three grown sons and two are Petroleum Engineers. They also have two young grandsons located in California and one granddaughter in Houston.

Roy in His Own Words

Why did you choose TU?

Basically for three reasons. First, I had wanted to become an Engineer since Junior High School days. My Dad was an aircraft mechanic so I naturally thought of being a Mechanical Engineer or perhaps an Aeronautical Engineer. However, when it came time to decide, my Dad said..."Have you considered Petroleum Engineering? After all you live in the 'Oil Capital of the World' (in those days Tulsa was indeed so known) and TU must have the finest Petroleum Engineering school available." Second, was economics. I could afford to attend a private University and live at home cheaper than leaving town for a remote school. Besides, in those days virtually every major oil company and many many independent producers and service companies had offices in Tulsa which enhanced the prospect of finding summer, as well as permanent employment. The third reason was because my best friend and I wanted to stay in school together and he had similar economic circumstances. As it turned out, it was the best decision I could have made.

Experiences at TU?

My first impression was of the diversity of students especially in Petroleum Engineering. I found campus life fascinating but requiring a lot of hard work. The early days were uneasily balanced between a need to earn money, keep up grades and have some social life. But it became more exciting when more and more classes were in Petroleum Engineering. In those days we took more hours in Chemistry than PE and they didn't really start until the Junior year. I was one of the first to take Reservoir Engineering from a new Department head fresh from Texas A&M with a new PhD by the name of Dr. Erasmus Guerrero. He was an absolute delight with a great sense of humor. He was a little disorganized at first but that didn't last long. It was a privilege to be his student. I took Band because I could get a scholarship and became Drum Major for the TU Marching Band for two years. However, lab courses began to eat into practice time so that had to be abandoned. All in all, my life a TU was one of many fond memories. It was there I met my future wife, MaryAnn, and we have been partners for 45 years.

Fond Memories?

The company of good friends studying together and having an occasional beer. The crazy times during St. Pat's day when the Engineers Club would steal the KA cannon (I was a KA and had mixed emotions about the theft!) and then shoot blanks from the "U" drive at the Business School. The friendliness of the PE instructors that earnestly wanted to teach and support the students. The scrambling for getting approval of "Pre-lab" reports required to conduct experiments for Dr. Gardner's P-Chem lab (well, maybe not so fond a memory!). The pride of attending an excellent University with one of, if not the best, P.E. schools in the world. I still feel that pride to this day. GO TU!