EERC's John Harju appointed to National Petroleum Council

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has appointed John Harju, associate director for research at the UND Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), to serve as a member of the National Petroleum Council for the 2010-2011 membership term. Harju will represent the views of institutions engaged in energy and environmental technology research.

“I would never have guessed I’d be appointed to this prestigious organization-I am truly honored,” said Harju. “This is a tremendous opportunity for not only the EERC but also the entire state of North Dakota.”

“I am extremely proud that John was chosen to represent the EERC in this capacity,” said EERC Director Gerald Groenewold. “His reputation and expertise in the oil and gas sector, as well as the internationally recognized programs at the EERC, are absolutely unparalleled and inseparable, which will be of great value to the council.”

The National Petroleum Council is a self-funded advisory body to the Secretary of Energy whose members represent all sectors of the oil and gas industries and related interests. Created by President Truman in 1946 to continue industry and government cooperation that began during World War II, the council provides advice, information, and recommendations on matters related to oil and natural gas and the oil and natural gas industries. The council is chaired by Claiborne P. Deming, chairman of the Executive Committee, Murphy Oil Corporation, and David J. O’Reilly, former chairman of the Board and chief executive officer for Chevron Corporation.

In his appointment letter to Harju, Secretary Chu stated that the council’s work during the 2010-2011 term will continue to be important to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the nation. The council will undertake two major studies during the term, including Future Transportation Fuels and Prudent Development of North American Natural Gas and Oil Resources.

The EERC currently has several programs that address those issues, including projects focused on finding alternative water supplies for oil and gas production, projects focused on optimizing completion technologies for Bakken production, and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and sequestration for enhanced oil recovery.

Harju oversees the EERC’s Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, a multiyear, multimillion dollar collaboration of nearly 100 U.S. and Canadian stakeholders that is laying the groundwork for practical and environmentally sound CO2 sequestration projects in the heartland of North America. The PCOR Partnership is one of seven regional partnerships under the DOE Office of Fossil Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program.

As an Associate Director at the EERC, Harju is also responsible for developing and administering energy and environmental programs involving water management and environmental reclamation and building industry-government-academic teams to carry out research, development, demonstration, and commercialization of energy and environmentally related products and technologies. He has a B.S. in Geology from the UND.

For more information about the National Petroleum Council, visit www.npc.org/background.html.

— Derek Walters, Communications and Outreach Manager, 777-5113, dwalters@undeerc.org.