Chemical engineer played important role in oil sands development

Sarnia’s Clem Bowman has been named to the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame.

Bowman, a former head of the Imperial Oil research department in Sarnia and also the founding chairperson of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, is one of six new inductees to the Alberta-based hall of fame.

The more than 140 honorees named to the hall since it was established in 1997 have their pictures displayed at the Leduc #1 Energy Discovery Centre in Devon, Alberta.

This year’s class will be inducted Sept. 26 at a dinner in Calgary.

“I had not expected this,” Bowman said.

Born in Toronto, he graduated from university in chemical engineering and later completed his PhD.

His long career included several posts with Imperial Oil in Sarnia, including 1984 when he was named vice-president of research for Esso Petroleum Canada.

Bowman also spent 20 years working in Alberta, including time as president of the Alberta Research Council.

During Bowman’s time heading the province’s research authority, it established joint projects with major international petroleum companies to recover bitumen from deeply buried tar sand deposits.

In 2008, Bowman shared the $1.2-million Global Energy International Prize with two Russian scientists. He was selected for his ground-breaking work in the development of technologies from extracting oil from oil shale and oil sands.

Bowman’s also a member of the Order of Canada.

“I’ve been around for a long time,” Bowman said.

He added being named to the hall of fame has made him think of all those he has worked with over the years.

“There’s a sisterhood and brotherhood of people who have been working in energy in Canada for a long time,” he said. “And, many of them have been recognized in this hall of fame.”

Bowman retired back in Sarnia, but has remained active, including with the Bowman Centre for Technology Commercialization at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.

“I’m in my sixth or seventh retirement,” he said.

“The work I’ve been doing recently with the Canadian Academy of Engineering, trying to chart out some energy pathways for Canada, has really interested me and made me realize the opportunity that Canada has to be a world leader,” Bowman said.

Most recently, he was one of the organizers of a national conference held in Sarnia-Lambton to make the case for upgrading more oil sands bitumen in Canada in general, and Chemical Valley in particular.

“I think Sarnia-Lambton has a role to play in this, the same kind of role we played back in 1865 when our pioneers discovered oil in this area,” Bowman said.

Past inductees to the hall of fame include Sarnia-Lambton oil pioneers Henry and Charles Tripp, James Miller Williams and John Henry Fairbank, as well as current Lambton oil producer Charles Fairbank.

paul.morden@sunmedia.ca