PropTester®, Inc. Team Profile

Earl R. Freeman
President and CEO
BS (Major: Biology, Minor: Chemistry)
University of Texas at Arlington – 1974

Mr. Freeman has 33 years of experience in the oilfield service & supply sector in the areas of research, product development, engineering, operations, sales, and management.

Prior to joining PropTester^®, Inc., Mr. Freeman was Sales & Marketing Manager, Oilfield Technology Group, Borden Chemical, Inc (BCI). Mr. Freeman became a Borden associate in 1995 and was responsible for sales in North America and International markets during his tenure. Mr. Freeman began his career with the Western Company of North America (WCNA) in the late 1970s, spent 15 years with BJ Services (BJS), and a total of 9 years with BCI. Notably, while at the WCNA, Mr. Freeman assembled a proppant testing laboratory, which contributed to the eventual development of API recommended practices (e.g. API RP 56).

Mr. Freeman earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA), and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association (PBPA). Mr. Freeman was elected to SPE distinguished membership in 2004 after nearly three decades of service to the petroleum industry, the SPE organization, and its governing body, the SPE International board of directors.

Mr. Freeman is an author of several SPE papers on fracturing & cementing and two United States patents on well stimulation methods. He also serves on the Technical Advisory Board of the Energy Literacy Project based in Golden, Colorado.

Allan R. Rickards
Director of Technology
Bachelors in Chemistry with a minor in Biology and Psychology
University of Texas at Arlington – 1981

Mr. Rickards has 28 years experience in oilfield fracturing fluid research and development that include 10+ years in fracture proppant conductivity and regain conductivity testing, test design and machine construction. Allan is a member of the ISO/TC 67/SC 3 WG3 (TC technical committee; SC subcommittee; WG work group); 13503-2 Procedures for measuring properties of proppants used in hydraulic fracturing and gravel packing; and 13305-5 Procedures for measuring the long-term conductivity of proppants. He is the author and co-author on 19 SPE papers.

Mr. Rickards began as a Laboratory Technician with BJ Services in Arlington, Texas. When he graduated from UTA he was promoted to Chemist, then Field Engineer, then District Engineer of South Texas. In 1987 he transferred to Perryton as District Engineer for BJ in the Texas Panhandle where he spent the next 3 years. In 1990 Mr. Rickards returned to BJ’s research center at Tomball, Texas as a Sr. Research Engineer and later as a Research Scientist. He was awarded United States patent 6,059,034 and 6,330,916 B1 for “Formation Treatment Method Using Deformable Particles”. Mr. Rickards is also co-inventor on 13 other patents which include US patent 5,247,995 “Enzyme Complex used for Dissolving Organic Filtercake Obtained from Polysaccharide Based Fluids in Production Operations and Completions of Oil and Gas Wells”, US patent 6,364,018 “Lightweight Methods and Compositions for Well Treating”, US patent 6,772,838 “Lightweight Particulate Materials and Uses Therefore”. Mr. Rickards joined PropTester®, Inc. in October 2006 and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute.

Ian J. Renkes
Manager – Laboratory &Technical Services
B.S. Chemical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics, Polymers, and Engineering Materials
Texas Tech University – 2011
Engineer in Training - 2011

Mr. Renkes has 5 years’ experience working in the oil and gas industry.  His work experience includes resin research, new product development, engineering, field services, new procedure development, and quality management.  In his current responsibilities at PropTester, Mr. Renkes oversees the properties testing lab and the conductivity testing lab for proppants and fluids.

Mr. Renkes earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering Cum Laude at Texas Tech University.  While there, he was an active member in the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He is currently a member of both SPE and AIChE and he sits on the ISO 13503-2 Technical Committee Procedures for measuring properties of proppants used in hydraulic fracturing and gravel packing and ISO 13503-5 Technical Committee Procedures for measuring the long-term conductivity of proppants.