April 2006 ISSUE
obituary
Life Member
Dr. Andrew Younger, P.Eng.
A man whose career in Canadian gas processing spanned nearly 60 years has died. Dr. Andrew Younger, P.Eng., was 82 when he passed away Sept. 12.
Dr. Younger was noted for his leadership in technical advancement, business and education. He was involved in some of the most significant achievements in the natural gas business in Canada, according to published accounts. All of it was accomplished with warmth, humour and humility.
The modern history of natural gas processing in Canada parallels Dr. Younger’s career. He built and operated “some of the largest and most technologically advanced processing and transportation facilities on Earth,” says an obituary published in Energy Processing/Canada.
After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Younger earned a PhD in chemical engineering from Purdue University. His career in natural gas processing began with Pacific Petroleum, and in 1957 he became superintendent of the McMahon Plant in Taylor, B.C.
Later, Dr. Younger moved to Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas. Dome Petroleum soon
noticed him, and Dr. Younger played a pivotal role in turning the company into
a natural gas and natural gas liquids empire.
In 1963 Dr. Younger developed and taught Canada’s premier natural gas processing
graduate course. Over three decades more than 3,000 students at the University
of Calgary heard his lectures.
Dr. Younger has chaired the Canadian Gas Processors Association and was also a GPA director. His industry recognized him as the only two-time recipient of the CGPA’s Award of Merit. In 2000 he received the GPA Hanlon Award, which he was particularly proud of.
In the 1980s Dr. Younger worked with the Solex group of companies and the Taylor NGL Limited Partnership. The Taylor plant was renamed the Younger NGL Extraction Plant, after Dr. Younger.