Our Team
Our Professionals have degrees and directly applicable experience in: Petroleum Engineering, Geological Engineering, Geophysical Engineering, Geology, Hydrogeology, Environmental Science and Geography.
Highly Qualified Team Members Have Extensive Experience in Subsurface Fluid Flow Related to Industrial, Mining and Hydrocarbon Recovery Sectors.
Dedicated Professionals with Relevant Project Experience Related to Subsurface Injection of Waste Water, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Fluids Related to In-situ Mining Operations.
Ken Cooper, M.S., P.E.
Ken Cooper is one of the managing principals of Petrotek and serves as the Director of Engineering. He holds both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Petroleum Engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology (now the University of Montana School of Mines & Engineering) and is a registered professional engineer in Colorado and numerous other states. Prior to helping found Petrotek in 1993, he gained engineering experience working in the petroleum industry and for petroleum/uranium/injection well consultancies.
Ken has more than 35 years of experience working with all classes of injection wells and specializes in investigating well feasibility, reservoir issues and testing, reservoir simulation, well compliance and permitting, along with optimizing injection well operation and maintenance.
Ken has published and given a variety of talks and short-courses regarding subsurface injection, pressure transient well testing, and the simulation of subsurface fluid flow over the years, provides expert witness testimony regarding well permitting, subsurface resources and injection wells, is a board member of the GWREF and UITC, and has been an active member of both the GWPC (formerly the UIPC) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) since the 1980s.
Ken enjoys engineering consulting as it gives him an opportunity to work with people from all over the country and help solve a variety of problems. Outside of work, Ken likes spending time with his wife, hiking, four-wheeling, an occasional good craft beer, and traveling. He hopes one day to have visited all seven continents
Hal Demuth, M.S.
Hal is one of the managing principals of Petrotek and is a Senior Engineer and Hydrogeologist. He has more than 35 years of applied industry experience, and holds a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and an M.S. degree in Hydrogeology. He is passionate about the application of creative technical and regulatory solutions to assist clients with complex projects. He is a Technical Team Leader for produced water and wastewater management via Class I, Class II and Class V injection wells for oil and gas production across the United States. His drilling and completions experience includes vertical, directional and horizontal wells in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and the continental U.S.
Hal leads the technical team for ISR uranium Class III permitting and operations support for projects in Wyoming, Texas, Nebraska and South Dakota. His ISR uranium experience includes the majority of projects in the US as well as selected projects overseas. His team has also completed groundwater characterization and assessment projects for conventional hard rock mines (silver, lead/zinc, copper) and rare earth element mining projects in the U.S.
Hal has provided expert witness testimony for oil and gas operators and ISR uranium operations related to technical, regulatory and contractual issues in Federal and State Courts. He holds degrees in Petroleum Engineering (B.S.) and Hydrogeology (M.S.).
Hal is the proud husband of Monette and father of 11 children. He and his family reside in the foothills west of Denver. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, hunting and skiing.
Wes Janes, B.S., P.G.
Ken Schlieper, B.S.
Aaron Payne, M.S., P.G.
Adam Simonsen, M.S.
Anthony Pennino, B.S.
Brian Ault, B.S.
Brian Ault is the Senior Technical and Project Manager for Petrotek. He holds a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering from Marietta College in Ohio and has more than 35 years of professional experience. Brian began his career in the oilfield service industry spending five years working for The Western Company of North America. He then spent five years working for Meridian Oil/Burlington Resources in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico/Southern Colorado. He moved to Denver in 1997 and after a one-year engagement with a consulting firm, he started working for Ultra Petroleum. After more than eight years with Ultra; working in permitting, reservoir evaluation, drilling, completions, production and regulatory reporting; helping to guide them to over seven billion dollars of market capitalization, he took early retirement. Retirement did not take and his interest in the industry brought him to Petrotek.
In has various assignments with various oil and gas production companies Brian gained extensive experience, primarily in the areas of well completions and production. Brian’s expertise relates to his vast experience across many disciplines within the oil and gas arena, but primarily in his ability to deliver projects safely, on schedule, on budget, and aligned with business goals.
During his time away from work, Brian enjoys spending time with his five kids and crawling over the rocks around Moab, Utah in his Jeep.
Charles Wilson, B.S.
Connie Walker, M.S.
Connie Walker is a senior geologist with a B.S. degree in geology and an M.S. degree in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. She has over 35 years of experience in the fields of geology, regulatory analysis and compliance, and waste analysis, as well as hazardous, non-hazardous, mixed and radioactive waste characterization, management and disposal. Mrs. Walker served as program director and manager for contracts supporting the US EPA Headquarters Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, and has managed State and regional RCRA, CERCLA, and NEPA contracts. She has performed and managed every aspect of RCRA support from RFAs, RFIs, CMSs, groundwater monitoring/corrective action development to permitting, including preparation of hazardous and non-hazardous treatment, storage, and disposal permit applications, closure, and post closure plans.
She has prepared and reviewed Land Ban Exemption Petition requests for both the UIC and RCRA programs. She has performed the spectrum of permit support activities ranging from permit modification request development and review, permit writing/preparation, permit modification request reviews, expert witness testimony, and permit compliance maintenance.
Most recently, Mrs. Walker prepared permit applications and Land Ban Petitions for commercial clients throughout the country, with emphasis on site geologic feasibility, hydrologic conditions, well design, construction, testing, monitoring, operation, and waste analysis. Mrs. Walker was involved with corrective action rulemaking for EPA Office of Solid Waste and rulemaking for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant waste characterization activities on behalf of the EPA Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. She provides regulatory analysis and training with an emphasis on RCRA and UIC regulations on both a state and federal level.
David Huffington, M.S., G.I.T.
David is a Project Geologist at Petrotek where he applies his industry experience along with knowledge gained by earning both a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering and a M.S. degree in Petroleum Reservoir Systems from the Colorado School of Mines.
David has experience in wireline logging operations, log interpretation and correlation, petrophysical data analysis, seismicity, and general geology. While at Petrotek, David has worked on new permit applications, permit renewals, supervised annual testing, and summarized annual testing activities per regulatory requirements. David has experience in multiple basins including the DJ Basin, Powder River Basin, Williston Basin, and the Michigan Basin. David is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, and the Denver Well Logging Society.
Errol Lawrence, M.S., P.G., C.G.W.P.
Errol Lawrence is a senior hydrogeologist with Petrotek. He has a B.S. in Geology and an M.S. in Engineering Geology with nearly 40 years of experience in the fields of hydrogeology, geology, environmental science, and oil and gas exploration and development. He has extensive experience in the application of analytical and numerical groundwater models in support of hydrologic characterization and assessment for industrial, military, mining and oil and gas related projects. He has performed effectiveness evaluations of remedial alternatives and engineered remedial systems and assessed no migration demonstrations (EPA Land Ban Petitions) with both saturated and unsaturated flow models. Mr. Lawrence has worked on numerous mining permits for uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) facilities, including preparation of permit applications, and permit modifications. He has worked extensively on assessment of hydrologic impacts and remedial actions at former uranium mill sites under UMTRA Title I and Title II regulations. He was lead author in the development of Alternate Concentration Limits for some of those former mill sites. He has supported the US Environmental Protection Agency on multiple assignments, including review of fate and transport models and assessment of chemical transport parameters applied to the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), development of groundwater flow models to assess RCRA facilities, review of Remedial Feasibility Investigation (RFI) Reports, and preparation of RFI/Corrective Measures Studies (CMS) completeness reviews. Mr. Lawrence has developed numerous models supporting permitting of deep well disposal of hazardous wastes and been lead author on geohydrology components of associated State Permit applications and EPA Land Ban Petitions. He has represented clients in public and regulatory meetings and hearings and has provided expert witness testimony. As part of this work, he has reviewed and/or prepared sampling and analysis plans, hydrogeologic reports, waste characterization reports, engineering design documents, and developed waste management practices with respect to disposal of liquid waste.
Errol has a strong understanding of both geologic characterization and how it impacts fluid flow, and is well practiced in the development, application and review of groundwater flow and transport models. He enjoys utilizing his hydrogeologic and numerical modeling expertise for the purposes of characterizing site hydrogeologic conditions, delineating nature and extent and identification of contaminant pathways, evaluating remedial alternatives, assessing effectiveness of remedial designs, and assisting with the design and restoration of projects impacted by site activities.
James Klutho, B.S., P.E.
Jeremiah Demuth, A.A., STS
Jeremiah is an engineering technician and holds an Associate degree from Red Rocks Community College. He has supervised permitting and drilling operations for multiple Class II wells in the DJ Basin. He also works with industrial, ISR, and oil and gas clients to provide site supervision for drilling and workover operations, as well as site safety and annual mechanical integrity testing.
Jeremiah also serves as the corporate health and safety officer for Petrotek and has specific training in the OHSA 1910 standards, Lockout/tagout, Oil and Gas Safety, OSHA 10- hour (general industry) and OSHA 30-hour (General industry), and maintains HAZWOPER (40 hour) certification. Jeremiah lives with his wife and their children in Colorado. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, hunting, and martial arts.