Ekwere Johnson Peters, SPE Distinguished Member, died 17 March 2025. He was 77 years old. He was a petroleum and chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas until his retirement in 2011.
Peters was widely respected for his contributions to flow through porous media and petrophysics. He published more than 70 research papers and was instrumental in pioneering the application of computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging technologies for improved oil recovery and environmental remediation. He authored three widely respected books on advanced petrophysics, and his three-volume set of textbooks, based on decades of research, remains a reference for professionals and students alike.
Peters began teaching at The University of Texas in 1981 where he held prestigious academic positions, including the Frank W. Jessen Endowed Professorship and the George H. Fancher Jr. Endowed Professorship in Petroleum Engineering. His courses included drilling and well completions, production technology, and pressure transient analysis.
He received awards including the 1999 SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering Faculty, and in 2005 he became an SPE Distinguished Member. He also received teaching awards including the 1984 Texas Excellence Teaching Award, Petroleum Engineering Teaching Excellence Award (1987, 1992, 2010), Petroleum Engineering Faculty Leadership Award (1985, 1988, 1996), and the Cockrell School Engineering Foundation Faculty Excellence Award (1981, 1989, 1998).
An SPE member since 1974, he served as the faculty sponsor of the SPE Balcones Student Chapter (1982–1983) and the SPE Austin Student Chapter (1988–1989). He was a member of the Reservoir Monitoring and Testing Technical Committee (1983–1984) and the SPE Fluid Mechanics and Oil Recovery Technical Committee (1985–1986) and served as the chairperson of the SPE Fluid Mechanics & Oil Recovery Technical Committee (1986–1987). Peters was an SPE technical reviewer in 1985–1993, a member of the SPE Cultural Diversity Committee (1993–1996), SPE Austin Section officer (1997–1999), SPE The University of Texas at Austin Chapter Department Head (2000–2002), and SPE The University of Texas at Austin Chapter Faculty Sponsor (2002–2003).
He held a PhD in petroleum engineering from the University of Alberta.