Fonds F2982 - Robert V. Welch fonds

Robert V. “Bob” Welch was born in Toronto, Ontario. He received a B.Sc. in organic chemistry from the University of Toronto, but began his professional career as a metallurgist. From 1936 to 1950 he worked for the Standard Oil group in Colombia. He became a drilling engineer and eventually manager of Colombian operations. He transferred to Devon, Alberta in 1950, working as Field Superintendent for Imperial Oil there. In 1956 he moved to Calgary where he became the manager of the Gas Department of Imperial. He developed expertise in separating gases from petroleum and natural gas. In 1973 he became general manager of Alberta Helium Ltd., a firm set up by the Alberta Research Council to develop viable methods of extracting helium.