John F. Riordan, a well-known figure in the natural gas industry, died in Chicago on Aug. 7 after a short illness

Pipeline & Gas Journal, Sept, 2008

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John F. Riordan, a well-known figure in the natural gas industry, died in Chicago on Aug. 7 after a short illness. He was 72.

Mr. Riordan was the president and CEO of Gas Technology Institute (GTI)

for five years, retiring on Dec. 31, 2005. During his tenure, he directed the merger of Gas Research Institute and the Institute of Gas Technology into GTI and was credited for helping secure a successful future for the restructured research organization.

At GTI Mr. Riordan directed programs for developing and commercializing natural gas-related technologies, products and services. Under his leadership, GTI added new facilities, enhanced research capabilities, expanded the customer base, improved customer satisfaction levels, and helped the natural gas industry develop new collaborative mechanisms for funding needed research. A major focus of Mr. Riordan's efforts at GTI was communicating the need for ongoing support of energy R&D. Those efforts paid off when the 2005 Energy Bill was passed, incorporating a royalty trust fund to pay for natural gas supply research and development.

Mr. Riordan had more than 40 years of experience in the energy, natural gas and chemicals industries. From 1988 to 2008 he held several senior positions with MidCon Corp. serving as president and CEO of MidCon; as chairman, president and CEO of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America and as a member of the Board of Occidental Petroleum Corp. Mr. Riordan served as President of Oxy NGL from 1986 to 1988 following a distinguished 12 year career with OxyChem.