Petroleum++: Role of SPE Members and the Industry in the Energy Transition
Authors: Kamal Medhat M. 
Published: May 2023

As many of you know, SPE recently approved its 2023 Strategic Plan. The theme I chose for my presidency is Petroleum ++. As I explained in previous columns, petroleum refers to our continued work in producing oil and natural gas. The first + refers to our role in mitigating climate change concerns, and the second + is about our role in the energy transition and new forms of energy.

The industry is already at different stages in this transition, and SPE is working to provide guidance and education to our members through many avenues. I want to talk about how these industry changes are affecting our current and future members and how SPE is helping.

We are seeing many oil- and gas-producing and oilfield service companies adjusting to make their businesses sustainable through industry change. Shell’s strategy is “Powering Progress” which names climate change as an urgent challenge and vows it will contribute to a net-zero world. Saudi Aramco is creating value through sustainable business operations saying sustainability factors have become increasingly critical as it aims to balance profitability, environmental protection, and the growth and prosperity of the communities in which it operates. Baker Hughes is “taking energy forward” to make it safer, cleaner, and more efficient for people and the planet, and the newly rebranded SLB is driving energy innovation for a balanced planet. These are just a few of the higher-profile companies making changes in their organizations.

Another important change is academia’s response to the energy transition. Globally, universities are expanding curricula for petroleum engineering students. Many are adding research and courses in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS), hydrogen, geothermal, and mineral processing of coal. Some universities are more closely integrating petroleum engineering, geology, and geophysics courses for beginning students.

Penn State, for example, is offering new courses on carbon sequestration, doing new research on hydrogen, and recently opened a new center in mineral processing of coal residuals. The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) has strongly integrated its petroleum engineering bachelor of science program with the geosciences department (geology and geophysics). A new concentration in energy sustainability will be introduced in the fall of 2023, which will address energy transition and decarbonization, CCUS, and geothermal and hydrogen production and storage.

The University of Texas at Austin (UT) and the Bureau of Economic Geology recently launched a geothermal research consortium called HotRock that will integrate isolated bodies of science and engineering knowledge to broaden and accelerate the scale up of “geothermal power anywhere.” UT launched a new multidisciplinary research and education initiative, Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab, in partnership with Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University to address the growing need for accurate, timely, and clear accounting of greenhouse gas emissions across global oil and natural gas supply chains.

These are just a few examples of how universities are helping to prepare future workers for a more integrated industry.