Project InnerSpace, a research organisation committed to the acceleration of geothermal energy globally, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the member organisation for oil and gas professionals, today announced a new partnership to bring subsurface oil and gas expertise and engineering rigour to the advancement of geothermal energy
InnerSpace provided support for the partnership with a $100,000 grant to calayse geothermal as a focus across SPE’s core technical disciplines, building on SPE's identification of geothermal as one of its five technical "Grand Challenges." It will support initiatives that can sustain and grow over the coming years within SPE, with the aim of leveraging the technical expertise of the oil and gas industry for the development of geothermal.
The initiative focuses on two key areas:
- A Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT) geothermal technical supplement, a print publication featuring SPE articles on the technical and operational synergies between oil and gas expertise and geothermal, based on real field applications that show know-how already transferring between the two industries.
- Geothermal-focused technical activities across six core disciplines — Drilling, Completions, Data Science, Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability (HSES), Production and Facilities, and Reservoir Engineering. They will include discipline-specific geothermal initiatives that engage professionals and student members and build cross-disciplinary ownership of geothermal inside SPE.
SPE and InnerSpace are also working together to develop the Geothermal Resources Management System (GRMS), a standardised resource and reserves classification framework for geothermal modelled on SPE's Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS).
"The oil and gas industry, with its highly skilled workforce and technological advancements that rival those in space exploration, is poised to lead the way in developing this abundant and undervalued resource beneath us," said Jamie Beard, Founder and executive director of Project InnerSpace. "We are proud to partner with SPE to tackle remaining challenges to industry-wide engagement."
"SPE's mission is to connect technical professionals to advance the safe, responsible, and sustainable development of oil and gas and related energy resources. We are grateful for Project InnerSpace's support and partnership in helping create new opportunities for our members to apply their expertise, collaborate across disciplines, and accelerate the growth of geothermal," said Simon Seaton, chief executive officer of SPE.
The partnership positions InnerSpace and SPE as leaders in connecting oil and gas expertise to the advancement of geothermal energy, giving operators concrete technical guidance grounded in disciplines they already know, and strengthening ties between industry, academia, and technology providers.