Gaurav Agrawal

Vice President, R&D Newpark Resources

Gaurav Agrawal, PhD, SPE, is the vice chair of the SPE R&D Technical Section. He has organized events in energy transition, AI and digital technologies, and other areas. Previously, he was senior vice president of R&D at Newpark Resources in Houston and vice president of the Saudi Arabia Dhahran Technology Center at Baker Hughes. He has over 85 granted US patents.

Carbon capture and storage

R&D Technical Section Q&A: Enhanced Rock Weathering—The Entrepreneurship Journey to Winning the XPRIZE for Carbon Removal

This article is the fifth in a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this edition, Shantanu Agarwal, founder and CEO of Mati Carbon, discusses how the company’s approach to carbon removal led to winning the Musk Foundation’s XPRIZE in 2025.

November 1, 2025 • Gaurav Agrawal • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

R&D Technical Section Q&A: Drilling Automation—People, Process, and the Rise of Smart Rigs

This article is the fourth in a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this piece, David Reid, the CTO and CMO for NOV, discusses the evolution and current state of automated drilling systems.

September 1, 2025 • Gaurav Agrawal • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

R&D Technical Section Q&A: Why Your Next Big Innovation Might Depend on AI/ML

This article is the third in a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this piece, Zikri Bayraktar, a senior machine learning engineer with SLB’s Software Technology and Innovation Center, discusses the expanding use of artificial intelligence in the upstream sector.

July 1, 2025 • Gaurav Agrawal • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

R&D Technical Section Q&A: Quantum Computing—Are We Ready?

This article is the second in a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this piece, Madhava Syamlal, CEO and founder of QubitSolve, discusses the present and future of quantum computing.

May 1, 2025 • T.S. Ramakrishnan • Journal of Petroleum Technology
SPE News

R&D Technical Section Q&A: Navigating the Path to Net Zero in the Transportation Sector

This article kicks off a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section, focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this piece, Amy Bason of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative highlights decarbonization efforts in global transportation.

March 1, 2025 • Michael Traver • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

Grand Challenges for the Oil and Gas Industry for the Next Decade and Beyond

A decade ago, SPE defined key R&D and technology challenges for the industry. To address the more uncertain environment of the 2020s and beyond, we have updated the grand challenges via a January 2023 SPE workshop.

July 1, 2023 • Thomas Halsey • Journal of Petroleum Technology