Jeffrey R. Bailey

Wells Adviser Brunel Energy

Jeffrey Bailey, SPE, is a wells adviser at Brunel Energy, based in Houston. He recently retired from ExxonMobil as principal drilling mechanics engineer after a 32-year career. Bailey is a subject-matter expert in BHA design, drillstring-vibration modeling, and fracture-mapping analysis. He has been active in SPE throughout his career and is a Life Member. Bailey was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and is currently serving on the JPT Editorial Review Board. He was recently selected Chair of the Research and Development Technical Section for the 2025–28 term. Bailey holds undergraduate degrees in physics and economics from Stanford University and graduate degrees in mechanical engineering and technology policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has authored or co‑authored more than 30 SPE papers and 32 US patents.

Drilling

Bits and Bottomhole Assemblies

Our drilling process is punctuated with discontinuous events that can disrupt the operational flow of the perfect well. Three papers have been selected to provide insights into some of these nonstationary processes that cause bit runs to fall short of perfection.

December 1, 2025 • Jeffrey R. Bailey • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Geothermal energy

An SPE Grand Challenge Update on Geothermal Energy

The challenges that geothermal energy faces to become a leading player in the net-zero world are well within the areas of expertise of the SPE community, ranging from rapid technology implementation and learning-by-doing to assure competitiveness to establishing suitable funding mechanisms to secure access to capital.

April 1, 2024 • Jeffrey R. Bailey • 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