Do you know that feeling when you are so used to something in your daily routine that you’re surprised when somebody else asks you about it? Along the lines of “that’s standard, why would somebody care?”, I’ve come to realize that I’m that way with petroleum engineering education—or just academics in general.
As the Department Head of Petroleum Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, I live and breathe higher education on a daily basis. It’s just part of my DNA at this point. However, it’s finally sunk in that not everybody is as immersed as I am. This realization occurred due to the sizable number of questions I receive from SPE members about higher education, industry/academia relationships, research funding, continuing education, upskilling, etc.
Before I jump into this topic, I will start off with a HUGE disclaimer. Yes, I am an academic, and only the third sitting academician to serve as SPE President. However, that doesn’t mean that I know everything about the state of all educational areas. Especially in a worldwide setting. Therefore, I will share some thoughts that I believe might be of interest to SPE members at a high level based on the questions that I am generally asked on this topic, but if you want to dig into some details on a particular region or situation, I encourage you to reach out to local expertise in that area.
Oh, and one last point before we jump in: this column is my first after the SPE Board of Directors’ January meeting. If you are interested in updates from that meeting, they are the last part of this article (feel free to jump ahead).
The Big Picture of Engineering
By far not all members of SPE are engineers, but no matter what your background, as citizens of the world, this first topic impacts us all.
Multiple studies conducted over the past several years show that many parts of the world are headed for workforce gaps in engineering disciplines. This study published in 2023 by Stonehaven out of the UK indicated that 20% of their engineering workforce was set to retire by 2028, and the backfill for those positions was nowhere near enough to meet projected demand. A study by the Boston Consulting Group, also published in 2023, states that the US needs about 400,000 new engineers each year, but that only 1 in 3 of those positions is being filled. Japan, Germany, and many other countries are seeing similar gaps in supply and demand.
Not all countries in the world are in similar situations. In some places and in some engineering disciplines, supply does outrun demand. Additionally, some governments have been strongly focused on increasing their engineering education base. Throw in the overprint of economic pressures, and some studies that suggest the world has enough engineers or perhaps too many. So, what’s the disconnect here?
If we start to peel back the onion, this paradox does get a little clearer. Generally speaking, the skills gap is largest where demand exists for skilled engineers with very specific areas of expertise. In other words, “engineer” is too generic of a term, and we need to look at discipline-specific areas.
Just as not all SPE members are engineers, neither are all SPE members petroleum engineers. To demonstrate how specific disciplines can have their own trends, consider Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 shows the total number of BS degrees awarded since 1956, with 2026 projections, collected by Lloyd Heinze and Talal Gamadi for the Petroleum Engineering Department Heads Association (PEDHA). While not all petroleum engineering programs are members of PEDHA, and programs do come and go over time, the current overall trend of degrees being awarded in petroleum engineering is clear and is greatly affected by oil prices.
While you’re looking at Fig. 1, consider the two humps in the overall trend. Those in the 1975–1990 cohort are now in the retirement window, while many in the 2006–2020 range have left the industry during recent downturns. While industry consolidation, impacts of artificial intelligence, and other factors will affect the number of overall engineers needed in the industry, many indicators point to a shortage of engineers entering the industry—exactly at a time when the world is going to need as much energy as we can possibly supply.
Then there is the supply side of the equation. While engineering is typically an admired profession, many young people do not consider it as a career option. The Stonehaven survey indicated that those in Generation Z (born late 1990s to early 2010s) are the most reluctant to consider a career in engineering, with 30% saying they would not choose it. Around a third thought that the sector was too male-dominated and that engineering involved too much math and science for their interest levels. Another study indicated that many young people (and their parents) see engineering as a difficult, highly technical, or even dull (ouch!) profession.
SPE’s Role in Education
SPE and its members have a significant role to play in the future workforce of our industry. Supporting the Energy4me program is one way that our members can spread the word about the importance of energy while also showcasing how careers in energy can be exciting and beneficial to the world. The Energy4me materials are targeted to K–12 students, as well as teachers and the general public, to provide unbiased information on all types of energy.
SPE is also involved in higher education via the Education and Accreditation Committee (EAC), which assesses petroleum engineering degree programs to ensure their curricula stay aligned with industry needs. The EAC represents SPE in accreditation matters through its interactions with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The EAC also occasionally conducts surveys of SPE membership to help determine the industry’s needs such as the one outlined in this 2023 JPT article on the energy mix of the future.
Additionally, SPE provides publishing and discussion routes for members and academic institutions to stay abreast of petroleum engineering topics from around the world. It has done so for quite some time—the first paper on petroleum engineering education in Onepetro was published in 1937 by H.H. Power. The first SPE Colloquium on Petroleum Engineering Education was held in 1991, with the most recent being held in 2024 in partnership with PEDHA. These colloquiums provide opportunities for academic and industry representatives to come together and discuss the current state of petroleum engineering education, where gaps may exist, and how programs can improve their offerings.
Upskilling Opportunities
SPE’s involvement in education does not stop at the “formal” aspects of university programs—not by a longshot. Part of SPE’s Mission is to “advance … technical and professional competence ….” It does so by providing its members numerous opportunities to further their education and upskill their technical capabilities.
SPE Energy Stream provides an expansive digital library covering topics of interest to SPE membership. The Energy Stream portfolio includes both live and on-demand webinars (free to members!) across a wide range of both technical and career development topics. Many of these webinars are curated by SPE Technical Sections to address timely technical topics. Additionally, there is an SPE Distinguished Lecturer (DL) series, where you can tap into DLs that might not have visited your local section in person. Educational videos—including oral histories of SPE and AIME members, PetroTalks, member interviews, and various podcasts, to name a few—are also available. I’ll also point out that these videos feature an AI-powered, real-time translation service that instantly translates into more than 190 languages, supporting inclusive learning.
I honestly think that the SPE Energy Stream is a goldmine that many members don’t realize is part of their membership, and I encourage you to take advantage of it. It’s more valuable than watching cat videos on YouTube and comes with a lot more CEU and PDH credits!
While SPE has moved away from in-person training, it still offers Online Training Courses available to both members and nonmembers for a fee. You can find out more about the training courses with this introductory video that describes the options. Many of the full courses cover the cost of an SPE membership through the difference between member and nonmember fees—another benefit of SPE membership.
While not an upskilling program itself, the competency matrices published by SPE can help members gauge their personal skills and identify any gaps. These matrices can then guide members on where to focus their time and effort in their own personal upskilling efforts.
I’ll end this section with two final thoughts. First, while these educational and upskilling opportunities benefit individual SPE members, they are equally valuable to employers. If you are an administrator wondering whether SPE membership is beneficial for your employees, explore these benefits your employees can access and consider how a more up-to-date workforce can help your company. Second, while SPE provides all opportunities, it is still up to you as a member to take advantage of them. As I tell my students who like to skip class, you are still paying tuition whether you show up or not. Don’t let these extensive opportunities provided with your SPE membership go to waste!
Highlights of the January 2026 Board Meeting
The SPE Board of Directors held its first meeting of the calendar year on 30 January–1 February, and I wanted to end this article by providing you with a few updates. Please keep in mind that more-detailed summary slides for the official Board of Directors meetings are always provided on this website.
The items below are listed in no particular order:
- With the impending sale of the Richardson building, the Board approved a formal address change for SPE from 222 Palisades Creek Drive, Richardson, Texas, to 10777 Westheimer Road, Suite 1075, Houston, Texas.
- A new SPE Event Portfolio Management Policy was approved.
- In the future, all technical paper authors will be required to use a third-party AI pre-check tool prior to manuscript submission that will check for certain paper-quality components and completeness.
- The SPE International Conference on Oilfield Chemistry and SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference were approved to be held in 2028 (rather than 2027) to be aligned in years opposite to the holding of ATCE in the US (ATCE will take place in Dubai in 2028).
- Sunsetting of the Section Rebates program was approved with a new replacement grant program to be implemented that will result in flat rates being returned to qualified and requesting Sections with membership of less than 1,000.
- A new student dues structure was approved and will be implemented starting in calendar year 2027.
- Based on recommendations from the Distinguished Lecturer Standing Committee, the DL program will be reduced from 27 DLs in the 2026–2027 season to approximately 20–22 DLs in the 2027–2028 season. The total number of lectures will not decrease, and eligible Sections will still receive two lectures per year. The recommended change will allow selected DLs to provide more lectures while optimizing travel to result in approximately 20% cost savings for the program.
- The SPE Northern Iraq Section was approved to be renamed the SPE Kurdistan Region-Iraq Section.
- The SPE Hassi Messaoud Section was approved to be renamed the SPE Algeria Section.
- SPE’s new strategic plan efforts will be administered by the firm Leading Associations, with data acquisition to begin this month.
You can contact the SPE President at President@spe.org.
