FEBRUARY 2026 • VOL. 78, NO. 2
View the issue page for February 2026 JPT here
Features
President’s Column: Energizing Tomorrow: SPE's Scholarly Publishing
From JPT to SPE Journal, OnePetro to technical guidance documents, SPE’s publishing portfolio is broader and more dynamic than many members may realize. In this column, I unpack the Society’s current publication options, explore how AI and open access are reshaping scholarly publishing, and share what SPE is doing to strengthen paper quality, transparency, and impact in an evolving digital landscape.
Texas Explores Beneficial Reuse as Produced-Water Flows Top 24 Million B/D
Ongoing seismicity concerns and orphan well risks are pushing operators and regulators to explore alternatives for managing produced water.
Guest Editorial: Shale to Silicon—Where Oil and Gas Fits Into the Fifth Industrial Revolution
This guest editorial explores the rise of agentic AI and its potential impact on oil and gas professionals.
Emissions Big Picture: Metering Closes the Accuracy Gap
Monitoring at ground is helping the industry shift from best estimates to hard data so it can bring into focus the true emissions profile.
Something New, Something Old: Australia’s Greenfield LNG Projects Grow Capacity While Depleted Wells Drive Decommissioning
Despite a 2.8% drop in LNG exports in 2025 due to lost market share in China, Australia anticipates a 2026 rebound as new North West Shelf capacity comes online. Meanwhile, east coast operators brace for a tsunami of wells entering the decommissioning pipeline and potential energy shortfalls necessitating LNG imports.
Case Study: Reducing OPEX and Boosting Production in Oman Heavy-Oil Fields With Downhole Spring-Loaded Valve Technology
To overcome operational constraints tied to ball-and-seat valves, an operator tested a spring-loaded alternative downhole.
E&P Notes
Updates about global exploration and production activities and developments.
Technology Focus Synopses
Drilling Automation and Innovation
Marc Willerth, Research and Innovation Manager, Helmerich & Payne
Autonomous Directional Drilling and Geosteering Enhances Real-Time Decision-Making
Integration of Physics Models and ML Algorithms Enhances Automated Sliding Performance
Level 3 Automation Achieved in Rotary-Steerable-System Downhole Control
Well Testing
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor, SPE
Pairing Wireline Formation Testing With Drillstem Testing Unlocks Potential
Integrated Approach Schedules, Validates Steady-State Production-Well Tests
Multiphase-Flowmeter Systems Use Autodiagnostic Solution
Formation Evaluation
Haijing Wang, Senior Petrophysicist, Chevron
Pulsed-Neutron Logging-While-Drilling Tool Enables Direct Carbon Measurement
New-Generation Formation Testing Advances Evaluation of Volcanic Breccia Formations
Formation and Fracture-System Compressibility Tracked Through Interference Testing
Seismic
Wassem M. Alward, Domain Lead, SLB
Rapid High-Frequency Wave Imaging Improves Resolution of Complex Geology
Pretrained Foundation Model Enables Rapid Seismic Interpretation
Study Reviews Operator’s Use of 4D Seismic in Campos and Santos Basins
SPE Technical Papers Available for Download — December 2025–January 2026
The complete SPE technical papers—synopsized in each monthly issue of JPT—are available for download for SPE members for 2 months.