The views and opinions expressed in guest editorials published in JPT are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or views of SPE, its members, or its affiliates.
Petroleum professionals are already essential in developing oil and gas projects that contribute to the world’s current energy supply. However, the transferable skills and knowledge that energy professionals possess will be critical to meeting the energy needs of the future.
Emerging areas include geothermal energy, in-situ recovery (ISR), and direct lithium extraction (DLE). Development of these technologies will be critical in securing the raw materials required for a secure and reliable future energy supply.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the world’s total demand for minerals needed to develop clean energy technologies will double or even quadruple by 2040 (IEA 2021). The agency also projects that annual clean energy investment in renewables, efficiency, and low-emissions fuels needs to surge to around $4.5 trillion by the early 2030s, roughly triple 2023 levels, to meet net-zero goals (IEA 2023).
It is obvious that skills in health, safety, environment, and sustainability (HSES), project development, and data management will be needed to mine raw materials and energy projects in renewables and nuclear power.
Access to the subsurface is a key skill set of the SPE community—geology and geophysics, well construction and completion, reservoir engineering, production operations, and facilities. Geologists can hold roles in both minerals and petroleum over their careers. Drilling is a key part of resource and reserve estimation in mine development, and databases are required for both petroleum and minerals data.
Diversifying the Energy Mix With Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is the thermal (i.e., heat) energy derived from the Earth’s subsurface. Its development has already benefited from an influx of professionals from the oil and gas sector.
The Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) project is a field laboratory that is managed by the Energy & Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah and is sponsored by the US Department of Energy. It has been designed to develop, test, and optimize the methods and techniques required to create, sustain, and monitor enhanced geothermal systems resources.
John McLennan, professor in the department of chemical engineering at the University of Utah and a longtime contributor to the Utah FORGE project, emphasized the extent to which geothermal development has drawn on petroleum expertise: “Whether it is drilling, cementing, perforating, stimulation, modeling, or other operations, Utah FORGE has relied on technologies and personnel with direct petroleum experience. These technologies have been adapted to higher-temperature environments as required. Regardless, petroleum engineering experience and know-how have been fundamental to operational success at Utah FORGE.”
Identified as one of the five technical “Grand Challenges” in a 2023 SPE workshop in Austin, Texas, the challenges that geothermal faces to become a leading player in the net zero world were found to be “well within the areas of expertise of the SPE community.”
The IEA estimates that a high level of knowledge transfer and productivity gains from the oil and gas industry could reduce conventional-geothermal technology costs by up to 50%. This would be through transfer of knowledge in evaluation and planning phases, scaling up surface practices through modular, repetitive design, and improving drilling efficiencies through the widespread application of oil and gas technologies.
For next-generation geothermal technologies, knowledge in hydraulic fracturing, well insulation, and directional drilling, along with the acquisition, processing, and modeling of reservoir data during the evaluation and planning stages of geothermal projects, could reduce costs by nearly 80% (IEA 2024).
People with expertise in oilfield artificial lift will also be critical in implementing these technologies. As was pointed out by Oghenekevwe Ovbije, the director of Energia Core, in a recent JPT guest editorial, this skill set is shaping a new generation of geothermal operations. A JPT feature article published this year offers more information on recent advancements in the geothermal power space.
Producing the Raw Materials the World Needs With In-Situ Recovery
ISR is a mining technique that extracts minerals by dissolving them underground and pumping the resulting mineral-rich solution to the surface for processing. This method causes minimal surface disruption compared with traditional mining, requiring no open pits or waste rock dumps, while the processing facilities are small and easily removed once mining is complete.
ISR is predominantly used for uranium extraction and is effective in permeable sandstone deposits. Development requires an understanding of the subsurface.
Heathgate Resources operates the Four Mile Uranium ISR project and previously operated Uranium ISR at Beverley in South Australia. Boss Energy operates the Honeymoon Uranium ISR project in South Australia and Alta Mesa ISR Uranium Project joint venture with Encore Energy in Texas. There are also projects underway to use this technique in the recovery of copper.
Unlocking More Raw Materials With Direct Lithium Extraction
Lithium demand has already tripled since 2020, and the IEA expects it to triple again over the next decade, driven by growth in EV and battery storage (IEA 2025). There are currently two main sources of lithium: hard rock deposits and brines.
DLE offers the opportunity to reduce land use, carbon footprint, and water usage compared with traditional brine operations, while enabling the development of lithium resources in geothermal and oilfield brines with concentrations typically considered too low for traditional evaporation methods to be processed economically.
DLE operates by pumping lithium-rich brine from reservoirs, selectively capturing lithium mainly through adsorption (used for high lithium concentrations) or ion exchange (used for lower concentrations or complex brines). After extraction, the brine is reinjected to sustain reservoir pressure.
Jintai Lithium, Lanke Lithium, and Zangge Lithium are operating commercial DLE projects in China. Rio Tinto uses proprietary selective adsorption DLE technology at its Fenix and Rincon operations in Argentina, while ExxonMobil is appraising the potential of producing lithium-rich brine and processing battery-grade lithium from brine sourced from the Smackover Formation in Arkansas.
Martin Geissler, the vice president and general manager for lithium in geothermal waters at Cornish Lithium, recently informed me that the company is advancing its Cross Lanes Geothermal Lithium Project in Cornwall, UK, which involves two 2,000-m deep wellbores along with lithium extraction and geothermal production facilities. “In progressing this project, we have drawn extensively on skills traditionally associated with petroleum engineering—particularly in subsurface evaluation, reservoir characterization, drilling engineering, well construction, and ongoing well-integrity assurance,” he said.
Geissler continued, “The geothermal and lithium‑in‑brine environment requires robust understanding of formation behavior, fluid properties, permeability, and flow performance. It is key for the success of our operations to use skills and transfer know-how from the oil and gas industry to geothermal brine production, especially when it comes to the design of deep geothermal wells, expertise in static and dynamic reservoir modeling, and wellbore thermal-hydraulic analysis—all of which are competencies well established within the petroleum engineering profession. Therefore, the petroleum engineering skill set is directly transferable and remains highly valuable as we develop secure, domestic supplies of low‑carbon energy and critical minerals."
For further information, the London SPE Net Zero Committee has a wealth of resources, presentations, and recordings on this topic, including a webinar on innovations in geothermal lithium extraction with Cornish Lithium.
SPE has also recently formed the Critical Minerals Technical Section which is “focused on advancing knowledge, collaboration, and professional excellence in the characterization, extraction, processing, and responsible development of critical minerals from subsurface reservoirs and industrial brines.” One of the chief goals of the program is to connect established subsurface experts with emerging mineral-extraction technologies.
Playing Our Part
The skills of energy professionals will be needed to diversify the energy mix and unlock and produce the raw materials the world needs in the coming years and decades. In addition to bringing expertise in HSES, project development, and data management, petroleum engineers have a vital role to play in developing and advancing technologies like geothermal energy, ISR, and DLE.
Not only will experience and expertise in these areas bring resilience to engineering careers, but it will help build and shape the future energy landscape.
Experienced oil and gas professionals across multiple disciplines are needed to support the energy transition. You can make a positive contribution in oil and gas and keep a foot in both worlds.
For Further Reading
The Future of Geothermal Energy International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris (2024).
Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris (2025).
Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway To Keep the 1.5°C Goal in Reach International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris (2023).
The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris (2021).
Amanda Murphy, SPE, is currently serving on the SPE Leadership Development Committee. She has been involved in international trade and investment, government policy, cutting-edge research, and in developing resource and energy projects as a development geologist. Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (liberal studies) with honors in geology and geophysics from the University of Sydney and a PhD in engineering from The University of Cambridge.