The idea of starting a project in Europe that focuses on educating energy professionals in data science while coupling it with a technical geothermal subsurface data set came about after being inspired by the datathon organized by SPE Calgary, the SPE Gulf Coast Section, and Untapped Energy. Four SPE Sections across Europe—SPE London, SPE Italy, the SPE Romanian Section, and SPE Netherlands—joined forces in the spring of 2021 to start planning the first European Energy GeoHackathon.
The project began taking shape progressively as ideas developed and ultimately resulted in a project that organizers say they hope will see the synergy of data science education and the application of those skills in solving a technical challenge with a geothermal data set.
The program begins with a bootcamp series that aims to enhance data science skills and geothermal knowledge. The bootcamps, running from 11 October to 12 November, involve multiple sessions to introduce geothermal concepts and teach participants data science skills and their application in the real world. The bootcamps include the basics of geothermal energy, an introduction to python, an introduction to R, an introduction to machine learning, feature engineering, and data modeling.
Participants then will be able to join the hackathon challenge in teams and apply their newly acquired skills to solve a technical challenge. The hackathon challenge will run from 15 November to 11 December and will cover subsurface and surface facilities aspects of a geothermal site. The participants will get access to the subsurface data, a high-fidelity reservoir simulator model (to generate a realistic reservoir response), surface facilities data, and an economical assessment calculator. They will couple the subsurface model with the surface facilities and distribution network and analyze the energy and economic performance of the combined design plan.