R&D/innovation
Texas A&M Researchers To Develop AI-Powered Drilling System To Accelerate Critical Mineral Discovery
Backed by a $3.5 million US Department of Energy grant, Texas A&M researchers are developing an AI-enabled drilling system that can identify critical minerals in real time, reducing exploration time and costs for rare earth element deposits.
Discover how the next generation of energy leaders is driving innovation and reshaping the future of the global energy industry in this SPE Live with 2026 SPE President Jennifer Miskimins and three young professionals, including Hitisha Dadlani, deputy editor in chief of TWA.
In an industry that rarely slows down, memory can be a powerful engineering tool. Not in terms of nostalgia, but in perspective. Many of the activities that constituted daily operations have been so deeply transformed that new generations of engineers may never have experienced them before.
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Researchers at the University of Houston have developed a new ultrathin, carbon-based film that could make AI chips run faster, cooler, and more energy-efficient. -
Researchers are studying how excessive groundwater extraction is causing global and regional aquifer depletion and land subsidence.
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AI is transforming oil and gas, but the real change will come from young professionals (YPs) who bridge technology and field expertise. By leading pilots, building networks, and challenging old assumptions, YPs can drive the industry’s digital transformation from within.
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Researchers have developed a low-cost carbon capture technology called PICC that uses only water and pressure to remove nearly all CO2 from industrial exhaust, offering a simpler, cleaner, and more affordable alternative to traditional chemical methods.
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Allison Taylor, SPE, is studying whether nanogels can improve how gas, specifically CO2, is stored underground during CO2 flooding operations.
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The new facility was designed to enable advances in understanding subsurface processes through integrated geomechanics, fluid dynamics, and advanced reservoir characterization.
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The 1-month project, led by UT Austin's Estibalitz Ukar, will pump CO2-rich water into a 400-m-deep well to test if magnesium-rich rocks at the test site can capture CO2 by turning it into stable minerals.
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After a decade of research, the project boasts several achievements including drilling two test wells at depths below 9,800 ft, detailed geologic modeling and reservoir characterization, and multiple publications.
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University of Colorado Boulder researchers will combine tools, such as power systems modeling, spatial statistics, and GIS mapping along with community forums, surveys, and interviews to capture both the human and technical sides of geothermal development.
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The researchers found that adding nutrients such as nitrogen initially boosted soil carbon storage in previously tilled croplands and that these carbon gains persisted for decades even after fertilization and tilling stopped.
