SPE Live Podcast: Building a Career in Hydrogen. A Conversation with Young Professionals on Skills, Opportunities, and Industry Needs

The hydrogen sector is expanding across production, storage, transport, and end-use applications. This SPE Live session will examine the technical competencies and multidisciplinary skills required to succeed in this growing field. Young professionals will share their perspectives on industry expectations, emerging job roles, research trends, and how early-career engineers can strategically position themselves for long-term career growth in hydrogen-related projects. Moderated by: Sonia Lopez Kovacs, Reserves Audit Leader at Repsol Spain   Speakers: Cindy Dianita: Assistant Professor at University of Indonesia Amine Ifticene: Production Engineer at OXY Sarah Wheeler: Research Engineer at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

The Petroleum Resources Management System (PRMS) is a system developed for consistent and reliable classification and categorization of hydrocarbon resources according to technical uncertainty and project maturity and commerciality. The SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Committee (OGRC) is committed to continuing to provide relevant resources framework to the industry as technology and business drivers change and has received feedback from the public to support the update of the current 2018 PRMS. This SPE live will give an overview of PRMS utilization and its ongoing update. Speaker: Herman G. Acuña, President at Ryder Scott Company Moderated by Dan Olds, Managing Senior Vice President at Ryder Scott

What makes SPE membership truly worthwhile? Technical resources, professional development, global networking, and industry recognition—SPE membership offers more than meets the eye. In this month’s column, discover how SPE benefits members at every career stage—and why investing in your membership (or your team’s) pays off long-term.

Energy companies continue to navigate a complex landscape where value creation, volatility management and low- carbon transition must advance in parallel. This SPE Live unites commercial, finance, and reservoir expertise to examine how to allocate capital across conventional barrels, unconventionals, and low-carbon options such as CCS while navigating commodity volatility and policy shifts. The speakers will explore how subsurface insight informs commercial decisions and how finance teams price risk and option value. The discussion will address portfolio resilience, emissions intensity targets, and pathways to finance CCS. Panelists will also discuss metrics that matter at the board level in 2025 and into 2026, how local geopolitical and fiscal contexts shape decisions, and the collaboration models that help unlock value across operators, midstream, and NOCs. Moderated by Maryse Jackman, Geoscientist at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries Speakers: Amanda Calleberg, Commercial Advisor at Inter Pipeline Ltd. Natan Battisti, VP of Finance at Harbour Energy Mohamed Mahmoud Abdelrahman, Senior Reservoir Engineer at ADNOC Onshore

This SPE Live reviews four major events from 2025 ATCE that advanced education, collaboration, and awareness in well integrity and asset integrity. Highlights include the WITS Opening Reception, which drew strong attendance and engagement among well integrity professionals. A featured presentation by Federico Juarez Perales Havtil of the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority focused on strengthening well integrity practices, enhancing corporate risk frameworks, and developing effective training programs to reduce operational costs while improving safety awareness. The episode also references two operator panels: “Well Integrity in Mature Fields: Challenges, Best Practices, and Future Opportunities” and “Wind to Wells – Asset Integrity.” It concludes with acknowledgment of WITS’ presence at SPE ATCE and the announcement of the new WITS Board for the 2025–2026 term.   Moderated by: Pierre-Edouard Vincent, Principal Engineer at TotalEnergies   Speakers: Hans-Jacob Lund, Global Well Integrity SME at ConocoPhillips Michael Edwards, Founder of EEI Consulting, LLC and SPE WITS Global Liaison Officer Jovan Stojkovski, Department Manager for Well Completions & Well Integrity at OVM Petrom

Petroleum engineering education is at a crossroads, with university enrollments shrinking and a talent gap looming. Take a look at what the data really show about degree trends, why Gen Z is turning away from engineering, and how SPE—from K–12 outreach to lifelong upskilling—is uniquely positioned to impact the industry’s future workforce.  

The SPE Completions Advisory Committee to the Completions Technical Director (Peggy Rijken) is launching a new knowledge-sharing initiative focused on best practices across various subject areas, presented through a series of white papers. These papers will be authored by subject matter experts (SMEs) and will reference leading SPE publications relevant to each topic. The primary objective is to provide valuable guidance and foundational knowledge for young engineers entering the discipline. The Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Section (HyFTS) is leading the development of the first white paper in this series, covering key topics within hydraulic fracturing. This inaugural paper will be presented and published at the Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference (HFTC) in February 2026.   Moderated by: Foluke Ajisafe, Senior Staff Engineer at Liberty Energy   Speaker: Karen Olson, Consulting Engineer

This session explores how the oil and gas industry can move beyond legal compliance to build inclusive cultures that authentically support employees with disabilities at every level. While policies and regulations provide a baseline, true inclusion requires a deeper, sustained commitment to accessibility, awareness, and organizational mindset shifts. Through dialogue with industry leaders and inclusion experts, participants will gain insights into how companies can foster environments where employees with disabilities are empowered to contribute fully, without barriers or stigma. The discussion will highlight practical strategies, leadership responsibilities, and cultural enablers that support long-term change and innovation in workforce inclusion. Moderated by Mohammed Althani, Petroleum Engineering Specialist at Saudi Aramco Speakers: Carlos Sarmiento, Director of Culture, Diversity and Inclusion at SLB Tiana Ellwanger, Manager of Engagement, Culture and Diversity at Petrobras

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 SPE’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.  

This SPE Live brings together representatives from an operator, service company, and academia to discuss the future of hydraulic fracturing. Over the past decades we have witnessed enormous progress in the development of unconventional reservoirs. The fundamental question is where are we going from now on and what is next? This SPE Live will shed some light on potential paths for our energy future. We will discuss current progress, challenges that are lying ahead, and what we should do now to get ourselves prepared. It will serve as a great precursor to the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Conference next month (February). Join the online discussion to learn more about where we are heading! Moderated by: Terry Palisch, Chief Technology Officer, CARBO Ceramics Speakers: Mukul M. Sharma, Professor, “Tex” Moncrief Chair in the Department of Petroleum, Geosystems & Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin Leen Weijers, SVP of Engineering at Liberty Energy Amit Singh, Senior Team Lead for Hydraulic Fracture Technology at Chevron