The SPE Podcast

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This SPE Live will explore whether and how geomechanics plays a critical role in influencing and improving how our industry understands, develops, and manages subsurface resources. Key discussion points will highlight the value of geomechanics, particularly when it is not treated in isolation but integrated with geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering, drilling, completions, and production to build a more comprehensive understanding of formation behavior.We invite practitioners, researchers, users, and service providers to discuss challenging issues surrounding the importance of geomechanics and explore how the exchange of knowledge and best practices can strengthen the profession.

Moderated by: Claudia Bonin, Adjunct Professor at Houston Christian University and Geomechanics Technical Section Officer

Speakers:

Peggy Rijken, SPE Completions Technical Director. General Manager, Geomechanics Center of Excellence at Chevron Technology Center  

Koji Yamamoto, Geomechanical Engineer at Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security and SPE Asia Pacific Regional Director

Join SPE President, Prof. Jennifer Miskimins, in this SPE Live with three outstanding early-career professionals from around the world as they discuss what inspires them to build careers in energy, how new technologies and collaboration platforms are reshaping the way they work, and why the aspirations of the next generation are redefining the future of our profession.

Moderated by Jennifer Miskimins, SPE President and Professor & Department Head at Colorado School of Mines

Speakers:

Hitisha Dadlani, Senior Reservoir Engineer at ONGC, India

Haoming Ma, Research Scientist at University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources

Charalampos (Harry) Soilemezidis, Systems Engineer at CLS Engineering & Energy, Germany

Get more from ATCE 2026 with a strategic plan for learning, networking, technology scouting, and career growth. Susan Howes shares how to maximize the value of SPE's premier annual event.

Hydraulic fracturing revolutionized unconventional oil and gas — and the same stimulation science is now being adapted to unlock next-generation geothermal energy. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and Superhot Rock (SHR) concepts borrow heavily from decades of shale completions know-how, but operating at temperatures exceeding 300°C, in crystalline basement rock, introduces entirely new engineering challenges: engineering a reservoir volume, proppant and fluid stability, wellbore integrity, reservoir management under extreme thermal and mechanical stress and more that we will find out through time.

In this SPE Live, we will dive into the synergistic approach of subsurface engineering and hydraulic fracturing from the oil and gas world into the geothermal realm. The conversation will explore where oilfield technology has direct transfer capabilities, where it must be reinvented, and what this convergence really means for the future of dispatchable geothermal power.

Moderated by: Steve Schubarth, Chair SPE’s Hydraulic Fracturing Technical Section

Speaker: Gabrijel Grubac, Principal Completions Engineer at Mazama Energy