GEODE Series - Conversation: Data Sharing as a Catalyst for Expanding Geothermal Energy Deployment

The GEODE consortium is a catalyst for geothermal innovation that brings together members of the geothermal and oil and gas (O&G) sectors to leverage best practices and knowledge from O&G to help expand the use of geothermal energy. As part of that mission, GEODE is creating venues and events to facilitate the dissemination of geothermal and O&G knowledge. This conversation, hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), is part of a series of webinars and conversations designed for professionals and students entering the workforce who are interested in learning more about the synergies in skills and technologies between geothermal and O&G. In this conversation, we discuss how data sharing between the O&G and geothermal sectors can accelerate the deployment of more geothermal energy. The conversation explores why O&G subsurface data are so valuable to geothermal developers and how even anonymized or basin-scale data can significantly reduce exploration risks and costs. We share examples of successful collaborations and highlight the untapped potential of leveraging existing infrastructure, workforce, and datasets to expand geothermal energy. The discussion also covers evolving business models for information service companies, secure data-sharing platforms, and the growing importance of standardized formats and metadata. We emphasize how non-financial incentives – like recognition, collaboration opportunities, and funding eligibility – can encourage participation in data-sharing efforts. We conclude with a call to action for key stakeholders in O&G to explore the geothermal potential of their assets as a way to diversify operations. Speaker: Nicole Taverna, Geothermal Data Scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Moderator: Higinia Torregrosa, U.S. Subsurface Lead at Project InnerSpace Geothermal Energy from Oil and Gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) is a consortium led by Project InnerSpace and SPE and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO).