Register Now for the AAPG Subsurface Energy to Power Workshop – January 7 – January 8, 2026 – Houston, TX
This event reminder is sponsored by: Glex, leaders in Carbon Steel Fabrication and Stainless Steel Pipe Fabrication
Accelerating Electricity Capacity with Natural Gas, Geothermal, Hydrogen, Lithium, and Uranium
Date: January 7–8, 2026
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Norris Conference Center – City Centre
As electricity demand continues to surge—from data centers to growing communities—the energy industry faces the challenge of delivering reliable power quickly and at scale. Subsurface Energy to Power focuses on meeting these needs by leveraging subsurface resources that can be rapidly harnessed for electricity generation.
This two-day AAPG workshop explores the expanding role of natural gas, geothermal, hydrogen, lithium, and uranium in accelerating electricity capacity. Participants will examine innovative solutions such as microgrids, co-located data centers, electricity co-op partnerships, and bitcoin mining operations designed to reduce reliance on long-distance transmission lines, pipelines, and other costly infrastructure.
Beyond the Resource
Today’s energy projects are shaped by more than the resources used to generate power. Land access, regulatory requirements, permitting processes, and legal considerations all play a critical role in determining project feasibility and timelines.
Throughout the workshop, attendees will gain insight into both the technical deployment of subsurface resources and the land, legal, and permitting factors that influence project development.
Featured Session
In Session Six, featured speakers John Eichelberger, Camron Miller, Drew Nelson, CPG, and Jared Ware, CEM®, CGP-G™, GISP® will discuss strategies for securing reliable energy to support future growth, regulatory and permitting pathways, the evolving role of government affairs and energy policy, and the geothermal potential of different regions across the United States.
This session is one of eight expert-led discussions designed to advance understanding of modern energy solutions for data centers and other high-demand applications.
Day 1 – January 7, 2026
8:00 AM – 8:10 AM
WELCOME
8:10 AM – 8:30 AM
KEYNOTE
Garrett Golding, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
SESSION 1: Overview of Rapid Conversion to Electricity
Natural gas, geothermal, hydrogen, lithium
Session Co-Chairs: Paula Oliveira, Claudia Molina
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM
The Electrification Imperative: Projecting Demand and Growth
Roxy Bush, Vice President, Rystad Energy
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Electricity Generation: Natural Gas and Hydrogen Turbines
Ademola Fagade, Founder & CEO, GeoPrime Energy
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM
How the Grid Works
Jory Pacht, President, Altair
9:15 AM – 9:30 AM
Direct Lithium Extraction: Future Energy
Allison Kennedy Thurmond, Vice President North America, Lithium, Equinor
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM
OPEN FORUM
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
BREAK
SESSION 2: Types of Projects / Project Development
Session Co-Chairs: Brittany Hollon, Amanda Haddad
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Integrated Surface and Subsurface Methods for Geothermal Risk Mitigation
Alberto Gaudio, Senior Geoconsultant, Fugro
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Saskatchewan Hybrid Geothermal Energy Project
Kirsten Marcia, President and CEO, Deep Earth
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Geothermal Resource Discovery to Delivery in Texas
Shuvajit Bhattacharya, Research Associate Professor, University of Texas–Austin
11:15 AM – 11:30 AM
From Core to Algorithm: Integrating Lab Intelligence and AI-Ready Data
Jorge Barrios Rivas, Business Development Manager, Stratum Reservoir
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
OPEN FORUM – Amanda Haddad, Business Management Advisor, Woodside
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM
LUNCH
SESSION 3: Resource Characterization & Mapping
Natural gas, geothermal, lithium, hydrogen, uranium, sand
Session Co-Chairs: Shuvajit Bhattacharya, Sharon Cornelius
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Subsurface Characterization of Petroleum and Geothermal Systems
Ibrahim Cemen, Professor of Geology, University of Alabama
1:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Sustainable Data Center Siting Using CCS and Geothermal
Danny Kingham, Senior Associate Hydrogeologist, GSI Environmental
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Critical Minerals from Produced Water
Hermann Lebit, President, Alma Energy
1:45 PM – 2:00 PM
The Geology Behind Data Centers
Thomas Bowman, President, Energy Consulting Partners
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Uranium for Nuclear Power: In-Situ Recovery Projects
Michael Campbell, President, I2M Corporation
2:15 PM – 2:30 PM
In-Situ Hydrogen Generation from Underground Coal Gasification
Tongwei Zhang, Research Professor, BEG, UT-Austin
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
OPEN FORUM
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM
BREAK
SESSION 4: Business and Financing of Energy Projects
Session Co-Chairs: Shangyou Nie, Mark Hamzat Erogbogbo
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM
The Power Trap: Hard Truths Behind the AI Megawatt Race
Daniel Romero, Director, Energy Strategy, Enverus
3:30 PM – 3:45 PM
Emerging Business Models in Power Value Pools
Alyssa Karotkin, Sr. Manager, Business Development, Equinor
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Role of Government in Geothermal and Capital Stacks
Joseph Chandler, Bureau Chief, Energy Technology, New Mexico
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Haynesville Gas: Supply Shortages and Alternatives
Bill DeMis, President, Rochelle Court, LLC
4:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Navigating Energy Expansion and Diversification
Kirk A. Barrell, President, Barrell Energy Inc.
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
OPEN FORUM
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
NETWORKING RECEPTION
Day 2 – January 8, 2026
8:00 AM – 8:10 AM
WELCOME
8:10 AM – 8:30 AM
KEYNOTE: Accelerating Geothermal Exploration and Development – Big Blind and the Future of Conventional Geothermal
Patrick Walsh, COO, Zanskar
SESSION 5: Technology Integration
Geothermal, hydrogen generation, conversion of oil and gas wells
Session Co-Chairs: Elizabeth Cambre, Kenneth Beckman
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM
Converting Oil and Gas Wells to Geothermal
Johanna Ostrum, COO, Geothermal Gradient
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Geothermal Reservoirs and Energy in Nevada
Cary Lindsey, Research Scientist, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology / UNR
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Geothermal Energy for Data Centers
Krisha Tracy, Strategic Business Developer, Amazon Web Services
9:15 AM – 9:30 AM
Geopressure & Subsurface Energy: Considerations & Consequences
Norman E. Wells, Pore Pressure Geologist III, Berger Geosciences
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM
Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Electricity Generation
Kevin McCarthy, Global Geothermal SME, BakerHughes
9:45 AM – 10:15 AM
OPEN FORUM
10:15 AM – 10:30 AM
BREAK
SESSION 6: Land, Legal, Permits, Tax Credits & Other Considerations
Session Co-Chairs: Jim Tucker, Judy Schulenberg
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Fulshear, TX: Securing Energy for the Fastest-Growing Community in Texas
Camron Miller, Principal Geologist, Global Technical Assurance, SLB
10:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Regulations and Permitting: Accelerating the Process
Jared Ware, Sr. Engineer, Texas Railroad Commission
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Government Affairs and Energy
Drew Nelson, Sr. Government Official
11:15 AM – 11:30 AM
Alaska’s Geothermal Opportunities: From Warm to Superhot
John Eichelberger, Geothermal Program Manager, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
OPEN FORUM
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
LUNCH
SESSION 7: Data Centers & Community-Scale Solutions
Session Co-Chairs: Danny Kingham, Amy Henry
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Overview of AWS Data Centers
Yuriy Gubanov, Worldwide Energy Partner Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services
1:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Accelerated Data Center Site Selection with Smart Geodata
Yosmel Sanchez, Director CCS & Subsurface Storage, Americas, Fugro
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
The Next Wave of Geothermal: Waste Heat for Community-Scale Aquatic Recreation
Jay Egg, President, Egg Geo, LLC
1:45 PM – 2:00 PM
The Trigeneration Advantage for Data Centers
Monte Goodell, CEO, Renewable Energy Institute
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Data Center Solutions Portfolio
Amir Hermes, New Energy Business Development Manager, SLB
2:15 PM – 2:30 PM
Expand Energy, Natural Gas, and Data Centers
Kirk Sisco, Business Development, Expand Energy
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
OPEN FORUM
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM
BREAK
SESSION 8: AI, Environment & Water Management
Session Co-Chairs: Paula Oliveira, Denis Potapov
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM
AI for Subsurface Characterization Across Energy Sectors
Claudia Molina, President, SeguEN Technologies
3:30 PM – 3:45 PM
AI-Assisted Carbon and Energy Storage
Kenneth Beckman
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
AI for Reimagining and Repurposing Resources
Patrick Ng, Shaleforce
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM
AI-Optimized Water and Environmental Management
Dan Arthur, President, ALL-LLC
4:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Produced Water: From Pore to Pipeline to Power
Shahid Azizul Haq, Executive Advisor, Wellquest Consulting, Inc.
4:30 PM – 4:45 PM
AI: Proactive Mitigation of Injection Side-Effects
Norman E. Wells, Pore Pressure Geologist III, Berger Geosciences
4:45 PM – 5:30 PM
OPEN FORUM
5:30 PM – 5:40 PM
WRAP AND THANK YOU
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