Society of Independent Professional
Earth Scientists

 Click here for the 2026 S.I.P.E.S. Dues Form - please use this form to update your contact information as well

Click here to pay your dues online

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Next Event:

May 28, 2026

Our Presenter:

Jason Eleson

"How Energy and Decarbonization Industries Fared in 2025, and What It Means for Employment Opportunities for Geologists"

All attendees MUST RSVP!

Please RSVP by 11:30 a.m. on the Monday prior

Click here to RSVP

When: Thursday, May 28, 2026, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Where: Wynkoop Brewery - 1634 18th Street, Denver, CO 80202

Cost Structure:

• Members $25 (Presentation & Meal)
• Non-members $30 (Presentation & Meal)
• Walk-ins will no longer be allowed due to an issue with the Wynkoop.  Please pre-purchase a lunch to attend.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Please feel free to share this information with any friends and colleagues who might be interested!

Mask requirements voluntary for vaccinated attendees.

Abstract:

Donald Trump and the Republican party ushered in major 2025 energy policy shifts that reshaped CCS/CCUS, hydrogen, geothermal, critical minerals, and legacy fuels. Among the biggest winners were oil and gas, coal, geothermal, and critical minerals: oil and gas hit record output (13.6 million bpd crude; 43.2 Tcf gas) on the back of day‑one orders easing permitting, opening federal lands and lifting LNG constraints all helped usher in new activity...albeit with fewer geologists as part of the 23,000+ job cuts that were announced by major oil and gas employers in 2025. Coal was reclassified as a critical mineral and AI‑driven power demand helped halt 17 GW of coal-fired power plant retirements, while OBBBA added metallurgical coal tax credits. Geothermal gained from its inclusion in the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order plus 171.5 million dollars in DOE funding and Fervo’s EGS breakthroughs. Critical minerals were turbocharged by Defense Production Act authority, an expanded 60‑commodity list, and fast‑track permitting that is lighting up belts from the Mountain West to new offshore targets.

CCS/CCUS saw a mixed outcome as 45Q was preserved and improved (EOR raised to 85 dollars per tonne) but more than 7 billion dollars in federal grants were cut, killing roughly two dozen projects. The EPA complicated 45Q compliance as GHGRP (the legal requirement for larger greenhouse gas emitters to report their greenhouse gas emissions) was rescinded, while the EPA yielded only three new EPA Class VI permits even as Texas and West Virginia gained primacy (legal authority to approve Class VI wells). Hydrogen fared worst, with about 7 billion dollars in Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub funding (2.2 billion for ARCHES and the Pacific Northwest included) effectively scrapping the federal spine for green hydrogen and pushing momentum toward electrification, biofuels, blue hydrogen and “gold” (natural) hydrogen, where new gas‑plus‑CCS power schemes and Midcontinent Rift plays pursued by Koloma, Natural Hydrogen Energy, HyTerra, BP, and Rio Tinto are advancing. For geologists, the net result is cautiously positive: though oil and gas continues to trim jobs to improve bottom lines, CCS, critical mineral plays such as lithium brines (notably in Smackover) are heating up as are sedimentary and igneous/metamorphic-hosted critical minerals, and gold hydrogen are hiring subsurface talent with strong reservoir, structural, and petrophysical skills, often absorbing displaced oil and gas staff, while coal remains a weak employer. The broader outlook under “Trump 2.0” appears challenging but rich in opportunities for flexible geoscientists with strong technical backgrounds, with an increase in demand for geological explorationists and subject-matter specialists, particularly compared to the engineering and operations-focused shale patch in the US.

Bio:

Jason Eleson is a professional geoscientist with over 25 years of subsurface experience across conventional and unconventional oil and gas, carbon storage, hydrogen, geothermal, and critical minerals projects, specializing in linking detailed geological characterization to practical development decisions in the energy transition. As Principal of Decarbonization for the Americas at Sproule ERCE, he leads multidisciplinary teams on carbon management strategy, Class VI realities, and storage projects across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, integrating basin screening, reservoir and seal evaluation, and geologic modeling to assess capacity, injectivity, and containment risk.

His background includes roles at ExxonMobil, Enverus, and Caerus Oil and Gas, and he is a subject matter expert in carbonate, clastic and shale stratigraphy and skilled in well and seismic interpretation, petrophysics, regional data integration and static earth modeling and simulation. Jason has served on the boards of RMS-SEPM and RMAG, and is currently working with others to launch a new non-profit organization to promote carbon capture and storage. He is also the author of The Energy Centrist, a Substack channel that looks at all sides of thorny energy issues from a (roughly) centrist position.

WHAT IS SIPES?

The Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists (SIPES) is the only national organization designed exclusively for the independent or consulting professional earth scientist. Members include geologists, engineers, geophysicists, geochemists, and other earth scientists.

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Our Mission

To be the pre-eminent organization for furthering the professional business interests of independent practitioners of earth sciences. 

• Professional Competence

• Professional Business Ethics

• Presenting a favorable, credible and effective image of Society

Local Events:

Monthly Meetings

Meetings for 2026 will be held at the

Wynkoop Brewery

1634 18th Street

Denver, CO 80202