John Schopp, What Petroleum Engineers Should Know About Climate Science

Abstract:

Petroleum Engineers should have a basic grasp of climate science. While alarmists in the media have caused many of us to tune-out, the science can be quite interesting. This 30- minute presentation reviews the basic physics, some learnings from paleo reconstruction, recent temperature trends, and then teaches how engineers can make their own future warming calculations. You may be surprised how similar are projections between the scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other well-known scientists branded as skeptics. Often missing from the climate narrative is perspective on climate shift versus natural weather variability, for both temperature and storms. This presentation tries to frame this distinction for you so you can make up your own mind on urgency. The climate narrative will always be ubiquitous for the oil and gas business, so hopefully by having a grasp on the science we engineers can better influence the narrative, and quantitatively understand how our actions can be helpful.

Biography:

John Schopp, SPE, was Vice President at Encana for 15 years, and then Senior Advisor to private equity company Blackstone Group for 5 years before retiring in 2021. He is a lifetime weather enthusiast, and upon retirement found the time to read the 2400 page Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report as well as a number of books and technical articles on climate science. John penned the JPT article “Engineer Raises Climate Science Above the Din” in 2023 and recently taught an SPE Masterclass titled “Climate Science for Engineers”.

Register Here

Join the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver Section, for an October Technical Happy Hour featuring Garrett Fowler, Chief Operating Officer at ResFrac. Connect with colleagues and hear about predictive modeling and economic optimization of well refracturing in the Bakken and Permian Basin.

Event Details

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Time: 4:00–6:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Location: Liberty Energy, 950 17th St, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202
Host: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver Section
Sponsor: Liberty Energy
Study Group: Reservoir and Completions

RSVP

Please reserve your spot through Humanitix.

RSVP on Humanitix

Schedule

• 4:00 p.m.: Happy hour and networking begin
• 4:30 p.m.: Technical presentation
• Following the presentation: Social and networking time until 6:00 p.m.

Presentation

Predictive Modeling, Sensitivity Analysis, and Economic Optimization of Well Refracturing in the Bakken and Permian Basin

Speaker: Garrett Fowler, Chief Operating Officer, ResFrac

Abstract

Refracturing depleted unconventional wells can yield lower-capital, high-ROI inventory, but unpredictable field results can challenge planning and budget justification. By combining physics-based hydraulic fracturing, geomechanics, and reservoir simulation across the Bakken and Permian Basin, we show that refrac outcomes are highly predictable—achieving blind-test forecasts that matched actual one-year production uplifts with an average mismatch of just 3.7%.

Model sensitivity analysis shows that short-term refrac gains are driven by pre-refrac recovery factors and well age, while long-term EUR uplift is governed by infill well distance, overall well spacing, and original cluster spacing. Poroelastic stress changes from depletion influence refrac performance, as uneven stress profiles cause fluid to simply reactivate old fractures instead of creating fresh rock surface.

Economic optimization shows that the “right” refrac design is a function of depletion and fracture height containment. The easy refrac candidates are older wells with wide original cluster spacing, large unstimulated lateral gaps, low recovery factors, and wide well spacing—we show that there is opportunity in less obvious candidates when evaluated carefully!

About the Speaker

Garrett Fowler is Chief Operating Officer at ResFrac, where he leads global business strategy, commercial operations, and professional services across shale, geothermal, and CCUS projects. An engineer himself, Garrett has performed and directed studies in every major shale basin worldwide. Prior to ResFrac, he held reservoir engineering roles at Oxy and Tachyus, focusing on EOR and waterflooding.

Garrett graduated with distinction from Stanford University with a BS in Energy Resources Engineering and an MS in Petroleum Engineering. He has authored and co-authored more than 30 technical papers, earned the 2022 SPE Regional Completions Optimization and Technology Award, and is an Eagle Scout, search and rescue diver, and multi-time Ironman finisher.

The Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) presents a symposium on automated and assisted decline curve analysis. Engineers, software developers, and industry participants will discuss forecasting tools, reserves evaluation, and the role of expert judgment.

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Time: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Central Time
Location: Oxy Tower, The Woodlands, Texas

Registration closes October 2. Visit SPEE for registration and event information.

This is an SPEE event in Texas, shared with the Denver SPE community.

Join SPE Denver for our monthly breakfast volunteer shift at the Denver Rescue Mission. This is an opportunity to give back to the Denver community, meet professionals from across the energy industry, and start your Tuesday morning in service to others.

Schedule: Third Tuesday of each month
Time: 6:45–8:30 a.m. Mountain Time
Address: 2222 Lawrence Street, Denver, CO 80205

RSVP: Please RSVP if you plan to attend. Questions may be directed to the volunteer coordinator at 303-257-6091.

Parking

1. Preferred: Use the private gated volunteer and staff parking lot on the right side of Lawrence Street. Look for the black metal fence and the large “Emergency Rally Point” sign. If the gate is closed and spaces are available, pull up to the gate, call 303-297-5071, and press 1 to have staff open it remotely.
2. Second option: A public pay lot is located across Lawrence Street. Some spaces marked “Denver Rescue Mission Staff Only” are available to staff and volunteers at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Pay the posted rate if a designated free space is unavailable. Parking costs cannot be reimbursed.
3. Third option: Metered street parking and other public pay lots are available in the neighborhood. Parking costs and tickets cannot be reimbursed.

Facility Entry and Check-In

Preferred entrance: Walk through the gated lot toward the back of the building, locate the white “Volunteer Entrance” sign, and ring the bell.

Alternative entrance: Enter through the main entrance on Lawrence Street. Front desk staff will escort you to the Volunteer Room.

Upon arrival, sign in using the kiosk tablet in the Volunteer Room. For a group, only one member needs to sign in for the group. Volunteers will then watch the required safety video before beginning the shift.

Volunteer Requirements

• Dress code: Wear modest clothing appropriate for meal service and kitchen work. Closed-toe shoes are required. Do not wear tank tops, midriff tops, short shorts, tight or low-cut clothing, controversial imprints, or loose and dangling jewelry. Volunteers who are not dressed appropriately may be asked to reschedule. Wearing a hat—and tying back long hair—may eliminate the need for a hairnet.
• Minimum age: Volunteers must be at least 14 years old. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult chaperone. Please do not bring guests under age 14.
• Incidents: Immediately report injuries, inappropriate behavior, or anything that makes you uncomfortable to a Denver Rescue Mission staff member.

Thank you for serving Denver community members who are experiencing homelessness.

SLB will be presenting “Seeing Beyond the Borehole: Advanced Imaging for Unconventional Wells”. Please join us for some educational discussions on advanced imaging and logging applications for unconventional wells. All members and anyone interested are welcome. Please register for lunch and to attend a fun, interactive event with fellow young professionals in the industry.

Registration: Click HERE