About DEG: The Division of Environmental Geosciences (DEG) applies petroleum geology and subsurface science to the questions that define responsible energy development: legacy wells, produced water, groundwater protection, and turning waste streams and idle wells into geothermal energy, critical minerals, and storage. Members share research with agencies, companies, and policymakers, and apply it in the field.

LEARN: AAPG ACADEMY WEBINARS

DEG-themed AAPG Academy webinars reach a global audience; about ten on orphan wells alone since 2020. Most recent first:

▪     Oil and Gas to Geothermal Well Repurposing: Experiences and New Opportunities (Jul 2026)

▪     USGS Geospatial Analysis of Water-Quality Threats From Orphan Wells in U.S. Aquifers (May 2025)

▪     Update on Converting Idle Wells to Geothermal Wells (Dec 2023, Jon Gluyas)

▪     U.S. Critical Minerals and Supply Chains: Lithium in Arkansas (Nov 2023)

▪     Well Integrity in Plugging and Repurposing Orphaned, Abandoned or Idle Wells (Nov 2023)

▪     Plugging Orphan Wells and Carbon Credits series (Jul 2023)

CONVENE: ORPHAN WELL WORKSHOPS

Annual workshops on orphan, abandoned, idle, and marginal (OAIM) wells bring together operators, agencies, tribes, researchers, and service companies:

4th Annual OAIM Wells: Opportunities with Legacy Assets — Tulsa, Feb 2026, including repurposing for geothermal, brine mining, and storage

PROGRAM: IMAGE AND SPECIALTY CONFERENCES

DEG supports technical content at IMAGE, the AAPG–SEG International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy (2026: Aug 17–20, Houston), and at focused conferences on:

  • Orphan wells and geothermal repurposing of idle oil and gas wells
  • Critical minerals in brines and produced water solutions
  • Environmental geochemistry — groundwater, emissions, fluid tracing

Example: The Geothermal, Lithium, Hydrogen: New Energy from Subsurface Fluids conference with Geothermal Rising (Houston, June 2024).

CONNECT: DIALOGUE AND COMMUNITY

DEG is built for conversation across disciplines and sectors, not one-way presentations.

  • Technical committees on Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage; Environmental Geophysics; Water Resources; and Fugitive Gases and Emissions
  • Open discussion platforms that welcome participants who are not AAPG members
  • Workshops that mix regulators, operators, NGOs, academics, and tribal programs in the same room

The new DEG Newsletter (launched Fall 2026), tracking produced water, well repurposing, orphan wells, bonding rules, and emerging research