I was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh—a young nation marked by resilience, yet scarred by wars, political upheavals, and the constant struggle against poverty. My childhood memories were painted in the dim light of kerosene lamps. I can still remember many mothers in Africa carrying their children on their backs as they walk long distances to gather firewood or charcoal, determined to provide for them. I can see myself and my sister bent over our homework, eyes straining under flickering lamps, silently wishing for the luxury of steady electricity. Energy poverty wasn’t just statistics—it was our life. It shaped my sense of resilience, but it also sparked a lifelong question: why should a lack of light dim any child’s dreams?

My father’s United Nations assignments took me to Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. Those experiences opened my eyes to the transformative power of access to energy on entire communities. In Kenya, I saw villages once bound to kerosene lamps and smoky kitchens suddenly alive with reliable electricity. Schools could run evening classes, women had time for businesses, and small farms gained new productivity. With nearly half of Kenya’s electricity now generated from geothermal energy, it became clear to me: geothermal is not just about power plants—it is about dignity, freedom, and opportunity.

When I arrived in the United States on a scholarship to Texas A&M University in 1998, I believed I was entering the world’s most advanced energy economy. But driving through Texas, I encountered another truth. Places like Presidio, Texas, stood as reminders that energy poverty doesn’t only belong to developing nations. Despite being part of the richest country in the world, Presidio’s people live with limited jobs, unreliable electricity, and inadequate healthcare. Families often move away just to survive. It struck me deeply—energy poverty wears different faces, but the suffering is the same.

Despite progress in fossil fuel and nuclear energy, Bangladesh’s geothermal promise remains untapped. Regions like Singra–Kuchma and Barapukuria show resource potential exceeding 5 GW, yet a lack of policy frameworks and investment keeps this resource buried. Meanwhile, millions still rely on biomass fuels, which carry all the associated health and environmental consequences. I see the same potential in Bangladesh that I saw in Kenya decades ago—a chance to ignite development through geothermal energy, if only the right roadmap is laid out.

I spent years working in the oil and gas industry. It provided me with financial stability, global travel opportunities, and professional prestige. Yet each layoff—twice in my career—reminded me of the volatility and emptiness of fossil fuels. Oil and gas showed me wealth, but it didn’t feed my soul. Geothermal, however, felt different. It demanded patience, persistence, and perseverance—values I carried from my childhood. But it also promised something more: the power to leave behind a lasting legacy of light and hope.

Kenya: With nearly 1,000 MW of installed capacity, geothermal now accounts for 45–47% of the country's electricity generation. It lowered costs, stabilized the grid, and lifted millions from the shadows of energy poverty. Presidio, Texas: A 110 MW geothermal project is in motion. With the right planning, it can bring jobs, stabilize the electricity supply, and revitalize a struggling community. Bangladesh: With an estimated potential of more than 5 GW, it stands where Kenya once was. Exploration, donor-backed pilots, and policy reforms could spark a new era of energy.

My story is not just about professional shifts—it is about a lifelong pursuit to end energy poverty. From Bangladesh’s flickering lamps to Kenya’s bright classrooms, from Presidio’s empty hospitals to the promise of sustainable geothermal baseload, I have seen both the shadows and the light. For me, geothermal is not just energy. It is freedom from cycles of poverty, resilience in the face of climate change, and hope for communities too often left behind. Kenya has proven what is possible. Presidio can show it is possible here in America. Bangladesh can begin its journey. As for me, I carry the same commitment that lit my path from Dhaka to Texas: to never give up on geothermal’s promise—to light the way for millions still waiting in the dark.

Now is the time for oil and gas to look down at the great opportunity before them—to do what is right for their employees, customers, shareholders, the environment, and future generations. We’ll explain why oil and gas companies should invest in geothermal energy.

• Pressure is mounting for the oil and gas industry to become carbon neutral, and that pressure will only increase in the coming decades. Geothermal energy is carbon neutral.
• Oil and gas companies have explored the subsurface of the earth for decades. People in the oil and gas companies are seeking cleaner, greener jobs. Their technology, expertise, and data collection bring unique advantages to the geothermal space and help decrease costs. Investing in geothermal energy is a natural pivot for oil and gas companies that will make their employees and shareholders happy.
• Hot water, which geothermal energy produces, will become increasingly valuable to the oil and gas industry.
• Both industries have similar technologies, knowledge, and expertise.
• Both industries find and engineer reservoirs under the earth’s surface.
• Old oil and gas wells can be repurposed to become geothermal heat sources.

More and more  oil and gas firms are committing to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Why is it important for this industry to become carbon neutral? According to McKinsey, oil and gas production contributes 42% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a lot of CO2.

Why is reducing CO2 emissions important? According to NOAA, despite the global pandemic, carbon dioxide levels are higher than any time in the last 3.6 million years. If oil and gas companies don’t get on board to be carbon neutral, we won’t solve the CO2 problem.

In February 2020, BP announced net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. And other oil and gas companies have also said they plan to become carbon neutral or significantly reduce their carbon footprint including Paris-based Total, the Netherland’s Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, the Spanish oil and gas company Repsol, and PetroChina.

But with rising CO2 emissions, the current scenario demands immediate action. A partnership with geothermal companies can help oil and gas companies become more carbon neutral by repurposing old oil and gas wells. Using geothermal energy equipment in abandoned or unproductive oil and gas wells helps address the need for more renewable energy sources.

As the oil and gas industry continues to decline, workers are looking for new job opportunities. Because many of the drilling technologies and methods are similar, workers can easily transition to geothermal energy jobs and help create clean energy. Solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear power require very different technologies. Geothermal is a great fit for former oil and gas workers. In fact, some of the folks working on developing new geothermal technologies are senior executives from the oil and gas industry. Simply put, geothermal energy provides the opportunity for oil and gas companies to leverage what they already know and do to generate renewable energy.

And, there are plenty of wells already in production. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there are 483,326 gas producing wells that are active in the United States, and it’s forecasted that 22,600 new wells will be created in 2022. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are more than 3 million total abandoned oil and gas wells. Why don’t we use these wells to create clean energy and new green jobs for workers?

Over the next decade, society will need a mix of renewable energy and clean energy. We will especially need energies that are always on, regardless of the time of day or the weather. There are significant opportunities for collaboration across industries as we work together to solve the energy crisis.

Oil and gas companies have a huge opportunity to not only survive the transition to clean energy, but also thrive as renewable energy leaders, if they invest in geothermal energy now.

The next step for oil and gas leaders is to collaborate with Geothermal Rising and the geothermal industry. While there are many similarities with supplying oil and gas and supplying geothermal energy, geothermal experts have decades of knowledge on key differences and can help your company come out of the energy transition a winner.

https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/why-the-oil-and-gas-industry-should-expand-into-geothermal-energy/

https://energytracker.asia/oil-and-gas-industrys-net-zero-commitments/

https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2742/Despite-pandemic-shutdowns-carbon-dioxide-and-methane-surged-in-2020

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29072021/inside-clean-energy-geothermal-energy-oil-workers/

https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_prod_wells_s1_a.htm