
About RESPEC
As part of a multidisciplinary subsurface team, RESPEC professionals are fully trained in all core sciences to deliver applied knowledge in geophysics, geochemistry, reservoir modeling, rock mechanics, and data analytics.
1969
Established in South Dakota
Offices in the U.S. and Canada
Employees
Employee-Owned
2025 Gross Revenue
Experience you can trust.
From remote communities to major hubs, solving complex problems takes the right team. RESPEC brings together engineers, scientists, and technology experts to tackle challenges that shape industries and communities. Whether it’s managing resources, improving infrastructure, or solving regulatory hurdles, we work with you to find answers that last.

Our Team
Saurabh Agarwal is a versatile technical leader with deep expertise in completions and reservoir engineering and a proven record of driving innovation across complex energy projects. He combines subsurface insight with operational experience to deliver integrated solutions that span exploration, development, and production phases. His background includes resource evaluation in both unconventional and geothermal systems, with a particular strength in performance forecasting, stimulation design, and well testing. Saurabh is highly skilled in using data analytics and simulation tools to optimize reservoir performance, assess economic viability, and support long-term field development strategies. He has led multidisciplinary teams, coordinated vendor relationships, and managed end-to-end technical programs involving drilling, completions, and supply chain oversight.
Ernesto Rivas is a fluently bilingual (Spanish/English) industrial engineer with a significant geothermal drilling engineering background. Ernesto is primarily responsible for designing and engineering geothermal wells, formulating detailed drilling and workover plans, authorization for expenditure (AFE) elaboration, and providing on-site supervision of domestic and multinational rotary drilling, core drilling, testing, workover operations, and well testing operations.
Dylan Rowe is a highly motivated oil and gas professional with extensive executive, engineering, and field experience. He has a strong educational background and a keen understanding of oilfield completion operations, including cross-link, slick water, acid, salt, sand, and chemical diversion. As a leader, he recognizes the importance of data-driven process improvement, efficient logistics execution, meticulous cost management, and timely adoption of new technologies. He is technically savvy and proficient in various software, including the Microsoft Office Suite, SMARTS, Petra, CMG simulation software, and data acquisition software such as MDT and Rolligon. Dylan is dedicated to using his skills and experience to contribute to the success of his team and the oil and gas industry.
Richard Holt is a consulting geothermal reservoir engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the geothermal industry. Richard’s educational background includes an MS degree from Stanford University and a BS degree from the University of California Berkeley, both in Petroleum Engineering. Richard has provided consulting services on more than 100 different geothermal fields in 20 countries, including all producing geothermal projects in the USA. Richard has worked directly with all types of resources found in the global geothermal industry, from low-enthalpy pumped hydrothermal wells in sedimentary rocks to super-critical, hypersaline, high-enthalpy wells in fractured volcanics.
Mary Mann is a Professional Geologist specializing in geothermal energy. She has experience in all stages of geothermal energy development—greenfield exploration program design and fieldwork, thermal gradient, slim well, production/injection well drilling, targeting, well site geology, and drilling project planning. Prior to GRG (now RESPEC), she was the resource manager for a geothermal operating company, playing a key role in exploration program planning, conceptual model building, well targeting, resource monitoring and compliance, and drilling project management. Before that, she gained experience with the collection and interpretation of geophysical data, including EM and potential fields data, while working for a geophysical consulting firm. Mary is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. She has a background in hydrology, including as a Fulbright Scholar studying water quality and domestic water well siting to benefit rural populations in Niger.
As a geological engineering graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, Brett Dueck’s background covers drilling, mining, petroleum, and geotechnical studies. In the past 11 years, he has specialized in the mineral industry, primarily focusing on drilling management and well engineering. Brett has worked on projects for many companies, specifically projects related to potash and mineral drilling programs, brine injection wells, and hydrogeological drilling studies. His services include well design, permitting/regulatory coordination, drilling cost estimates, and subcontractor management. He also performs the project management and health, safety, and environmental setup for these projects. He has contributed to due diligence, Joint Ore Reserves Committee, and National Instrument (NI) 43-101 documents by assisting in resource estimates, drilling reviews, and report compilation.
Dr. Haiyan Zhou has over 12 years of expertise in numerical modeling of subsurface processes, with a focus on geothermal energy storage, carbon (CO₂) sequestration, and groundwater flow and transport. She has specialized extensively in geothermal energy simulation, encompassing reservoir characterization, numerical modeling, and uncertainty quantification. Her core technical toolkit includes advanced use of FEFLOW and TOUGH for geothermal modeling.
Most recently, Dr. Zhou contributed to the ESTCP Joint Base Andrews (JBA) project, where she evaluated various borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) scenarios. Her work supported the integration of BTES into the Grid-Amplified Building Energy Seasonal Storage (GABESS) system, aiming to optimize seasonal and diurnal energy storage and meet site-specific energy demands. She leveraged FEFLOW and its Python API to conduct scenario analysis and performance evaluation.
Please note: RESPEC does not directly fund geothermal projects, but we can help with funding applications. Ask us!
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