At a Society of Petroleum Engineers Aberdeen dinner this month, experienced petroleum engineer Professor Alfred Eustes will talk about how oil and gas drilling techniques could help explorers on the red planet.

His involvement in drilling operations, coring and resonant sonic drilling across the US led to him advising NASA on extra-terrestrial drilling issues.

"Whilst no organic life has ever been found on Mars, it is possible that a large biomass could exist under the surface, similar to Earth," Eustes said.

"To determine if this is true, drilling will be required to access the subsurface and the techniques used in oil and gas exploration activities are well suited to future exploratory missions.

"As part of my presentation I will discuss the current plans for Martian subsurface exploration, the techniques that are required to get there and how what we learn about drilling there could impact us here on Earth."

Eustes is an associate professor in petroleum engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.

As well as teaching and conducting specialist drilling and completions research, he also has more than 35 years as a professional engineer.

SPE Aberdeen chairman Anthony Onukwu said it was a relatively new area of discussion that had gained traction in recent years.