The organisation now known as CASP originated in 1948, when W. B. Harland (pictured) began the Cambridge Spitsbergen Expeditions (CSE). Many senior figures in academia and industry gained early field experience on these expeditions. From 1960, support came from companies with an interest in Svalbard and the Barents Shelf. CSE gave rise to the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Programme in 1975. CASP was incorporated in 1988 with charitable status.

Subsequently, CASP greatly increased its regional scope, diversifying its research to areas outside the Arctic, forging a reputation for conducting safe, high quality, field based geological research in frontier and under explored basins. This work was supported by a host of multinational hydrocarbon companies primarily to improve their geological knowledge of new areas.

Recognising the imperative to transition toward a net zero future, CASP identified the potential of the nascent geological CO₂ storage industry as an area in which it could apply its core skills and experience. In 2022 CASP launched two research themes that targeted the characterisation and appraisal of subsurface storage of CO₂ beneath the Southern North Sea. This research closely aligns with national and international Net Zero strategies.

With CCS now an essential technology for achieving net zero by 2050, CASP anticipate a continued and permanent transition to the application of geological research in support of net zero targets.