DOE to invest $20 million in new oil and gas research projects
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the availability of $20 million for cost-shared oil and gas research projects to increase recovery efficiency from unconventional oil and gas wells and to prevent offshore spills and leaks. This funding opportunity seeks projects that will advance the DOE’s objective to support a more environmentally responsible, secure and resilient US energy infrastructure, while enhancing economic competitiveness and national security.
“This oil and gas research funding opportunity underscores the Department’s commitment to developing all of the nation’s energy resources,” Doug Hollett, Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, said. “Increased efficiency and reliability of preventative and recovery measures promote our energy security and contribute to making the United States energy dominant.”
Projects under this funding opportunity will support the Office of Fossil Energy’s efforts to ensure environmentally sustainable domestic and global supplies of oil and natural gas. Funded projects will cover three areas – two addressing unconventional oil and gas recovery and one focused on offshore oil and gas leak prevention:
- Technology validation using field laboratories – $15 million
- Advancement in subsurface diagnostics – $3 million
These two topic areas address critical gaps in the understanding of reservoir behavior and optimal completion, stimulation, and recovery strategies for unconventional oil and gas. The aim of these topic areas is to increase and enable more cost-efficient and environmentally sound recovery from shale gas, tight oil, and tight gas reservoirs.
- Offshore spill and leak prevention – $2 million
This topic area focuses on offshore oil and gas spill and leak prevention. The aim is to develop innovative solutions that predict geologic hazards and prepare for and prevent offshore incidents through risk reduction and mitigation technologies.
