US announces federal funds for oil and gas recovery research projects

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has announced federal funding to support research and development (R&D) to improve the efficiency of oil and gas recovery in the country.

Up to $88m in funding will be provided for cost-shared R&D projects that seek to enhance technologies for oil and natural gas recovery. The financing will be made available under two separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs).

The projects will be managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said: “Technology and innovation gave us the shale revolution that’s transformed the energy landscape here in America and around the world.

“This research and development will allow us to continue building on those successes and expand the advancement of both our conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources.”

Based on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, proved reserves of US crude oil and natural gas in 2017 stood at 39.2 billion barrels, while proved reserves of natural gas resources reached 464.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).

The DOE has noted that the record levels of proved reserves of oil and gas have been partly achieved due to its research programmes.

The push for new R&D is due to the fact that a majority of US oil remains in the ground.

Funding availability for the first FOA comprises $44m under DE-FOA-0001988, Advanced Technologies for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

The scope of the projects selected under the first FOA will include reduction of technical risks associated with enhanced oil recovery (EOR), as well as expanding the application of EOR methods in onshore reservoirs.

The projects are also expected to enhance the understanding of unconventional reservoirs and improve recovery factors for the plays.

Interested parties need to submit concept papers by 25 January. Up to six projects are expected to be selected for this FOA.

The second FOA will offer $44m in funding. Projects under this FOA will focus on enhancing the characterisation of emerging unconventional plays and improving the ultimate recovery of resources from unconventional reservoirs.