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17 August 2007
[Federal Register: August 15, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 157)]
[Notices]
[Page 45800-45801]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15au07-72]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other
Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program 2007 Annual Plan
AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Report Availability.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy announces the availability of the
2007 Annual Plan for the Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas
and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program on the
DOE Web site at http://management.energy.gov/FOIA/1480.htm or in print
form (see ``CONTACT'' below). The 2007 Annual Plan is in compliance
with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Subtitle J, Section 999B(e)(3),
which requires the publication of this plan and all written comments in
the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Hochheiser or Elena Melchert,
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, Mail Stop FE-
30, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585 or phone: 202-
586-5600 or e-mail to UltraDeepwater@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary [excerpted from the 2007 Annual Plan p.4]
This document is the 2007 Annual Plan (Plan) for the Ultra-
Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources
Research and Development Program (Program) established pursuant to
Subtitle J, Section 999, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct).
EPAct required the Department of Energy to competitively select and
award a contract to a consortium which in turn is to administer three
elements of the Program pursuant to an annual plan. A fourth program
element of complementary research will be performed by the National
Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). NETL is also tasked with primary
review and oversight of the Consortium.
As required by Section 999B(e)(2)(A), the Consortium provided its
recommendations for the 2007 Annual Plan in the form of a ``draft
annual plan'' (DAP). These recommendations were the basis for the 2007
Annual Plan which was presented to the Ultra-Deepwater Advisory
Committee (UDAC) and the Unconventional Resources Technology Advisory
Committee (URTAC) for review and comments. These comments were
considered in the final development of the 2007 Annual
[[Page 45801]]
Plan. In order to accommodate the Section 999 requirement to publish
all written comments, the Consortium's DAP and the Advisory Committee
reports are appended to the 2007 Annual Plan. No other written comments
were received.
As directed in Section 999, NETL solicited proposals, and in late
2006, competitively selected The Research Partnership to Secure Energy
for America (RPSEA) as the Consortium. NETL worked closely with RPSEA
in the development of its DAP, which frames their goals for the first
two years of the program. RPSEA gathered extensive input through
industry workshops, roadmapping sessions, and expert opinion to develop
its first DAP, and identified the areas of highest priority for the
investment of $50 million per year.
EPAct identifies three program elements to be administered by the
Consortium: Ultra-deepwater architecture and technology, unconventional
natural gas and other petroleum resources exploration and production
technology, and technology challenges of small producers.
In the 2007 Annual Plan, the Ultra-Deepwater Program Element is
divided into theme areas based on four generic field types that
represent the most challenging field development scenarios facing
deepwater operators. The Consortium will solicit research and
development (R&D) projects that seek to develop technologies that will
facilitate development of these field types. Additionally, there are
eight crosscutting challenges that represent the areas where new
technologies are needed to advance the pace of ultra-deepwater
development for all field types. The Consortium will also solicit
projects that seek to advance technologies in each of these areas as
components of an integrated system.
The Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources
Program Element is divided into three theme areas that target gas
shales, water management for both coalbed methane and gas shales, and
tight sands. The 2007 Annual Plan focuses on unconventional natural gas
rather than ``other petroleum resources'' (e.g., shale oil, oil sands,
deep gas) where R&D to help convert resources into reserves is needed.
The Small Producers Program Element targets advancing technologies
for mature fields, which primarily covers the technology challenges of
managing water production, improving recovery, and reducing costs.
Mature fields are the domain of small producers, and they face these
three challenges on a daily basis.
For each of these program elements, a number of ``sub-themes'' have
been developed to help guide the Consortium through their solicitation
process. These sub-themes and the prioritization process are provided
in greater detail in Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 of the 2007 Annual Plan.
The solicitation process that will be followed to generate the
portfolio of R&D projects to address these themes is described in
Section 2.4.
The NETL Complementary R&D Program Element has four principal areas
of focus or ``Centers'':
Drilling Under Extreme Conditions.
Environmental Impacts of Oil and Natural Gas Development.
Enhanced and Unconventional Oil Recovery.
Resource Assessment.
A fifth area of activity will identify and quantify the benefits
that are expected to accrue as a result of the annual $50 million
funding level provided under Section 999H(a) of EPAct, and perform
analyses in support of program planning.
Examples where the NETL R&D Program Element will complement the R&D
administered by the Consortium include:
Within both the Environmental Impacts of Oil and Gas
Development and the Enhanced and Unconventional Oil Recovery Centers,
there is a significant focus on oil shale and oil sands, resource areas
that are not part of the program administered by the Consortium.
The Center for Drilling Under Extreme Conditions will
carry out fundamental research related to the performance of tools and
equipment under extremely high pressures and temperatures, work that is
related to development of the deep gas resource, which is not a target
of the consortium program. Also, this work can support particular
elements of the Ultra-Deepwater program.
The Center for Resource Assessment will develop data and
analytical products that will complement both the programs for small
producers and the development of unconventional gas resources. These
products, similar to those produced by DOE in the past and very popular
within the industry, are not a focus area for the Consortium.
Continual communication between NETL and RPSEA will ensure that all
program elements remain complementary and supportive, and that
duplication of effort is avoided. Technology transfer for the entire
program will be a continually evolving function. Because there are not
yet any active projects, the focus of the 2007 Annual Plan is to
release solicitations and establish R&D projects. Technology transfer
will be an integral part of the NETL Complementary program. It will
also be part of each Consortium-administered award, as Section 999C(d)
of EPAct mandates that each award recipient use 2.5% of their award for
technology transfer. RPSEA and NETL have been working together to
develop a technology transfer plan that provides a systematic approach
for development of an integrated technology transfer program.
Section 999H(a) of EPAct provided that the Ultra-Deepwater and
Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund will be
funded at $50-million-per-year for 10 years, with funds generated from
Federal lease royalties, rents, and bonuses paid by oil and gas
companies. After allocations for program management by NETL and R&D
administration by RPSEA, the amounts to be invested in R&D total $44.56
million ($32.06 million per year for Consortium R&D and $12.5 million
per year for Complementary R&D).
The NETL Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil is responsible
for overall program management. Complementary R&D will be carried out
by NETL's Office of Research and Development. Planning and analysis
related to the program, including benefits assessment and technology
impacts analysis related to program direction, will be carried out by
NETL's Office of Systems, Analysis, and Planning.
Dated: August 1, 2007.
James A. Slutz,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office Oil and Natural Gas.
[FR Doc. E7-15998 Filed 8-14-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P