Washington, DC — Thirteen projects aimed at reducing the risks while enhancing the environmental performance of drilling for natural gas and oil in ultra-deepwater settings have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for further development.
Negotiations for the new projects will lead to awards totaling $35.4 million, adding to the research portfolio of the Office of Fossil Energy’s Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Program. Research needs addressed by the projects include (1) new and better ways to monitor displacement during casing cementing using intelligent casing and smart materials, and (2)assessing corrosion, stress cracking, and scale at extreme temperature and pressure. All of the projects aim to develop and validate new technologies to enhance safety and environmental sustainability.
The total value of the projects is more than $56 million over 4 years with approximately $21.2 million of cost-share provided by the research partners in addition to the $35.4 million in federal funds. The research contracts will be administered by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, under the management of the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. Click here for more information, including brief descriptions of the selected projects.