1.This Act may be cited as the
Tapping America’s Energy Potential
through Research and Development Act of 2012
.
2.The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary, shall carry out under this Act research, development, and
demonstration activities of technologies that increase energy security and
affordability by enabling the safe and responsible production of the vast
domestic unconventional oil and gas resources of the United States. In carrying
out the activities, the Secretary may conduct research and shall provide
grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or other assistance through a
competitive selection process to eligible entities.
3.Oil shale
research and development activities
(a)The Secretary, acting
through the Assistant Secretary, shall carry out research, development, and
demonstration activities to facilitate commercial application of energy
technologies related to the exploration, development, and production of oil
shale resources.
(b)The
objectives of such activities shall be—
(1)to address scientific and technological
barriers to enable economically feasible production of oil shale; and
(2)to minimize potential associated
environmental impacts.
(c)
(1)Not later than 9
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a program
implementation plan that—
(A)details
constraints and opportunities affecting oil shale development;
(B)identifies
strategies to enable such development; and
(C)identifies and
prioritizes research, development, and demonstration activities necessary to
advance program objectives.
(2)The
Assistant Secretary shall consult with a broad range of stakeholders in the
development and implementation of the plan.
(d)The
Assistant Secretary may conduct research and shall make awards to eligible
entities for research, development, and demonstration activities in areas that
include the following:
(1)Oil shale resource characterization.
(2)Modeling and simulation of oil shale
exploration and production technologies, including—
(A)advanced
diagnostics and imaging systems; and
(B)advanced computing
applied to the physics and chemistry of oil shale production.
(3)Minimization and
re-use of water, including—
(A)benchmarking of current water use rates for
multiple production methods;
(B)potential
reduction in water volume needed for operations; and
(C)recovery,
utilization, reduction, and improved management of produced water from
exploration and production activities.
(4)Efficient use of energy in exploration and
production activities.
(5)Utilization of exploration and production
methods and materials that reduce the potential impact of such activities on
the environment, including improved production methods for in-situ mining and
ex-situ mining.
(e)Not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the
progress of the activities under this section.
(f)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Assistant Secretary to carry out the activities of this section $10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
4.Shale extraction
research and development activities
(a)The Secretary, acting
through the Assistant Secretary, shall carry out research, development, and
demonstration activities to facilitate commercial application of energy
technologies related to the exploration, development, and production of oil,
natural gas, and other liquid resources from shale formations.
(b)The objectives of such activities shall
be—
(1)to maximize the benefits of the United
States shale oil and natural gas resources by advancing safe and responsible
exploration, development, and production of these resources;
(2)to minimize
surface impacts from activities related to shale oil and natural gas
production;
(3)to focus on areas
that provide benefits to the public and to industry; and
(4)to advance the
scientific and technological foundation available to producers, Federal and
State Government agencies, and other stakeholders in identified research
areas.
(c)The Assistant Secretary may conduct
research and shall make awards to eligible entities for research, development,
and demonstration activities in areas that include the following:
(1)Water use and
demand, which may include—
(A)potential
reduction in the volume of water utilized for shale oil and natural gas
production; and
(B)alternative
materials, substances, or ingredients for use in shale oil and natural gas
operations that could mitigate the need for or volume of water used.
(2)Water sourcing,
which may include—
(A)expanding options for sources of water used
in shale oil and natural gas operations; and
(B)alternatives to
groundwater or freshwater, such as water recovered from industrial or
agricultural operations, brackish water, or surface water unsuitable for human
or agricultural use, in areas with water supply concerns.
(3)Materials used in shale oil and natural gas
operations, which may include—
(A)increasing the
efficiency of shale oil and natural gas operations by minimizing fluid
use;
(B)improving the
understanding of the relationship between additives used in fracturing and the
chemical and physical properties of different shale formations; and
(C)enhancing
permeability through improved proppants and other materials.
(4)Diagnostic imaging and monitoring, which
may include—
(A)increasing
understanding of the propagation of fractures within target zones; and
(B)advancing
fundamental technologies that enable improved tracking and enhanced
understanding of fracture movements.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary to carry out the
activities of this section $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through
2015.
5.Produced water
utilization research and development activities
(a)The Secretary, acting
through the Assistant Secretary, shall carry out research, development, and
demonstration activities to facilitate commercial application of energy
technologies for environmentally sustainable utilization of produced water for
agricultural, irrigational, recreational, power generation, municipal, and
industrial uses, or other environmentally sustainable purposes.
(b)The Assistant Secretary may conduct
research and shall make awards to eligible entities for research, development,
and demonstration activities, including improving safety and minimizing
environmental impacts of activities, in areas that include the
following:
(1)Produced water recovery, including research
for desalination and demineralization to reduce total dissolved solids in the
produced water.
(2)Produced water
utilization for agricultural, irrigational, recreational, power generation,
municipal, and industrial uses, or other environmentally sustainable
purposes.
(3)Re-injection of
produced water into subsurface geological formations to increase energy
production.
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Assistant Secretary to carry out the activities of this section $5,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
6.To be eligible for a
grant, cooperative agreement, contract, or other assistance under this Act, an
applicant shall be—
(1)an institution of
higher education;
(2)a
National laboratory;
(3)a
private sector entity;
(4)a
nonprofit organization; or
(5)a
consortium of two or more entities described in paragraphs (1) through
(4).
7.In carrying out the activities under this
Act, the Secretary may enter into an agreement with a consortium whose members
have collectively demonstrated capabilities and experience in planning and
managing research, development, demonstration, and commercial application
programs for unconventional natural gas and other petroleum production and
produced water utilization.
8.To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretary shall ensure that the activities under this Act are coordinated with,
and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs at the Department of Energy and
other Government agencies.
9.All activities
authorized by this Act shall adhere to the cost sharing guidelines established
by section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352).
10.
(a)All research,
development, demonstration, and commercial application activities authorized by
this Act shall be limited to technology areas that industry by itself is not
likely to undertake because of technical and financial uncertainty.
(b)Nothing in this
Act creates any new authority for any Federal agency, or may be used by any
Federal agency, to support the establishment of regulatory standards or
regulatory requirements.
11.In this Act:
(1)The term
Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Energy for
Fossil Energy.
(2)Institution of
higher educationThe term
institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in
section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(3)The term
National laboratory has the meaning given such term in section 2
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
(4)The term oil shale means the geologic deposits
in which the petroleum component kerogen has not fully transformed into oil or
gas.
(5)The term produced water means water from an
underground source that is brought to the surface as a part of the process of
exploration for or development of coalbed methane, oil, natural gas, or any
other substance to be used as an energy source.
(6)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
(7)Shale oil and
natural gasThe term
shale oil and natural gas means oil, natural gas, and other liquid
resources produced from shale formations.