[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 238 (Friday, December 11, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 68439-68440] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-32994] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Notice of Availability of Solicitation Entitled Reservoir Class Field Demonstration Program--Class Revisit AGENCY: National Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO) through the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC), DOE. ACTION: Notice of Issuance of Financial Assistance Solicitation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The U. S. Department of Energy's National Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO) in conjunction with the Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC) announces that it intends to issue a competitive Program Opportunity Notice (PON), DE-PS26-99BC15144, and to award financial assistance (Cooperative Agreements) to qualified recipients. Through the issuance of this PON, the DOE is presenting the next round of solicitations which addresses U.S. vulnerability to supply disruptions by expanding the domestic supply of oil production from the domestic resource. Proposals will be subjected to a comparative merit review by DOE technical panel, and awards will be made to a limited number of proposers on the basis of the scientific merit of the proposals, application of relevant program policy factors, and the availability of funds. DATES: The Program Solicitation is expected to be ready for release on or about December 18, 1998. Applications must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the instructions and forms in the Program Opportunity Notice and must be received by the DOE by April 1, 1999. Prior to submitting your application to the solicitation, check for any changes (i.e. closing date of solicitation) and/or amendments, if any. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Keith R. Miles, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, P.O. Box 10940 (MS 921-143), Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940; (Telephone: 412-892-5984; Facsimile: 412- 892-6216; E-Mail: [email protected]). ADDRESSES: The solicitation will be available through the Internet at FETC's Home Page (http://www.fetc.doe.gov/business). TELEPHONE REQUESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY [[Page 68440]] FORMAT VERSION OF THE SOLICITATION. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This solicitation supports two of the 1998 Comprehensive National Energy Strategy (CNES) goals, which are (1) to ensure against energy disruptions and (2) to promote energy production and use in ways that reflect human health and environmental values. The focus is to reduce U. S. vulnerability to supply disruptions by expanding the domestic oil supply. Petroleum reservoirs have been classified based on the geology of the reserve and the environment of deposition. Depositional environments of the fluvial dominated deltaic type (Class I), shallow shelf carbonates (Class II), and slope and basin clastics (Class III), support these goals because they contain 50% of the domestic remaining oil in place. Further background material is given in the DOE Oil and Gas R & D Programs (DOE/FE-0359, March 1997) document. The strategy targets three groups of depositionally similar reservoirs based on the premise that demonstrated methodologies and technologies that overcome specific producibility problems in representative reservoirs have a higher probability of being applicable to other members of that same class than to non-class reservoirs. This solicitation addresses program goals of preserving access to reservoirs with high potential for increased productivity. These goals will be accomplished by conducting technology transfer activities that motivate operators to identify producibility problems and apply underutilized technologies to overcome these problems. These reservoirs represent the higher priority reservoir classes. An assessment of about 2000 domestic reservoirs in the Total Oil Recovery Information System (TORIS) showed these classes to have a large volume of remaining oil, a large potential for additional recovery using conventional recovery technologies, and a high risk of abandonment of the resource in the next five years. Advanced recovery technologies represent a significant improvement in process effectiveness (i.e., greater sweep efficiencies, improved economics, or evaluation techniques) or applicability over currently available technologies or represent a new or innovative technology not successfully demonstrated in the field. Advanced technologies, as defined in this PON, include advanced reservoir characterization techniques, advanced recovery technologies and advanced reservoir management techniques. The understanding of the interaction of the reservoir architecture is essential to these advanced technologies. These technologies should not have been previously addressed in the same region and reservoir class. DOE discourages repeating the same suite of technologies in the same plays as the previous class programs. Some examples of advanced technologies or some combination of technologies are: Advanced Reservoir Characterization Technologies or Tools:New geophysical imaging or interpretation techniques. Three-dimensional simulation. Advanced or high resolution 3-D seismic. Geochemical techniques. Advanced well and tracer tests. Advanced logging techniques such as borehole imaging or permeability logging. Advanced Recovery Technologies: Mobility control agents. Steam processes. Gas processes. Horizontal & lateral(s) (radial) wells. Miscible solvents. Chemical processes. In-situ combustion. Advanced Reservoir Management Techniques Reservoir modeling/simulation. Fracture stimulation. New geostatistical methodologies. Novel or innovative recompletions. Injection strategies and pressure maintenance. Material balance decline curve techniques. Note: Pure tool development is excluded under this solicitation. DOE currently has available $8.3 million for this Program Opportunity Notice (PON) and intends to bring total DOE support to $18 million for this solicitation. Projects must include: reservoir characterization (Budget Period 1), demonstration/field activities (Budget Period 2), continued project monitoring activities (Budget Period 3); moreover, technology transfer should be a major component of all Budget Period activities and should aim to motivate operators toward broader application of cost-effective technologies/ methodologies. It is anticipated that between 10-20 cost-shared awards, with a total project value estimated at $1.5 million to $10.0 million each (i.e., DOE share of project costs estimated at between $500K- $3,000K), will be made under this solicitation. The proposer must cost share at least 55 percent of the total allowable cost of Budget Period 1 for reservoir characterization, at least 65 percent of the total allowable cost of Budget Period 2 for the demonstration phase, and at least 90 percent of the total allowable cost of Budget Period 3 for continued project monitoring activities. Each project is expected to have a period of performance of approximately five (5) to six (6) years. Issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 2, 1998. Dale A. Siciliano, Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division. [FR Doc. 98-32994 Filed 12-10-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P