[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 214 (Wednesday, November 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62567-62569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-27827]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Availability of 
a Financial Assistance Solicitation

AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a financial assistance solicitation.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the intent to issue Financial 
Assistance Solicitation No. DE-PS26-04NT15450-0 entitled, ``Oil 
Exploration and Production Program Solicitation.'' The primary mission 
of the Department of Energy (DOE)--National Oil Program, implemented 
through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)'s National 
Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO) in Tulsa, OK, is to conduct oil 
related research and development activities. The purpose is to expand 
the knowledge base through which industry can bring additional oil 
reserves and new technology options into the marketplace in a cost-
effective and environmentally acceptable manner. The goal of this Oil 
Exploration and

[[Page 62568]]

Production Program Solicitation is to support research that supplements 
and complements but does not duplicate or displace private and other 
public research and development efforts. The objective of the 
solicitation is to select midterm type research projects that will 
focus on cost effectively improving current technologies.

DATES: The solicitation will be available on the ``Industry Interactive 
Procurement System'' (IIPS) webpage located at http://e-center.doe.gov 
on or about October 30, 2003. Applicants can obtain access to the 
solicitation from the address above or through DOE/NETL's Web site at 
http://www.netl.doe.gov/business.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Juliana L. Heynes, MS 921-107, U.S. 
Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box 
10940, MS 921-107, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, E-mail Address: 
[email protected], Telephone Number: 412-386-4872.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The goals of the Department of Energy's 
Fossil Energy Oil Program are derived from the National need for 
increased oil production as a part of the national security, 
requirements for Federal lands stewardship and increased protection of 
the environment. The core research program of NETL continues to support 
these goals through carefully selected projects from similar program 
solicitations. Approximately two-thirds of all the oil discovered in 
the United States remains in the ground. This effort will provide 
further development of technologies to recover the remaining reserves 
in the domestic arena. Technological advances can also be applied by 
companies in foreign reserves, increasing global supplies as well. The 
program supports the National Energy Policy goals to increase domestic 
oil exploration through continued partnership with public and private 
entities and to promote enhanced oil recovery from existing wells 
through new technology. By providing support to the development of 
improved and new technologies in three specific areas, the results 
should improve oil recovery and increase hydrocarbon reserves. This 
will augment the domestic oil supply. Applications submitted to any 
Area of Interest or technical topic must contain a minimum of 20% cost 
share. Approximately twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) is expected 
to be available for new awards under this announcement. It is 
anticipated that six million dollars ($6,000,000) will be available 
during Fiscal Year 2004. (Note: The limit on participation by an M&O 
contractor for an individual project under this solicitation cannot 
exceed 25% of the total project cost).
    This solicitation has three separate Areas of Interest:

Area 1--Drilling Technology for High Speed Downhole Motors

    Area 1 is limited to one technical topic. Applications in Area 1 
will be for projects designed to develop high-speed downhole motors 
suitable for drilling with high speed bits in the harsh downhole 
drilling environment. The Oil Program has a drilling program that is 
currently focused mainly on microhole drilling and applications. 
However, the area of high speed bit development is progressing steadily 
and it was recognized that a suitable downhole motor will be necessary 
to fully develop the capabilities of the high speed bits in multiple 
applications. Current long-term research efforts are looking for 
solutions to drilling in deep wells and hard rock. High speed drilling 
holds the potential to reduce drilling costs and produce a smaller 
environmental footprint. The need for a downhole motor to operate with 
these bits will be required in the near future. It is anticipated these 
bits and motors will be employed in directional, slimhole and coiled 
tubing drilled wells. The drilling program will look to enhance this 
developing area of research.

Area 2--Advanced Diagnostics and Imaging Technology

    Area 2 is comprised of three separate technical topics: (A) 
Subsurface Imaging; (B) Regional Study and Basin Analysis; and ( C ) 
Reservoir Characterization and Management.
    The Advanced Diagnostics and Imaging Systems (ADIS) Program is an 
integral part of the DOE/FE mission and strategy. ADIS is directed 
toward cross-cutting interdisciplinary research to develop advanced and 
innovative technologies applied to the incremental recovery of the 
estimated 160 billion barrels of existing and undiscovered technically 
recoverable oil from onshore and offshore waters of the United States 
(USGS, 1995, MMS, 1996).
    Uncertainty concerning the physical and chemical nature of oil 
reservoirs is one of the most severe technological barriers to 
increasing the economic oil recovery from existing and undiscovered 
fields. Oil reservoirs are composed of a wide variety of architectural 
heterogeneities (i.e., rock facies geometry, diagenetic alterations, 
fracturing, stratigraphic and structural setting). Porosity, relative 
permeability, pore and pore throat morphology, capillary forces, 
miscibility and saturation variations (oil-gas brine plus other 
displacing fluid/gas compositions, rock-fluid, fluid-gas and fluid-
fluid interactions) also contribute to technical recovery barriers. 
Several of these variables often change between like reservoirs within 
a single geologic play and change due to temporal and spatial dynamic 
alterations that occur within a reservoir throughout the exploitation 
and recovery processes.
    The ADIS section of this solicitation supports research designed to 
quantify the interrelationship of the reservoir rock architecture, 
fluid-rock, fluid-gas, and fluid-fluid interactions that impact oil 
productibility from petroleum reservoirs. Research efforts should 
target geologic formations and associated oil reservoirs within United 
States basins. Multidisciplinary teaming and active involvement by oil 
producers and /or service companies, with interests in the application 
of research results for more efficient recovery of larger volumes of 
oil from fields within the geologic formations and basin studied, is 
strongly encouraged. Results of these research and technology 
developments shall be aggressively transferred to the public and 
private industry thus allowing for informed decisions related to cost-
effective reservoir management and exploitation of like oil reservoirs 
within the productive formations studied.

Area 3--Reservoir Efficiency Processes

    Area 3 is comprised of six separate technical topics: (A) Chemical 
Flooding; (B) Microbial Flooding; ( C ) Heavy Oil Recovery; (D) Novel 
Processes; (E) Reservoir Simulation; and (F) Gas Flooding.
    Fossil fuels will likely remain the principal energy sources for 
most of the world, including the United States, well into the middle of 
the century. The program shall expand the knowledge base which, with 
industry, can bring efficient, economically competitive, and 
environmentally acceptable new fossil energy resources and technology 
options into the marketplace and improve the United States national 
security by reducing dependence on imported oil. As an integral part of 
the Fossil Energy mission and strategy, Production Research is directed 
toward the development of advanced and innovative technologies for 
recovering oil from large, currently unrecoverable petroleum resources.
    As an integral part of the Fossil Energy mission and strategy, the 
extraction research of oil is directed toward the development of 
advanced and innovative technologies for recovering oil from large, 
currently unrecoverable, petroleum resources.

[[Page 62569]]

Primary and secondary recovery operations have been utilized for many 
years to extract oil from reservoirs.
    With continually diminishing United States crude production and 
increasing dependency on foreign supplies, there is a need to develop 
oil production from these domestic oil resources. Advanced Recovery 
Concepts will play a significant role in the exploitation of these 
domestic resources. New techniques to overcome the problems associated 
with advanced recovery are needed in order to meet the energy demands 
of the immediate future. The importance of increasing the petroleum 
reserves of the United States through the production of oil left in 
petroleum reservoirs after conventional recovery techniques are used is 
well known and well documented.
    Once released, the solicitation will be available for downloading 
from the IIPS Internet page. At this Internet site you will also be 
able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit an application. If 
you need technical assistance in registering or for any other IIPS 
function, call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 683-0751 or E-mail the Help 
Desk personnel at center.doe.gov">IIPS_HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov. The solicitation 
will only be made available in IIPS, no hard (paper) copies of the 
solicitation and related documents will be made available. Telephone 
requests, written requests, E-mail requests, or facsimile requests for 
a copy of the solicitation package will not be accepted and/or honored. 
Applications must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the 
instructions and forms contained in the solicitation. The actual 
solicitation document will allow for requests for explanation and/or 
interpretation.

    Issued in Pittsburgh, PA on October 28, 2003.
Dale A. Siciliano,
Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 03-27827 Filed 11-4-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P