[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 15, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45800-45801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15998]


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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 [email protected].

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