The US Department of Energy has selected for further development 13 projects designed to reduce risks and improve environmental protections during ultradeepwater drilling. Negotiations for the new projects will lead to $35.4 million of awards, DOE’s Fossil Energy Office (FEO) said on May 21. The projects’ total value will be more than $56 million over 4 years with $21.2 million of shared costs provided by the research partners, it noted.
FEO said the projects will address use of intelligent casing and smart materials to monitor displacement in new and better ways during casing cementing; and assess corrosion, stress cracking, and scale at extreme temperatures and pressures.
Grants include $3,174,127 to Brine Chemistry Solutions LLC of Houston (which will provide $807,640) over 3 years to develop the necessary data, models, and experimental tools to more accurately assess corrosion, stress cracking, and chemical deposit buildup at extreme temperatures and pressures; $10,985,402 to Deepflex of Houston (which will provide $9,410,005) over 3 years and 9 months to design, manufacture, and test flexible fiber reinforced pipe for use in 10,000 ft water depths; and $7,105,948 to GE Global Research in Niskayuna, NY (which will provide $6,331,586), over 4 years for similar flexible fiber reinforced pipe design, manufacturing, and testing research for use in water 10,000 ft deep.
FEO said the contracts will be administered by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, under the management of FEO’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
