The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking new ways to use the National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research (Niper) in Bartlesville, Okla.
DOE is asking the public for comments by Dec. 15 on ways to change or expand use of Niper, its principal petroleum research laboratory. The complex employs 200 persons.
DOE said future uses of the facility do not have to be limited to oil and gas research.
Robert Gentile, Asst. Sec. for Fossil Energy, said, "Our objective is to make Niper as productive a contributor as possible to the government's energy programs and to the private sector. To do this, we hope to broaden the laboratory's capabilities in a way that makes them more attractive to business and industry.
"The current workforce is clearly among the best in the country in such areas as advanced oil recovery and heavy oil refining, and we will continue to use that expertise in our federal energy program.
"But if there are ways to build upon the current resources and perhaps expand research into new areas that can attract greater private sector interest, we want to identify these opportunities before we begin a new competition for the facility's future operator."
COMPETITION PLANS
DOE plans to begin a formal competition for the Niper operating contract in February.
For the first time, profit based organizations will be eligible to compete.
Congress previously had limited the competition to nonprofit firms but changed that in a recent appropriations bill.
IIT Research Institute, Chicago, now operates Niper. Last August, DOE extended IIT's contract to Sept. 30, 1992, to permit time for the new competition. If a new operator is selected, there will be a 6 month transition before IIT's term ends.
Gentile said, "Our decision to recompute the Niper operating agreement reflects Energy Sec. James Watkins' policy of using competitions more frequently to attract organizations that can manage our facilities and broaden their usefulness.
"IIT and other nonprofit organizations will be encouraged to compete, but by including profit organizations, we can significantly broaden the range of potential operators and enhance prospects for expanding Niper's capabilities."
DOE said any prospective operators should contact Ronald Dunnington at the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Niper was formed in 1983 from the former federally owned and operated Bartlesville Energy Technology Center. The center was established as a Bureau of Mines experiment station in 1918.
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