DOE announces up to $39 million in oil, gas R&D project grants

April 17, 2019
The US Department of Energy announced up to $39 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects that aim to improve oil and natural gas technologies. Selected projects will fall under two DOE Office of Fossil Energy funding opportunity announcements, DOE said on Apr. 16.

The US Department of Energy announced up to $39 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects that aim to improve oil and natural gas technologies.

Selected projects will fall under two DOE Office of Fossil Energy funding opportunity announcements (FOA), DOE said on Apr. 16. The National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage the projects under both FOAs, it said.

Under the first FOA, DOE will provide up to $15 million for projects that enhance the potential for enhanced oil recovery of conventional resources offshore and anticipates that the projects will be executed in two phases.

It said Phase 1 will involve proof-of-concept validation of tools, technologies, and processes in a laboratory or field analog setting. Phase 2 will consist of an integrated full-scale prototype demonstration in a relevant environment to persuade stakeholders to continue developing the technology to commercialization, DOE said.

Concept papers will be due 3 weeks after the FOA’s release, while the full application will be due 60 days after.

Under the second FOA, DOE said it will provide as much as $24 million for projects supporting the development of tools, methods, and technologies to cost-effectively enhance the safety and efficiency of the nation’s gas production, gathering, transmission, and storage systems. This FOA focuses specifically on:

• Advanced technologies to mitigate methane emissions and increase the efficiency of the gas transportation infrastructure.

• Process-intensified technologies for the upcycling of flare gas into transportable, value-added products.

• Advanced methane detection and measurement technology validation.

DOE said it anticipates selecting multiple projects for this FOA.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].