DOE funding will support development of new natural gas technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced an investment of up to $39 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects aimed at improving oil and natural gas technologies.
That amount is made up of two separate funding opportunity announcements. The first involves up to $15 million for projects aimed at improving the efficiency and capabilities for enhanced oil recovery related to offshore drilling.
But the larger amount is focused specifically on natural gas. Over 60 percent of that money—$24 million—is earmarked specifically for projects that support the development of tools, methods and/or technologies to cost-effectively enhance the safety and efficiency of the nation’s natural gas production, gathering, transmission and storage infrastructure.
The $24 million natural gas-focused FOA is targeted to three areas of interest:
Recent improvements in natural gas production and capture technologies have resulted in a boom of natural gas supply. The DOE funding announcement represents the federal government’s recognition that to fully take advantage of the newly accessible natural resources, infrastructure investment is needed to ensure safe and efficient production, transmission and storage.
“This funding announcement by the Department of Energy is forward-looking, focused on new solutions to capitalize on America’s abundant supply of natural gas,” said American Gas Association President and CEO Karen Harbert. “This investment into research and development can enhance the natural gas industry’s development of advanced technologies for safety operations and efficiency improvements. The focus on infrastructure technology development could fund more research for inline inspections and other inspection tools. The 2.5 million miles of natural gas pipelines carry a quarter of our nation’s energy, and we are committed to their continued reliability for the 178 million Americans who enjoy the benefits of natural gas service and millions more who want it.”