RPSEA Announces Projects for the Ultra-Deepwater Program

Business Wire, May 7, 2008

New Department of Energy and Privately Funded Research Will Help Meet U.S. Energy Demand and Lower Costs for Consumers

SUGAR LAND, Texas -- The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) today announced that eight proposals have been selected for negotiations leading to an award under the Ultra-Deepwater (UDW) Program. This program is focused on increasing the supply of natural gas and other petroleum resources in the U.S. in an environmentally responsible way.

"The 2007 Ultra-Deepwater Program is designed to bring the resources of America's leading universities, research institutions and technology innovators to bear on reducing costs, increasing efficiency, improving safety, and minimizing environmental impacts of domestic production," said RPSEA President C. Michael Ming. "Accelerating the time to first production and building the intellectual capability in the research community for these strategically important resources is vital to meet the nation's energy needs."

The selected projects will address the specific technology and architecture needs required in water depths greater than 1,500 meters. These substantial but challenging resources require a complex and integrated systems approach where the time from first discovery to first production can range from 6 to 9 years and individual well costs can exceed 100 million dollars.

While awards under the RPSEA Ultra-Deepwater Program are open to any U.S.-based organization, most projects involve a team consisting of researchers along with producers or service companies that are in a position to evaluate and apply new technology. Each proposal must provide a minimum of 20% cost share, with up to 50% for field demonstration projects. The selected projects are:

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Funding for the projects is provided through the "Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program," authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 with funding from lease bonus and royalties paid by industry to produce oil and gas on federal lands. RPSEA is under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory to administer the program. RPSEA is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit consortium with over 130 members, including 25 of the nation's premier research universities, five national laboratories, other major research institutions, large and small energy producers and energy consumers. The mission of RPSEA, headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, is to provide a stewardship role in ensuring the focused research, development and deployment of safe and environmentally responsible technology that can effectively deliver hydrocarbons from domestic resources to the citizens of the United States.

For more information on RPSEA and the UDW Program visit: http://www.rpsea.org/.