Department of Energy January 30, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The DOE will support producers of oil and gas in carrying out projects to inject carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhancing recovery of oil or natural gas, while increasing the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2). The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL) Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil program mission is to enhance U.S. security by ensuring the Nation has a reliable energy supply. The Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil seeks to accomplish this critical goal by advancing environmentally responsible technological solutions that bolster domestic oil and natural gas recovery. Priority will be given to projects in the noted areas of interestthe Williston Basin in North Dakota/Montana and the Cook Inlet Basin in Alaska. This solicitation seeks to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production in a cost-effective manner through the injection of CO2, while at the same time sequestering significant quantities of CO2. To promote greater use of industrial CO2, additional consideration will be given to those proposals that use anthropogenic CO2 from existing industrial processes for the CO2 flood (e.g., ethanol and gas processing plants, oil refineries, petroleum coke gasification, coal liquefaction, etc.). Projects should clearly set forth the manner in which adverse environmental impacts would be minimized. Finally, the solicitation will give priority programmatic consideration to projects that involve, in a significant way, existing state/regional institutions that have a mandate or significant interest in supporting enhanced oil or natural gas recovery, and reducing the carbon intensity/CO2 emissions in the state and/or region.