I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5716 

To provide for enhancement of existing efforts in support of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities to advance 

technologies for the safe and environmentally responsible exploration, 

development, and production of oil and natural gas resources. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 13, 2010 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Science and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for enhancement of existing efforts in support 

of research, development, demonstration, and commercial 

application activities to advance technologies for the safe 

and environmentally responsible exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas resources. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safer Oil and Natural 

5 Gas Drilling Technology Research and Development Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUBTITLE AMENDMENT. 

2 Subtitle J of title IX of the Energy Policy Act of 

3 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371 et seq.) is amended in the subtitle 

4 heading by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Uncon5 ventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum 

6 Resources’’ and inserting ‘‘Safer Oil and Natural 

7 Gas Drilling Technology Research and Devel8 opment Program’’. 

9 SEC. 3. SAFER OIL AND NATURAL GAS DRILLING TECH10 NOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Section 999A of the En13 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘ultra-deepwater’’ and in16 serting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘well control and accident 

18 prevention,’’ after ‘‘safe operations,’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘, accident prevention and 

21 mitigation,’’ after ‘‘improving safety’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Deepwater architecture and technology, in25 cluding those for drilling to formations in water 

26 depths greater than 1,000 feet.’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) Complementary research carried out by 

4 the Department.’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (d)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORA8 TORY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF EN9 ERGY’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘National Energy Tech11 nology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of 

12 Fossil Energy of the Department’’; and 

13 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(f) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out the program 

15 under this subtitle, the Secretary shall seek to establish 

16 partnerships with research performers in institutions of 

17 higher education and the private sector to undertake re18 search and development not likely otherwise to be under19 taken in the absence of support from the program.’’. 

20 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 999B of the En21 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16372) is amended— 

22 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ULTRA23 DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

24 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM’’ and 


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1 inserting ‘‘SAFER OIL AND NATURAL GAS DRILL2 ING TECHNOLOGY’’; 

3 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out 

6 the activities under section 999A to maximize the benefits 

7 of natural gas and other petroleum resources of the 

8 United States by advancing the safe and environmentally 

9 responsible exploration, development, and production of 

10 those resources.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

12 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

13 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec14 tively; and 

15 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) select projects on a competitive 

18 basis;’’; 

19 (4) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘ultra21 deepwater’’ and inserting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(7) FOCUS AREAS FOR AWARDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DEEPWATER RESOURCES.—Awards 

2 from allocations under section 999H(d)(1) shall 

3 focus on research, development, demonstration, 

4 and commercial application activities in areas 

5 that include— 

6 ‘‘(i) technologies and systems aimed 

7 at improving operational safety and reduc8 ing potential environmental impacts of 

9 deepwater exploration and production ac10 tivities, including— 

11 ‘‘(I) wellbore integrity, well con12 trol, and blowout prevention; 

13 ‘‘(II) capture and containment of 

14 oil at or near the wellhead; and 

15 ‘‘(III) expanding operational ca16 pabilities and efficiency of remotely 

17 operated devices and mechanics; 

18 ‘‘(ii) safe and environmentally respon19 sible deepwater exploration and production 

20 technologies, integrated systems, and ar21 chitectures for enhancing oil and natural 

22 gas drilling and recovery, including under 

23 extreme conditions; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) methods and technologies for se2 vere weather and ocean surface condition 

3 preparedness; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) other areas as determined appro5 priate by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(B) UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE RE7 SOURCES.—Awards from allocations under sec8 tion 999H(d)(2) shall focus on research, devel9 opment, demonstration, and commercial appli10 cation activities in areas that include— 

11 ‘‘(i) advanced coalbed methane, deep 

12 drilling, natural gas production from tight 

13 sands, natural gas production from gas 

14 shales, stranded gas, innovative exploration 

15 and production techniques, and enhanced 

16 recovery techniques; 

17 ‘‘(ii) increased efficiency of energy use 

18 in exploration and production activities; 

19 ‘‘(iii) recovery, utilization, reduction, 

20 and improved management of produced 

21 water from exploration and production ac22 tivities; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) accident prevention and environ24 mental mitigation of unconventional natVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:48 Jul 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5716.IH H5716

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1 ural gas and other petroleum resources ex2 ploration and production. 

3 ‘‘(C) SMALL PRODUCERS.—Awards from 

4 allocations under section 999H(d)(3) shall be 

5 made to consortia consisting of small producers 

6 or organized primarily for the benefit of small 

7 producers, and shall focus on areas that in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(i) safety and accident prevention, 

10 environmental mitigation, waste reduction, 

11 reduction of energy use, and well control 

12 and systems integrity; 

13 ‘‘(ii) complex geology involving rapid 

14 changes in the type and quality of the oil 

15 and gas reserves across the reservoir; 

16 ‘‘(iii) low reservoir pressure and un17 conventional natural gas reservoirs in coal18 beds, deep reservoirs, tight sands, or 

19 shales; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) advancing energy efficient, safe, 

21 and environmentally responsible production 

22 of unconventional oil reservoirs in tar 

23 sands and oil shales. 

24 ‘‘(D) SAFETY, ACCIDENT PREVENTION, 

25 AND MITIGATION TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND


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1 DEVELOPMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT.—Awards 

2 from allocations under section 999H(d)(4) shall 

3 focus on safety, accident prevention, and miti4 gation research, development, demonstration, 

5 and commercial application activities in areas 

6 that may include— 

7 ‘‘(i) improved technologies and best 

8 management practices for enhanced well 

9 integrity including— 

10 ‘‘(I) cementing; 

11 ‘‘(II) casing; 

12 ‘‘(III) wellbore sealant tech13 nologies; 

14 ‘‘(IV) well-plugging and abandon15 ment; 

16 ‘‘(V) improvement and standard17 ization of blowout prevention devices; 

18 ‘‘(VI) actuation and pressure 

19 testing; and 

20 ‘‘(VII) other well control activi21 ties; 

22 ‘‘(ii) research to aid in the develop23 ment of industry best practices and stand24 ards for workforce training; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) secondary control systems to ac2 tivate blowout prevention devices and ter3 minate well-flow, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) deadman switches; 

5 ‘‘(II) automatic shears; and 

6 ‘‘(III) remote acoustic switches; 

7 ‘‘(iv) technologies and methods for ac8 cident mitigation, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) capture, containment, or dis10 persing of oil at or near the wellhead; 

11 ‘‘(II) estimating flow rate; 

12 ‘‘(III) diagnostic sensors to de13 termine equipment malfunction; and 

14 ‘‘(IV) procedures to terminate 

15 flow; 

16 ‘‘(v) continuing ongoing efforts, in17 cluding in resource assessment and charac18 terization, and in simulation of safe and 

19 effective drilling under extreme conditions, 

20 including high temperatures and pressures; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(vi) other activities as described in 

23 this paragraph or as determined appro24 priate by the Secretary.’’; 

25 (5) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) in the second sentence of subpara3 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary 

4 for review’’ after ‘‘submit’’; and 

5 (ii) in the first sentence of subpara6 graph (B), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater’’ 

7 and all that follows through ‘‘and such Ad8 visory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Pro9 gram Advisory Committee established 

10 under section 999D(a), and the Advisory 

11 Committee’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA14 TIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

15 publish in the Federal Register an annual report on 

16 the research findings of the program carried out 

17 under this section and any recommendations for im18 plementation that the Secretary determines to be 

19 necessary.’’; 

20 (6) in subsection (i)— 

21 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR’’; 

24 and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘, through the United 

2 States Geological Survey,’’; and 

3 (7) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘National En4 ergy Technology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office 

5 of Fossil Energy of the Department’’. 

6 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

7 Section 999D of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

8 U.S.C. 16374) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 999D. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of enactment of the Safer Oil and Natural Gas 

12 Drilling Technology Research and Development Act, the 

13 Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to be 

14 known as the ‘Program Advisory Committee’ (referred to 

15 in this section as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

16 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

18 shall be composed of members appointed by the Sec19 retary, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) individuals with extensive research 

21 experience or operational knowledge of oil and 

22 natural gas exploration and production; 

23 ‘‘(B) individuals broadly representative of 

24 the affected interests in oil and natural gas proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:48 Jul 14, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5716.IH H5716

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1 duction, including interests in environmental 

2 protection and operational safety; 

3 ‘‘(C) State regulatory agency representa4 tives; and 

5 ‘‘(D) other individuals, as determined by 

6 the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com9 mittee shall not include individuals who are 

10 board members, officers, or employees of the 

11 program consortium. 

12 ‘‘(B) CATEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

13 appointing members of the Advisory Committee, 

14 the Secretary shall ensure that no class of indi15 viduals described in any of subparagraphs (B), 

16 (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) comprises more 

than 1 17 ⁄3 of the membership of the Advisory 

18 Committee. 

19 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee 

20 may establish subcommittees or ad hoc working groups for 

21 the research focus areas described in section 999B(d)(7). 

22 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) advise the Secretary on the development 

24 and implementation of programs under this subtitle; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) carry out section 999B(e)(2)(B). 

2 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Advisory 

3 Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be 

4 entitled to receive travel expenses in accordance with sub5 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

7 not make recommendations on funding awards to par8 ticular consortia or other entities, or for specific 

9 projects.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

11 Section 999G of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16377) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘200 but less 

14 than 1,500 meters’’ and inserting ‘‘1,000 feet’’; 

15 (2) by striking paragraphs (8), (9), and (10); 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

17 (7) and (11) as paragraphs (4) through (9) and 

18 (10), respectively; and 

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(2) DEEPWATER ARCHITECTURE.—The term 

22 ‘deepwater architecture’ means the integration of 

23 technologies for the safe and environmentally re24 sponsible exploration for, or production of, natural 


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1 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep2 water depths. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEEPWATER TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

4 ‘deepwater technology’ means a discrete technology 

5 that is specially suited to address 1 or more chal6 lenges associated with the safe and environmentally 

7 responsible exploration for, or production of, natural 

8 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep9 water depths.’’. 

10 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

11 Section 999H of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

12 U.S.C. 16378) is amended— 

13 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a) by 

14 striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat15 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Tech17 nology Research and Development Fund’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35 per20 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘32.5 percent’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘32.5 

22 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in25 serting ‘‘35 percent’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘contract manage2 ment,’’ and all that follows through the pe3 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and contract 

4 management.’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deep6 water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

7 Petroleum Research Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Safer Oil 

8 and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and 

9 Development Fund’’. 

10 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 The table of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 

12 2005 is amended— 

13 (1) by amending the item relating to subtitle J 

14 of title IX to read as follows: 

‘‘Subtitle J—Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and Development Program’’; 

15 (2) by amending the item relating to section 

16 999B to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 999B. Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and Development Program.’’; 

17 and 

18 (3) by amending the item relating to section 

19 999D to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 999D. Program Advisory Committee.’’. 

Æ 


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