II 

Calendar No. 517 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5716 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2010 

Received 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (e)— 

14 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘and other agencies as 

18 appropriate, including those serving on, and col19 laborating with, the Interagency Coordinating 

20 Committee on Oil Pollution Research as estab21 lished under section 7001 of the Oil Pollution 

22 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a))’’ after ‘‘Sec23 retary of the Interior’’; and 

24 (5) by adding at the end the following: 


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

2 under this subtitle, the Secretary shall seek to establish 

3 partnerships with eligible research performers, as de4 scribed by section 999E, to undertake research and devel5 opment not likely otherwise to be undertaken in the ab6 sence of support from the program.’’. 

7 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 999B of the En8 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16372) is amended— 

9 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ULTRA10 DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

11 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘SAFER OIL AND NATURAL GAS DRILL13 ING TECHNOLOGY’’; 

14 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol15 lows: 

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

17 the activities under section 999A to maximize the benefits 

18 of natural gas and other petroleum resources of the 

19 United States by advancing the safe and environmentally 

20 responsible exploration, development, and production of 

21 those resources.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

23 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

24 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec25 tively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) select projects on a competitive 

4 basis;’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (c)(3)(A)(ii), by striking 

6 ‘‘under subsection (f)(4)’’; 

7 (5) in subsection (d)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘ultra9 deepwater’’ and inserting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

10 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(7) FOCUS AREAS FOR AWARDS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DEEPWATER RESOURCES.—Awards 

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

15 focus on research, development, demonstration, 

16 and commercial application activities in areas 

17 that include— 

18 ‘‘(i) technologies and systems aimed 

19 at improving operational safety and reduc20 ing potential environmental impacts of 

21 deepwater exploration and production ac22 tivities, including— 

23 ‘‘(I) wellbore integrity, well con24 trol, and blowout prevention; 


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1 ‘‘(II) capture and containment of 

2 oil at or near the wellhead; and 

3 ‘‘(III) expanding operational ca4 pabilities and efficiency of remotely 

5 operated devices and mechanics; 

6 ‘‘(ii) safe and environmentally respon7 sible deepwater exploration and production 

8 technologies, integrated systems, and ar9 chitectures for enhancing oil and natural 

10 gas drilling and recovery, including under 

11 extreme conditions; 

12 ‘‘(iii) methods and technologies for se13 vere weather and ocean surface condition 

14 preparedness; 

15 ‘‘(iv) utilization of exploration and 

16 production methods and materials that re17 duce the potential impact of such activities 

18 on the environment; and 

19 ‘‘(v) other areas as determined appro20 priate by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(B) UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE RE22 SOURCES.—Awards from allocations under sec23 tion 999H(d)(2) shall focus on research, devel24 opment, demonstration, and commercial appli25 cation activities in areas that include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) advanced coalbed methane, deep 

2 drilling, natural gas production from tight 

3 sands, natural gas production from gas 

4 shales, stranded gas, innovative exploration 

5 and production techniques, and enhanced 

6 recovery techniques; 

7 ‘‘(ii) increased efficiency of energy use 

8 in exploration and production activities; 

9 ‘‘(iii) utilization of exploration and 

10 production methods and materials that re11 duce the potential impact of such activities 

12 on the environment; 

13 ‘‘(iv) recovery, utilization, reduction, 

14 and improved management of produced 

15 water from exploration and production ac16 tivities; and 

17 ‘‘(v) accident prevention and mitiga18 tion of unconventional natural gas and 

19 other petroleum resources exploration and 

20 production. 

21 ‘‘(C) SMALL PRODUCERS.—Awards from 

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

23 made to consortia consisting of small producers 

24 or organized primarily for the benefit of small 


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1 producers, and shall focus on areas that in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) safety and accident prevention, 

4 environmental mitigation, waste reduction, 

5 reduction of energy use, and well control 

6 and systems integrity; 

7 ‘‘(ii) complex geology involving rapid 

8 changes in the type and quality of the oil 

9 and gas reserves across the reservoir; 

10 ‘‘(iii) low reservoir pressure and un11 conventional natural gas reservoirs in coal12 beds, deep reservoirs, tight sands, or 

13 shales; and 

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

15 and environmentally responsible production 

16 of unconventional oil reservoirs in tar 

17 sands and oil shales. 

18 ‘‘(D) SAFETY, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION

19 AND MITIGATION, TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND

20 DEVELOPMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT.—Awards 

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

22 focus on safety, and accident prevention and 

23 mitigation, research, development, demonstra24 tion, and commercial application activities in 

25 areas that may include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) improved technologies and best 

2 management practices for enhanced well 

3 integrity including— 

4 ‘‘(I) cementing; 

5 ‘‘(II) casing; 

6 ‘‘(III) wellbore sealant tech7 nologies; 

8 ‘‘(IV) well-plugging and abandon9 ment; 

10 ‘‘(V) improvement and standard11 ization of blowout prevention devices; 

12 ‘‘(VI) actuation and pressure 

13 testing; and 

14 ‘‘(VII) other well control activi15 ties; 

16 ‘‘(ii) research to aid in the develop17 ment of industry best practices and stand18 ards for workforce training, design of safe 

19 workplace environments, and safety related 

20 decisionmaking processes, including by 

21 drawing on existing research into human 

22 factors and safety related practices in 

23 fields such as the nuclear energy, aviation, 

24 and automotive industries; 


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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 ‘‘(vi) development of methodologies 

22 for risk management decisionmaking, in23 cluding comparative risk analysis and 

24 quantitative risk assessment of potential 

25 for failure in the technologies, management 


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1 practices, and systems studies under this 

2 subsection; and 

3 ‘‘(vii) other activities as described in 

4 this paragraph or as determined appro5 priate by the Secretary.’’; 

6 (6) in subsection (e)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in the second sentence of subpara9 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary 

10 for review’’ after ‘‘submit’’; and 

11 (ii) in the first sentence of subpara12 graph (B), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater’’ 

13 and all that follows through ‘‘and such Ad14 visory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Pro15 gram Advisory Committee established 

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

17 Committee’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

20 subparagraph (A); 

21 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

22 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; 

23 and’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(C) a summary of ongoing and planned 

2 activities aimed at improving operational safety 

3 and reducing potential environmental impacts 

4 of exploration and production.’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA7 TIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

8 publish in the Federal Register an annual report on 

9 the research findings of the program carried out 

10 under this section and any recommendations for im11 plementation that the Secretary determines to be 

12 necessary.’’; 

13 (7) in subsection (f)(2), by inserting ‘‘In car14 rying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure 

15 that safety and accident prevention and mitigation 

16 be regularly included as specific focus areas for so17 licitations.’’ after ‘‘consortium.’’; 

18 (8) in subsection (i)— 

19 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

20 ‘‘UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR’’; 

22 and 

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

24 States Geological Survey,’’; and 


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1 (9) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘National En2 ergy Technology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office 

3 of Fossil Energy of the Department’’. 

4 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

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

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

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

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

10 Drilling Technology Research and Development Act, the 

11 Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to be 

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

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

14 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

16 shall be composed of members appointed by the Sec17 retary, each of whom shall be qualified by education, 

18 training, and experience to evaluate scientific and 

19 technical information relevant to the research, devel20 opment, and demonstration under this subtitle. 

21 Members shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) individuals with extensive research 

23 experience or operational knowledge of oil and 

24 natural gas exploration and production; 


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1 ‘‘(B) individuals broadly representative of 

2 the affected interests in oil and natural gas pro3 duction, including interests in environmental 

4 protection and operational safety; 

5 ‘‘(C) State regulatory agency representa6 tives; and 

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

8 the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com11 mittee shall not include individuals who are 

12 board members, officers, or employees of the 

13 program consortium. 

14 ‘‘(B) CATEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

15 appointing members of the Advisory Committee, 

16 the Secretary shall ensure that no class of indi17 viduals described in any of subparagraphs (B), 

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

than 1 19 ⁄3 of the membership of the Advisory 

20 Committee. 

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

22 may establish subcommittees or ad hoc working groups for 

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

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


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

2 and implementation of programs under this subtitle; 

3 and 

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

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

6 Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be 

7 entitled to receive travel expenses in accordance with sub8 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

10 not make recommendations on funding awards to par11 ticular consortia or other entities, or for specific 

12 projects.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

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

15 U.S.C. 16377) is amended— 

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

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

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

19 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

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

21 (10), respectively; and 

22 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol23 lowing: 

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

25 ‘deepwater architecture’ means the integration of 


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1 technologies for the safe and environmentally re2 sponsible exploration for, or production of, natural 

3 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep4 water depths. 

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

6 ‘deepwater technology’ means a discrete technology 

7 that is specially suited to address 1 or more chal8 lenges associated with the safe and environmentally 

9 responsible exploration for, or production of, natural 

10 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep11 water depths.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

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

14 U.S.C. 16378) is amended— 

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

16 striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat17 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Tech19 nology Research and Development Fund’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (d)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35 per22 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘32.5 percent’’; 

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

24 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’; and 

25 (C) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in2 serting ‘‘35 percent’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘contract manage4 ment,’’ and all that follows through the pe5 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and contract 

6 management.’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deep8 water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

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

10 and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and 

11 Development Fund’’; and 

12 (4) at the end of the section, by inserting the 

13 following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.—The 

15 Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

16 that the research activities carried out by the consortium 

17 funded under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 

18 (d), and the research activities carried out by the Depart19 ment of Energy as funded by subsection (d)(4), shall be 

20 coordinated and not duplicative of one another.’’. 

21 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

22 The table of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 

23 2005 is amended— 

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

25 of title IX to read as follows: 


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‘‘Subtitle J—Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and 

Development Program’’; 

1 (2) by amending the item relating to section 

2 999B to read as follows: 

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

3 and 

4 (3) by amending the item relating to section 

5 999D to read as follows: 

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 21, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 517 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5716 

AN ACT 

To provide for enhancement of existing efforts in 

tion of oil and natural gas resources. sponsible exploration, development, and productechnologies for the safe and environmentally reand commercial application activities to advance support of research, development, demonstration, 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Read twice and placed on the calendar 


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