111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5716 

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. 
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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SUBTITLE AMENDMENT. 

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

8 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371 et seq.) is amended in the subtitle 

9 heading by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Uncon10 ventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum 

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

12 Gas Drilling Technology Research and Devel13 opment Program’’. 

14 SEC. 3. SAFER OIL AND NATURAL GAS DRILLING TECH15 NOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Section 999A of the En18 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘ultra-deepwater’’ and in21 serting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

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

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

24 (2) in subsection (b)— 
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘, accident prevention and 

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

3 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Deepwater architecture and technology, in6 cluding those for drilling to formations in water 

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

8 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) Complementary research carried out by 

11 the Department.’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORA15 TORY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF EN16 ERGY’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘National Energy Tech18 nology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office of 

19 Fossil Energy of the Department’’; 

20 (4) in subsection (e)— 

21 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES’’; and 

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

25 appropriate, including those serving on, and col-
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1 laborating with, the Interagency Coordinating 

2 Committee on Oil Pollution Research as estab3 lished under section 7001 of the Oil Pollution 

4 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a))’’ after ‘‘Sec5 retary of the Interior’’; and 

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

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

8 under this subtitle, the Secretary shall seek to establish 

9 partnerships with eligible research performers, as de10 scribed by section 999E, to undertake research and devel11 opment not likely otherwise to be undertaken in the ab12 sence of support from the program.’’. 

13 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 999B of the En14 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16372) is amended— 

15 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ULTRA16 DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

17 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘SAFER OIL AND NATURAL GAS DRILL19 ING TECHNOLOGY’’; 

20 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol21 lows: 

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

23 the activities under section 999A to maximize the benefits 

24 of natural gas and other petroleum resources of the 

25 United States by advancing the safe and environmentally 
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1 responsible exploration, development, and production of 

2 those resources.’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

4 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

5 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec6 tively; and 

7 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(D) select projects on a competitive 

10 basis;’’; 

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

12 ‘‘under subsection (f)(4)’’; 

13 (5) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘ultra15 deepwater’’ and inserting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(7) FOCUS AREAS FOR AWARDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) DEEPWATER RESOURCES.—Awards 

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

21 focus on research, development, demonstration, 

22 and commercial application activities in areas 

23 that include— 

24 ‘‘(i) technologies and systems aimed 

25 at improving operational safety and reduc-
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1 ing potential environmental impacts of 

2 deepwater exploration and production ac3 tivities, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) wellbore integrity, well con5 trol, and blowout prevention; 

6 ‘‘(II) capture and containment of 

7 oil at or near the wellhead; and 

8 ‘‘(III) expanding operational ca9 pabilities and efficiency of remotely 

10 operated devices and mechanics; 

11 ‘‘(ii) safe and environmentally respon12 sible deepwater exploration and production 

13 technologies, integrated systems, and ar14 chitectures for enhancing oil and natural 

15 gas drilling and recovery, including under 

16 extreme conditions; 

17 ‘‘(iii) methods and technologies for se18 vere weather and ocean surface condition 

19 preparedness; 

20 ‘‘(iv) utilization of exploration and 

21 production methods and materials that re22 duce the potential impact of such activities 

23 on the environment; and 

24 ‘‘(v) other areas as determined appro25 priate by the Secretary. 
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1 ‘‘(B) UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE RE2 SOURCES.—Awards from allocations under sec3 tion 999H(d)(2) shall focus on research, devel4 opment, demonstration, and commercial appli5 cation activities in areas that include— 

6 ‘‘(i) advanced coalbed methane, deep 

7 drilling, natural gas production from tight 

8 sands, natural gas production from gas 

9 shales, stranded gas, innovative exploration 

10 and production techniques, and enhanced 

11 recovery techniques; 

12 ‘‘(ii) increased efficiency of energy use 

13 in exploration and production activities; 

14 ‘‘(iii) utilization of exploration and 

15 production methods and materials that re16 duce the potential impact of such activities 

17 on the environment; 

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

19 and improved management of produced 

20 water from exploration and production ac21 tivities; and 

22 ‘‘(v) accident prevention and mitiga23 tion of unconventional natural gas and 

24 other petroleum resources exploration and 

25 production. 
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1 ‘‘(C) SMALL PRODUCERS.—Awards from 

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

3 made to consortia consisting of small producers 

4 or organized primarily for the benefit of small 

5 producers, and shall focus on areas that in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(i) safety and accident prevention, 

8 environmental mitigation, waste reduction, 

9 reduction of energy use, and well control 

10 and systems integrity; 

11 ‘‘(ii) complex geology involving rapid 

12 changes in the type and quality of the oil 

13 and gas reserves across the reservoir; 

14 ‘‘(iii) low reservoir pressure and un15 conventional natural gas reservoirs in coal16 beds, deep reservoirs, tight sands, or 

17 shales; and 

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

19 and environmentally responsible production 

20 of unconventional oil reservoirs in tar 

21 sands and oil shales. 

22 ‘‘(D) SAFETY, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION

23 AND MITIGATION, TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND

24 DEVELOPMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT.—Awards 

25 from allocations under section 999H(d)(4) shall 
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1 focus on safety, and accident prevention and 

2 mitigation, research, development, demonstra3 tion, and commercial application activities in 

4 areas that may include— 

5 ‘‘(i) improved technologies and best 

6 management practices for enhanced well 

7 integrity including— 

8 ‘‘(I) cementing; 

9 ‘‘(II) casing; 

10 ‘‘(III) wellbore sealant tech11 nologies; 

12 ‘‘(IV) well-plugging and abandon13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(V) improvement and standard15 ization of blowout prevention devices; 

16 ‘‘(VI) actuation and pressure 

17 testing; and 

18 ‘‘(VII) other well control activi19 ties; 

20 ‘‘(ii) research to aid in the develop21 ment of industry best practices and stand22 ards for workforce training, design of safe 

23 workplace environments, and safety related 

24 decisionmaking processes, including by 

25 drawing on existing research into human 
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1 factors and safety related practices in 

2 fields such as the nuclear energy, aviation, 

3 and automotive industries; 

4 ‘‘(iii) secondary control systems to ac5 tivate blowout prevention devices and ter6 minate well-flow, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) deadman switches; 

8 ‘‘(II) automatic shears; and 

9 ‘‘(III) remote acoustic switches; 

10 ‘‘(iv) technologies and methods for ac11 cident mitigation, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) capture, containment, or dis13 persing of oil at or near the wellhead; 

14 ‘‘(II) estimating flow rate; 

15 ‘‘(III) diagnostic sensors to de16 termine equipment malfunction; and 

17 ‘‘(IV) procedures to terminate 

18 flow; 

19 ‘‘(v) continuing ongoing efforts, in20 cluding in resource assessment and charac21 terization, and in simulation of safe and 

22 effective drilling under extreme conditions, 

23 including high temperatures and pressures; 

24 ‘‘(vi) development of methodologies 

25 for risk management decisionmaking, in-
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1 cluding comparative risk analysis and 

2 quantitative risk assessment of potential 

3 for failure in the technologies, management 

4 practices, and systems studies under this 

5 subsection; and 

6 ‘‘(vii) other activities as described in 

7 this paragraph or as determined appro8 priate by the Secretary.’’; 

9 (6) in subsection (e)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (i) in the second sentence of subpara12 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary 

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

14 (ii) in the first sentence of subpara15 graph (B), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater’’ 

16 and all that follows through ‘‘and such Ad17 visory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Pro18 gram Advisory Committee established 

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

20 Committee’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

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

23 subparagraph (A); 
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1 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

2 of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subparagraph: 

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

7 activities aimed at improving operational safety 

8 and reducing potential environmental impacts 

9 of exploration and production.’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA12 TIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

13 publish in the Federal Register an annual report on 

14 the research findings of the program carried out 

15 under this section and any recommendations for im16 plementation that the Secretary determines to be 

17 necessary.’’; 

18 (7) in subsection (f)(2), by inserting ‘‘In car19 rying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure 

20 that safety and accident prevention and mitigation 

21 be regularly included as specific focus areas for so22 licitations.’’ after ‘‘consortium.’’; 

23 (8) in subsection (i)— 

24 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

25 ‘‘UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ and 
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1 inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR’’; 

2 and 

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

4 States Geological Survey,’’; and 

5 (9) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘National En6 ergy Technology Laboratory’’ and inserting ‘‘Office 

7 of Fossil Energy of the Department’’. 

8 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

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

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

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

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

14 Drilling Technology Research and Development Act, the 

15 Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to be 

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

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

18 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

20 shall be composed of members appointed by the Sec21 retary, each of whom shall be qualified by education, 

22 training, and experience to evaluate scientific and 

23 technical information relevant to the research, devel24 opment, and demonstration under this subtitle. 

25 Members shall include— 
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1 ‘‘(A) individuals with extensive research 

2 experience or operational knowledge of oil and 

3 natural gas exploration and production; 

4 ‘‘(B) individuals broadly representative of 

5 the affected interests in oil and natural gas pro6 duction, including interests in environmental 

7 protection and operational safety; 

8 ‘‘(C) State regulatory agency representa9 tives; and 

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

11 the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com14 mittee shall not include individuals who are 

15 board members, officers, or employees of the 

16 program consortium. 

17 ‘‘(B) CATEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

18 appointing members of the Advisory Committee, 

19 the Secretary shall ensure that no class of indi20 viduals described in any of subparagraphs (B), 

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

than 1 22 ⁄3 of the membership of the Advisory 

23 Committee. 
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1 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Advisory Committee 

2 may establish subcommittees or ad hoc working groups for 

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

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

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

6 and implementation of programs under this subtitle; 

7 and 

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

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

10 Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be 

11 entitled to receive travel expenses in accordance with sub12 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

14 not make recommendations on funding awards to par15 ticular consortia or other entities, or for specific 

16 projects.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

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

19 U.S.C. 16377) is amended— 

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

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

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

23 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

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

25 (10), respectively; and 
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1 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

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

4 ‘deepwater architecture’ means the integration of 

5 technologies for the safe and environmentally re6 sponsible exploration for, or production of, natural 

7 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep8 water depths. 

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

10 ‘deepwater technology’ means a discrete technology 

11 that is specially suited to address 1 or more chal12 lenges associated with the safe and environmentally 

13 responsible exploration for, or production of, natural 

14 gas or other petroleum resources located at deep15 water depths.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

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

18 U.S.C. 16378) is amended— 

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

20 striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat21 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘Safer Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Tech23 nology Research and Development Fund’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (d)— 
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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35 per2 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘32.5 percent’’; 

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

4 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in7 serting ‘‘35 percent’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘contract manage9 ment,’’ and all that follows through the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and contract 

11 management.’’; 

12 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deep13 water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 

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

15 and Natural Gas Drilling Technology Research and 

16 Development Fund’’; and 

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

18 following new subsection: 

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

20 Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

21 that the research activities carried out by the consortium 

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

23 (d), and the research activities carried out by the Depart24 ment of Energy as funded by subsection (d)(4), shall be 

25 coordinated and not duplicative of one another.’’. 
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1 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 The table of contents of the Energy Policy Act of 

3 2005 is amended— 

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

5 of title IX to read as follows: 

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

Development Program’’; 

6 (2) by amending the item relating to section 

7 999B to read as follows: 

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

8 and 

9 (3) by amending the item relating to section 

10 999D to read as follows: 

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 21, 2010. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

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,