II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3509 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to promote the research and 

development of technologies and best practices for the safe development 

and extraction of natural gas and other petroleum resources, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2010 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to promote the 

research and development of technologies and best practices for the safe development and extraction of natural 

gas and other petroleum resources, and for other purposes. 

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 Gas Pro5 duction Research and Development Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROGRAM AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 999A of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

3 U.S.C. 16371) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘ultra-deepwater’’ and in6 serting ‘‘deepwater’’; and 

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

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

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) Deepwater architecture, well control and 

13 accident prevention, and deepwater technology, in14 cluding drilling to deep formations in waters greater 

15 than 500 feet.’’; and 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (4) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) Safety and environmental technology re19 search and development for drilling activities aimed 

20 at well control and accident prevention performed by 

21 the Department.’’; and 

22 (3) in subsection (d)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORA25 TORY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT’’; and 


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

2 Energy Technology Laboratory,’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SAFE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION ACCIDENT PRE4 VENTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

5 PROGRAM. 

6 Section 999B of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

7 U.S.C. 16372) is amended— 

8 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ULTRA9 DEEPWATER AND UNCONVENTIONAL ONSHORE

10 NATURAL GAS AND OTHER PETROLEUM’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘SAFE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION AND

12 ACCIDENT PREVENTION’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to maximize’’ 

14 and all that follows through the period at the end 

15 and inserting ‘‘to ensure the safe and environ16 mentally responsible production of natural gas and 

17 other petroleum resources of the United States.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (c)(1)— 

19 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

20 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec21 tively; and 

22 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(D) select projects on a competitive, peer25 reviewed basis.’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (d)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘ultra3 deepwater’’ and inserting ‘‘deepwater’’; 

4 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(7) FOCUS AREAS FOR AWARDS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DEEPWATER RESOURCES.—Awards 

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

9 focus on the research, development, and dem10 onstration of areas that include— 

11 ‘‘(i) individual exploration and produc12 tion technologies aimed at improving oper13 ational safety and reducing environmental 

14 impacts of exploration and production ac15 tivities, including drilling, well integrity 

16 systems, well control, and blowout preven17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(ii) nontoxic materials for use in ex19 ploration and production activities; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) integrated systems approach 

21 based management for exploration and 

22 production in deepwater. 

23 ‘‘(B) UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES.— 

24 Awards from allocations under section 

25 999H(d)(2) shall focus on research, developVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:06 Jun 18, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3509.IS S3509

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1 ment, and demonstration of areas that in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) advanced coalbed methane, deep 

4 drilling, natural gas production from tight 

5 sands, natural gas production from gas 

6 shales, stranded gas, innovative exploration 

7 and production techniques, and enhanced 

8 recovery techniques; 

9 ‘‘(ii) nontoxic materials for use in ex10 ploration and production activities; 

11 ‘‘(iii) safety and environmental miti12 gation in exploration and production activi13 ties; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) accident prevention and environ15 mental mitigation of unconventional nat16 ural gas and other petroleum resources ex17 ploration and production. 

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

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

20 made to consortia consisting of small producers 

21 or organized primarily for the benefit of small 

22 producers, and shall focus on areas that in23 clude— 

24 ‘‘(i) safety and accident prevention, 

25 environmental mitigation, well control and 


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1 systems integrity, and complex geology in2 volving rapid changes in the type and qual3 ity of the oil and gas reservoirs across the 

4 reservoir; 

5 ‘‘(ii) low reservoir pressure, unconven6 tional natural gas reservoirs in coalbeds, 

7 deep reservoirs, tight sands, or shales; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) unconventional oil reservoirs in 

9 tar sands and oil shales. 

10 ‘‘(D) SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION

11 TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP12 MENT.—Awards from allocations under section 

13 999H(d)(4) shall be expended on areas that in14 clude— 

15 ‘‘(i) the development of improved ce16 menting and casing technologies; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the best management practices 

18 for cementing, casing, and other well con19 trol activities and technologies; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the development of integrity and 

21 stewardship guidelines for— 

22 ‘‘(I) well-plugging and abandon23 ment; 

24 ‘‘(II) development of wellbore 

25 sealant technologies; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) improvement and stand2 ardization of blowout prevention de3 vices.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(8) STUDY; REPORT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—As soon as practicable after 

7 the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

8 Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with 

9 the National Academy of Sciences under which 

10 the Academy shall conduct a study to deter11 mine— 

12 ‘‘(i) whether the benefits provided 

13 through each award under this subsection 

14 during calendar year 2011 have been maxi15 mized; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the new areas of research that 

17 could be carried out to meet the overall ob18 jectives of the program. 

19 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

20 2012, the Secretary shall submit to the appro21 priate committees of Congress a report that 

22 contains a description of the results of the 

23 study conducted under subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(C) OPTIONAL UPDATES.—The Secretary 

25 may update the report described in subparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:06 Jun 18, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3509.IS S3509

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1 graph (B) for the 5-year period beginning on 

2 the date described in that subparagraph and 

3 each 5-year period thereafter.’’; 

4 (5) in subsection (e)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) in the second sentence of subpara7 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary 

8 for review’’ after ‘‘submit’’; and 

9 (ii) in the first sentence of subpara10 graph (B), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater’’ 

11 and all that follows through ‘‘and such Ad12 visory Committees’’ and inserting ‘‘Pro13 gram Advisory Committee established 

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

15 Committee’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDA18 TIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary, in 

19 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and 

20 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

21 Agency, shall publish in the Federal Register an an22 nual report on the research findings of the program 

23 carried out under this section and any recommenda24 tions for implementation that the Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior and the 


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1 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

2 Agency, determines to be necessary.’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (i)— 

4 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR’’; 

7 and 

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

9 States Geological Survey,’’; and 

10 (7) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by 

11 striking ‘‘National Energy Technology Laboratory, 

12 on behalf of the’’. 

13 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARDS. 

14 Section 999C(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

15 (42 U.S.C. 16373(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘an ultra16 deepwater technology or an ultra-deepwater architecture’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘a deepwater technology’’. 

18 SEC. 5. PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

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

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

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

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 270 days 

23 after the date of enactment of the Safer Oil and Gas Pro24 duction Research and Development Act of 2010, the Sec25 retary shall establish an advisory committee to be known 


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1 as the ‘Program Advisory Committee’ (referred to in this 

2 section as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

3 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

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

5 shall be composed of members appointed by the Sec6 retary, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) individuals with extensive research 

8 experience or operational knowledge of hydro9 carbon exploration and production; 

10 ‘‘(B) individuals broadly representative of 

11 the affected interests in hydrocarbon produc12 tion, including interests in environmental pro13 tection and safety operations; 

14 ‘‘(C) representatives of Federal agencies, 

15 including the Environmental Protection Agency 

16 and the Department of the Interior; 

17 ‘‘(D) State regulatory agency representa18 tives; and 

19 ‘‘(E) other individuals, as determined by 

20 the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com23 mittee shall not include individuals who are 

24 board members, officers, or employees of the 

25 program consortium. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CATEGORICAL REPRESENTATION.—In 

2 appointing members of the Advisory Committee, 

3 the Secretary shall ensure that no class of indi4 viduals described in any of subparagraphs (A), 

5 (B), (D), or (E) of paragraph (1) comprises 

more than 1 6 ⁄3 of the membership of the Advi7 sory Committee. 

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

9 may establish subcommittees for separate research pro10 grams carried out under this subtitle. 

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

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

13 and implementation of programs under this subtitle; 

14 and 

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

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

17 Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be 

18 entitled to receive travel expenses in accordance with sub19 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

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

21 not make recommendations on funding awards to par22 ticular consortia or other entities, or for specific 

23 projects.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

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

3 U.S.C. 16377) is amended— 

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

5 than 1,500 meters’’ and inserting ‘‘500 feet’’; 

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

7 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

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

9 (10), respectively; 

10 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing: 

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

13 ‘deepwater architecture’ means the integration of 

14 technologies for the exploration for, or production of, 

15 natural gas or other petroleum resources located at 

16 deepwater depths. 

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

18 ‘deepwater technology’ means a discrete technology 

19 that is specially suited to address 1 or more chal20 lenges associated with the exploration for, or produc21 tion of, natural gas or other petroleum resources lo22 cated at deepwater depths.’’; and 

23 (5) in paragraph (10) (as redesignated by para24 graph (3)), by striking ‘‘in an economically inacces25 sible geological formation, including resources of 

26 small producers’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

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

3 U.S.C. 16378) is amended— 

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

5 striking ‘‘Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Nat6 ural Gas and Other Petroleum Research Fund’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Safe Oil and Gas Production and Acci8 dent Prevention Research Fund’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (d)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35 per11 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘21.5 percent’’; 

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

13 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘21 percent’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘25 percent’’ and in16 serting ‘‘50 percent’’; 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘complementary re18 search’’ and inserting ‘‘safety technology 

19 research and development’’; and 

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘contract manage21 ment,’’ and all that follows through the pe22 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘and contract 

23 management.’’; and 

24 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘Ultra-Deep25 water and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other 


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1 Petroleum Research Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Safe and 

2 Responsible Energy Production Research Fund’’. 

3 SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

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

5 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16371 et seq.) is amended by striking 

6 the subtitle heading and inserting ‘‘Safe Oil and Gas 

7 Production and Accident Prevention Pro8 gram’’. 

Æ 


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