Mines receives $5.9M for energy research funding

GOLDEN, Colo., March 18, 2008 – Colorado School of Mines will receive $5.9 million in funding for four out of 19 energy research projects selected by the Department of Energy's Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Funded under RPSEA's Unconventional Resources Program, the projects will focus on increasing the supply of domestic natural gas and other petroleum resources.

“With this set of large competitive research awards to Mines, the RPSEA program has signaled that we will continue to grow our national leadership in unconventional fossil energy research," said Dag Nummedal, director of the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI).

Mines selected projects are:

•  An Integrated Framework for the Treatment and Management of Produced Water
(Jorg Drewes, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, PI)
Additional Project Participants: Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, Argonne National Laboratory, Stratus Consulting, Eltron Research and Development, Chevron, Pioneer Natural Gas, Marathon, Triangle Petroleum, Anadarko, Awwa Research Foundation, Stewart Environmental, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Veolia Water, Hydration Technology, Petroglyph Operating Co.  

•  Application of Natural Gas Composition to Modeling Communication Within and Filling of Large Tight-Gas-Sand Reservoirs, Rocky Mountains
(Nicholas Harris, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering and CERI, PI)
Additional Project Participants: U.S. Geological Survey, University of Oklahoma, University of Manchester, Fluid Inclusion Technology, Permedia Research Group, Williams Exploration and Production Co., ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Newfield Exploration, BP, Anadarko  

•  Comprehensive Investigation of the Biogeochemical Factors Enhancing Microbially Generated Methane in Coal Beds
(Junko Munkata-Marr, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, PI)
Additional Project Participants: University of Wyoming, U.S. Geological Survey, Pioneer Natural Resources, Pinnacle Gas Resources, Coleman Oil and Gas, Ciris Energy, Inc.

•  Reservoir Connectivity and Stimulated Gas Flow in Tight Sands
(Dag Nummedal, CERI, PI)
Additional Project Participants: University of Colorado, Mesa State University, iReservoir, Bill Barrett Corporation, Noble Energy, Whiting Petroleum Corporation, ConocoPhillips

Funding for the projects is provided through the "Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program," authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

RPSEA is under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory to administer the program. RPSEA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium with more than 130 members, including 25 of the nation's premier research universities, five national laboratories, other major research institutions, large and small energy producers and energy consumers.

For more information, see www.rpsea.org/en/art/?68.