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Environmentally Prudent Stewardship (EPS)

Addressing the technical challenges to facilitate secure, responsible domestic fossil energy production.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates consistent domestic petroleum consumption through 2040, with U.S. production to remain historically high as exports of finished products grow in response to growing international demand. EIA also projects domestic natural gas consumption to remain relatively consistent, with production likely to grow in response to international demand for liquefied natural gas, supported by associated natural gas produced along with crude oil. Given the combination of relative stability in domestic consumption and continued growth in production, the United States is likely to remain a net exporter of petroleum products and natural gas through 2050. Continuing to develop and accelerate transformational fossil energy exploration and production technologies and best practices that are technically and economically viable is critical for the continued growth of our energy sector.

The overarching objectives of NETL’s EPS research include:

  • Ensuring responsible exploration and production operations by improving wellbore integrity; optimizing formation stimulation; utilizing advanced tools such as data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to optimize well completion design and production optimization; and developing improved tools for real-time monitoring of well and reservoir performance. Optimizing well designs reduces the number of wells and the volume of water needed to produce a unit volume of hydrocarbon, reducing the potential for impacts.
  • Increasing the effectiveness of hydrocarbon recovery as part of the nation’s energy strategy.
  • Developing an improved understanding of risk management and geohazard assessments.
  • Enabling and accelerating development and process validation of responsible resource development technologies using field test sites that represent an array of field conditions within both mature and emerging oil and natural gas basins