DOE - Fossil Energy Techline - Issued on:  November 17, 2000

Offshore Technology Roadmap to be Rolled Out in Texas, Louisiana, and DC

Key Step in a Joint Government-Industry Effort to Boost Production from Ultra-Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Washington, DC - After holding a series of workshops across the country this summer, the U.S. Department of Energy is preparing to release a "roadmap" of future technology advancements that could help unlock potentially vast oil and natural gas resources beneath the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Department officials will present the "roadmap" to industry and other interested organizations at three public sessions:

• November 27, 2000, in Galveston, TX, at the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum, 2002 Wharf C at Pier 19 (20th and Harborside Drive), beginning at 3 p.m.;

• November 28, 2000, in New Orleans, LA, at the Bollinger Algiers Shipyard, 434 Powder Street, beginning at 3 p.m.; and

• December 6, 2000, in Washington, DC, at the Energy Department's Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Room 5E-069, beginning at 10 a.m. - Meeting Cancelled

The "roadmap" is the product of an Energy Department initiative begun in July to identify ways to increase oil and gas production from the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico. In five workshops, the department gathered information from producers, investors, technology suppliers and service companies, and other federal and private organizations.

From this information, the department drafted a document identifying the barriers to developing these offshore oil and gas resources, along with potential technologies and the investment requirements that could accelerate ultra-deepwater development.

The "roadmap" will outline both evolutionary and revolutionary technologies that could help improve the success of exploring for and producing deepwater resources and for protecting the offshore environment. Innovative systems engineering and design processes will also be identified along with improvements in the infrastructure needed for offshore operations. The "roadmap" will also identify possible regulatory innovations and public education needs associated with deepwater oil and gas production.

In addition to handing out copies of the Offshore Technology Roadmap for the Ultra Deepwater Gulf of Mexico at the public meetings, the Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy will post an electronic version of the document on this website.

-End of Techline

For more information, contact:
Michael Jacobs, DOE Office of Fossil Energy Communications, 202-586-6503, e-mail: michael.jacobs@hq.doe.gov

Elena Subia Melchert, DOE Office of Fossil Energy - Natural Gas & Petroleum Technologies, 202-586-5095, e-mail: elena.melchert@hq.doe.gov