The objective of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to competitively solicit cost-shared research proposals for pilot-scale field deployment and validation of efficient, cost-effective solutions ready for pre-commercialization that can eliminate flaring and non-safety related venting of natural gas at the well site. Projects sought under this FOA include the use of innovative technologies for processing and separating oil and associated gas at the well site designed to eliminate flaring, as well as new technologies designed to convert the associated natural gas into value-added solid or liquid products. Proposals can also develop technologies that use both processing and conversion, provided the applicant demonstrates that the overall process is technically feasible, economically feasible and ready for pilot-scale field testing at the well site. Proposals must include information on the performance of the technology to date and clearly illustrate pre-commercial status of the system in terms of its potential economic viability. Adequate consideration must also be given on how the proposed system will be deployed at the specific wellsite selected as part of the project. This should include details on any required construction and include consideration for existing infrastructure and the topology of the field site. Detailed discussion should also be included on the planned operation of the system at the well site that clearly establishes the daily target volume of natural gas that will be processed and/or converted, the required utilities, and the volume per day of any product and/or waste streams.

Applicants must include a definition for successful continuous steady state operation for their system and establish the minimum target in months of steady state operation that produces sufficient input data for a final Techno-economic Analysis (TEA) and reduce commercialization risks to a level that would enable rapid industrial adoption. The TEA required at project close should be based on the measured performance achieved by the system during field testing. The TEA must also compare existing commercial technology options and consider the scalability of the solution to a broad set of well site production volumes, associated gas volume, and gas composition. The handling, transport costs, and marketability of the hydrocarbons, pipeline natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) produced from the natural gas processing or other high value products (e.g., liquids or solids) created by conversion must be included as part of the final TEA. Proposals must show how net-zero methane emissions will be achieved at the well, supported by comprehensive field-validated results, and a full emissions profile for all greenhouse gas emissions from the process and from the transport of the natural gas, NGLs, or end-product produced. The objective of such R&D would be to accelerate development of technologies that improve efficiency of upstream natural gas and oil processing and separation operations using novel approaches that would support the evolving regulatory landscape to drastically reduce or eliminate the use of flares at the wellhead through gas processing and/or conversion to other sustainable chemicals and low-carbon marketable products.

Accordingly, this FOA has one Area of Interest (AOI) aligned with this objective. The one Area of Interest (AOI) for this Announcement is: AOI 1: Innovative Technologies to Eliminate Flaring from Oil & Natural Gas Production.