Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/914

 119 STAT. 896

Establishment.

VerDate 14-DEC-2004

08:19 Oct 26, 2006

PUBLIC LAW 109–58—AUG. 8, 2005

of enactment of the Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercial Application Act of 2005 and not less frequently than every 180 days thereafter to— ‘‘(A) review the progress of the program under paragraph (1); and ‘‘(B) coordinate interagency research and partnership efforts in carrying out the program. ‘‘(b) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, INTERAGENCY FUNDS TRANSFER AGREEMENTS, AND FIELD WORK PROPOSALS.— ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—In carrying out the program of methane hydrate research and development authorized by this section, the Secretary may award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, institutions of higher education, oceanographic institutions, and industrial enterprises to— ‘‘(A) conduct basic and applied research to identify, explore, assess, and develop methane hydrate as a commercially viable source of energy; ‘‘(B) identify methane hydrate resources through remote sensing; ‘‘(C) acquire and reprocess seismic data suitable for characterizing methane hydrate accumulations; ‘‘(D) assist in developing technologies required for efficient and environmentally sound development of methane hydrate resources; ‘‘(E) promote education and training in methane hydrate resource research and resource development through fellowships or other means for graduate education and training; ‘‘(F) conduct basic and applied research to assess and mitigate the environmental impact of hydrate degassing (including both natural degassing and degassing associated with commercial development); ‘‘(G) develop technologies to reduce the risks of drilling through methane hydrates; and ‘‘(H) conduct exploratory drilling, well testing, and production testing operations on permafrost and nonpermafrost gas hydrates in support of the activities authorized by this paragraph, including drilling of one or more full-scale production test wells. ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE PEER REVIEW.—Funds made available under paragraph (1) shall be made available based on a competitive process using external scientific peer review of proposed research. ‘‘(c) METHANE HYDRATES ADVISORY PANEL.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an advisory panel (including the hiring of appropriate staff) consisting of representatives of industrial enterprises, institutions of higher education, oceanographic institutions, State agencies, and environmental organizations with knowledge and expertise in the natural gas hydrates field, to— ‘‘(A) assist in developing recommendations and broad programmatic priorities for the methane hydrate research and development program carried out under subsection (a)(1);

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