The project may help clear the way to more affordable and more realistic deep-water production, said RPSEA spokesman Jim Chitwood
At risk are significant revenues from oil and natural gas production, as well as possible impacts on royalty payments, said a Houston Business Journal report.
Both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy have called for advances in technology to address issues in measuring and monitoring deep-water production.
The RPSEA project will address those technology gaps and will add to its research team Houston-based Oceaneering International.
Funding for RPSEA projects is provided by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 through lease bonuses and royalties paid by industry to produce oil and gas on federal lands.
