The Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) is pleased to announce it will fund four proposals for research to improve the safety and environmental sustainability of Marine Energy development. The OESI received 18 project proposals for three distinct research pathways in response to the Marine Energy Request for Proposals (RFP). Total funding for the four research projects selected will reach $1,099,672 pending successful contract negotiations.
Organized under an agreement between the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Department of Energy (DOE), and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the OESI is a consortium of industry, national labs, NGOs, and academia created to support the development of critical safety and environmental improvements for all offshore energy activities, including renewable and traditional energy. Earlier this year, the OESI announced 10 awards in the Oil & Gas application area which are currently in contracting phase with a total value of $3,885,057. Grant awards for wind energy research proposals will be announced in the coming weeks/months.
Funding will be awarded to the following project titles and lead research organizations:
| Project Title | Lead Organization | Requested Amount |
|---|---|---|
| M-T1-P1.1 Mapping use cases and connecting small-scale marine energy solutions to enhance the safety, security, and sustainability of oil & gas operations | ||
| Full mapping to use-case validation for Small-scale Wave Energy Solutions to enhance 3S of Offshore Oil & Gas operations | Texas A&M University | $262,921 |
| Application of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Systems for Powering of Safety Monitoring Systems of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations | Argonne National Laboratory |
$200,000 |
| M-T1-P1.3 Identification of recommended minimum system and personnel safety considerations for the design of marine energy technology | ||
| Establishing System and Personnel Safety Guidance/Recommendations for the Design and Operation of Marine Energy Technology | American Bureau of Shipping | $396,091 |
| M-T2-P2.1 Assessment of offshore oil & gas experience (best practices in the application of existing technology) to enhance utility-scale marine energy generation systems | ||
| Gap Analysis of Marine Energy Technology Best Practices | AMOG Consulting | $240,660 |
| TOTAL | $1,099,672 | |
Project Synopsis
Full Mapping to Use-case Validation for Small-scale Wave Energy Solutions to Enhance 3S of Offshore Oil & Gas Operations
PI: Heonyang Kang, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
This project aims to develop the full map of how small-scale wave energy converters (WECs) can enhance the safety, security, and sustainability (3S) of offshore oil and gas (O/G) operations. The full mapping will be performed through A) comprehensive reviews of both small-scale WECs and offshore O/G operations and B) development of use-cases in three rounds: 1) integration of self-effective WECs with the O/G operations, 2) evolvement of dependent WECs in combination with the O/G operations, and 3) probing expansion of O/G operation limits through combination with both self-effective and dependent WECs. The full mapping will be completed by quantitative validation of the use cases with the safety ensured. Fourteen members of an offshore industry consortium (OSSCL) will select representative use cases. The validity of the chosen use-cases will be determined by quantifying the 3S enhancement using verified simulations. Furthermore, autonomous underwater monitoring powered by a WEC (SR- WEC), one use-case already identified from 2 ongoing projects of PI, will be validated through physical concept proof that includes a digital twin for SR-WEC.
Application of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Systems for Powering of Safety Monitoring Systems of Offshore Oil and Gas Operations
PI: Erna Gevondyan, Argonne National Labaratory
This project intends to perform feasibility analysis and system modeling to determine the potential of powering offshore oil and gas (O&G) monitoring operations with ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Detailed energy needs for monitoring and energy demand will be specified by publicly available data and input from an industry collaborator. Resource assessment (seawater ΔT as a function of cold-water intake depth) will quantify the mean and seasonal variability of the thermal structure in the Gulf of Mexico. High-level OTEC plant design will quantify system performance at relevant scales (approx. 20-400kW). Finally, a co-location assessment will be performed. The end product will be a scalable OTEC mathematical model that can be used to pair OTEC devices with offshore O&G facilities and operations, plus an assessment of the co-location potential for these technologies. This project will bring collaborations among Argonne National Laboratory and Industry Partners. The knowledge gained from this project will be related to energy system modeling and design, siting, environmental needs. It can influence the development of OTEC devices to decarbonize parts of offshore O&G operations and be a step to scale up OTEC to utility level.
Establishing System and Personnel Safety Guidance/Recommendations for the Design and Operation of Marine Energy Technology
PI: Kevin McSweeny, American Bureau of Shipping
This project aims to identify research gaps through literature reviews and industry engagement. This will include the following: a comprehensive literature review on various marine energy technologies (MET) and recommended system and personnel safety design considerations and industry engagement (meetings, knowledge elicitation activities, interviews, preliminary results review, etc.). Activities may also include sharing best practices, incident data (incident, high potential events, and near-miss), as well as lessons learned. Create three (3) use cases to limit/focus the scope. (1) The first use case is a floating wave energy converter (WEC) powering offshore aquaculture. Significant details pertaining to the design and operation of this platform will be provided by EWave. (2) The second use case is a submerged WEC charging underwater autonomous vehicles. One example is the oscillating water column developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (3) The third use case is a tidal turbine powering remote communities.
The project aims to Identify minimum personnel safety design recommendations using the different use cases. This is expected to include design criteria, which provide for human factors engineering (HFE), which will help optimize the interaction between humans and systems to help enhance safety and performance by considering human capabilities, limitations, and behavior.
Gap Analysis of Marine Energy Technology Best Practices
PI: Andrew Kilner, AMOG Consulting
