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A bill that will help fund an oil and gas research program has passed the U.S. House of Representatives thanks to Congressman Charles Boustany. This afternoon, the Gulf Petro Initiative, made its way through the U.S. House in the Energy and Water Bill.

This joint initiative between �鶹������ý Lafayette’s Energy Institute and the �鶹������ý Immersive Technologies Enterprise will provide innovative methods for building the nation’s capacity for oil and gas exploration, development and production.

“ The university is pleased that Congressman Boustany was able to provide funds for this important project,” said Dr. Robert Stewart, �鶹������ý Lafayette vice president for Research and Graduate Studies. “This is the type of project that was envisioned when both the Energy Institute and the LITE center were established. It addresses the needs of the energy industry in and around the Gulf of Mexico by bringing together the oil and gas expertise of �鶹������ý Lafayette’s faculty with LITE’s 3-D and supercomputing capabilities.”

The Energy Institute provides expert knowledge of the geology and geophysics of the Gulf of Mexico and the gulf coast region. Its primary concern is the application of this information for use by the petroleum industry, environmental concerns and government institutions.

“ The exploration and production operations in the deepwater, and high pressure - high temperature regions of the Gulf are becoming very costly,” said Dr. Ali Ghalambor, director of the Energy Institute. “This project should provide a better understanding of the geology and formation anomalies and help reduce those costs.”

LITE is a $29 million visualization and supercomputing facility with the capability to transmit data, analyses and 3-D visualizations over the �鶹������ý Optical Network Initiative high-speed, fiber optic backbone and the National LambdaRail.

“ The LITE facility is a critical piece of infrastructure and this earmark builds on these past investments,” said Boustany. “These funds are a major step forward and an excellent way for �鶹������ý Lafayette to build on the university’s expertise and facilities to extend energy exploration and production. �鶹������ý Lafayette’s leadership will provide critical research to enhance domestic energy production and improve energy independence.”

The need for the Gulf Petro Initiative comes from the rapidly depleting traditional reserves of the nation’s domestic onshore and offshore petroleum supply. Yet, the Gulf of Mexico region remains one of the most concentrated areas of petroleum and natural gas reserves in the nation as recent discoveries indicate.

�鶹������ý Lafayette will use LITE’s immersive 3-D technology to visually integrate geological, geophysical, reservoir and existing well data with drilling and platform planning information in a true 3-D planning environment.

The research will develop visualization techniques for the recovery of energy from pressure-depleted reservoirs, sub-salt and deepwater reservoirs. It will also enhance petroleum recovery from traditional and non-traditional geologic formations.

“ This initiative creates a unique opportunity for the joining of �鶹������ý Lafayette’s expert faculty and novel facilities like LITE to create new techniques and to greatly extend energy exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico region,” said �鶹������ý Lafayette President Ray Authement. “We thank Congressman Boustany for backing this pertinent initiative which is so important to �鶹������ý and the nation.”