The U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $65.5 million in federal cost-shared funding on July 23, 2026, for projects designed to strengthen domestic oil and natural gas production, according to the US Department of Energy. The funding opportunity supports research, development, and deployment initiatives that aim to expand energy delivery systems and improve infrastructure efficiency.
The program supports President Trump’s Executive Order, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which targets the development of domestic oil and natural gas supplies. DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit stated that the investments will help producers eliminate waste, improve operational efficiency, and support national security.
Key Funding Targets
The official Notice of Funding Opportunity outlines three technical areas for applicant proposals:
- Resource Conversion: Projects will transform stranded, flared, or contaminated product streams into high-value products. Work will progress from lab-scale catalyst and separation research to field-testing modular gas conversion systems and sour gas processing facilities in active basins.
- Infrastructure Reliability: Focuses on field-testing advanced materials, compressors, valves, piping, storage tanks, coatings, and alloys to prevent product losses and bolster domestic chemical supply chains.
- Digitalization and Smart Sites: Accelerated deployment of digital tools, continuous monitoring systems, and artificial intelligence-supported digital twins on full-scale field platforms to lower operating costs and increase saleable hydrocarbons.
The new initiative builds on a recent $150 million funding opportunity from the department. That earlier effort focused on enhancing recovery efficiency from unconventional reservoirs, advancing hydraulic fracture characterization technologies, and developing methods for produced water management.
Applications for the $65.5 million funding opportunity must be submitted to the agency by September 22, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET.
