The U.S. Department of Energy is offering up to $65.5 million in cost-shared funding for research, development and deployment projects tied to domestic oil and natural gas production, the agency announced July 23, 2026. The money is meant to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing energy infrastructure and to turn underused resources into products that can be sold.

DOE released the offer as a Notice of Funding Opportunity, or NOFO, tied to President Trump's executive order "Unleashing American Energy." Applications are due September 22, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Three areas of research

The funding opportunity covers:

  • Turning stranded, flared or contaminated oil and gas streams into transportable products, moving from lab-scale testing of catalysts, reactors and separation systems to field tests of small-scale gas conversion units and sour-gas processing plants at working oil and gas fields.
  • Upgrading the equipment that keeps oil and gas moving safely, including compressors, valves, piping, storage tanks, coatings and alloys, so less product is lost in transport and chemical manufacturers get a steadier supply.
  • Deploying monitoring systems and AI-linked digital twins at upstream and midstream sites, meant to increase the hydrocarbons companies can sell, cut operating costs and track how mature new technologies are.

DOE frames the money as economic and security policy

DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said the funding reflects "strategic investments to strengthen America's oil and natural gas industry." He said the goal is to "help American producers eliminate waste, improve efficiency" while supplying energy the department describes as affordable and reliable.

America's oil and gas production and delivery system supplies fuel for manufacturing, chemical production, power generation, households and a growing export sector, according to DOE.

Builds on an earlier funding round

The July 23 announcement follows a separate $150 million funding opportunity from DOE aimed at improving recovery from unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, advancing hydraulic fracture characterization and developing new approaches to managing produced water. DOE has not said when it expects to select recipients under the new $65.5 million NOFO.