The oil and gas industry is a very diverse and complex sector of the energy economy. It ranges from exploration to production, processing, transportation, and distribution. All of these segments are elements of the natural gas industry and the oil industry but are different for oil than for natural gas.
An example of a technology pathway for the oil refining industry is the Petroleum Refining Vision and Roadmap, which was developed through a joint effort of government and industry. Other technology roadmaps of relevance to Climate VISION participants either are being developed or will be developed in the future. The oil refining example is provided initially. Others will be added as they become available.
Petroleum refining is one of nine energy-intensive industries that is participating with the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) in a collaborative R&D strategy called "Industries of the Future." In February 2000, petroleum industry leaders signed a compact with ITP to work together through the Industries of the Future initiative. This initiative is now paving the way for strategic joint development of technologies by government, national laboratories, academia, and industry in alignment with the industry-defined vision, Technology Vision 2020. The Petroleum Industry of the Future's mission is to provide strong technological options to allow refiners:
A key driving force behind the Petroleum Industry of the Future is the American Petroleum Institute's Technology Committee, which, along with the National Petrochemical and Refiner's Associations, has identified the technical areas of greatest concern to the industry and developed a technology roadmap to address them. The roadmapping process is encouraging new government-industry partnerships that will further strengthen the industry, while providing benefits to the nation in terms of energy efficiency and environmental performance.
Petroleum Refining VISION (PDF 684 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Technology Vision 2020: A Technology Vision for the U.S. Petroleum Industry identifies major goals for the future and outlines broad technology needs.
ROADMAP (PDF 339 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
The goals and research priorities outlined in Technology Roadmap for the Petroleum Industry, Draft 2000, form the basis for making new research investments by both government and industry.
A listing of the R&D Portfolio of the Petroleum Industry of the Future is available online.
Page Last Modified: August 7, 2008
