This document reaffirms the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy commitment to implement the National Oil Research Program in a way to maximize assurance of energy security, economic growth, environmental protection, jobs, improved economic competitiveness, and improved US balance of trade. There are two sections and an appendix in this document. Section 1 is background information that guided its formulation and a summary of the Oil Program Implementation Plan. This summary includes mission statements, major program drivers, oil issues and trends, budget issues, customers/stakeholders, technology transfer, measures of program effectiveness, and benefits. Section 2 contains more detailed program descriptions for the eight technical areas and the NIPER infrastructure. The eight technical areas are reservoir characterization; extraction research; exploration, drilling, and risk-based decision management; analysis and planning; technology transfer; field demonstration projects; oil downstream operations; and environmental research. Each description contains an overview of the program, descriptions on main areas, a discussion of stakeholders, impacts, planned budget projections, projected schedules with Gantt charts, and measures of effectiveness. The appendix is a summary of comments from industry on an earlier draft of the plan. Although changes were made in response to the comments, many of the suggestions will be used as guidance for the FY 1997--2001 plan.
