Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§13415 Midcontinent Energy Research Center

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 134— - ENERGY POLICY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VIII— - REDUCTION OF OIL VULNERABILITY › Part Part A— - Oil and Gas Supply Enhancement › § 13415

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary can create the Midcontinent Energy Research Center to study ways to get more oil from existing fields in the midcontinent region of the United States. The Center’s goals are to make oil recovery more efficient, increase how much oil is ultimately recovered, and slow down the early abandonment of oil resources. The Center must work, when possible, with federal agencies, the midcontinent States, and the oil industry. Research can cover building data systems and sharing technology, managing and characterizing reservoirs, using advanced recovery methods, and creating new technologies.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §13415

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congress finds that petroleum resources in the midcontinent region of the United States are very large but are being prematurely abandoned.

(b)The purposes of this section are to—

(1)improve the efficiency of petroleum recovery;

(2)increase ultimate petroleum recovery; and

(3)delay the abandonment of resources.

(c)The Secretary may establish the Midcontinent Energy Research Center (referred to in this section as the “Center”) to—

(1)conduct research in petroleum geology and engineering focused on improving the recovery of petroleum from existing fields and established plays in the upper midcontinent region of the United States; and

(2)ensure that the results of the research described in paragraph (1) are transferred to users.

(d)(1)In conducting research under this section, the Center shall, to the extent practicable, cooperate with agencies of the Federal Government, the States in the midcontinent region of the United States, and the affected industry.

(2)Research programs conducted by the Center may include—

(A)data base development and transfer of technology;

(B)reservoir management;

(C)reservoir characterization;

(D)advanced recovery methods; and

(E)development of new technology.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 13415

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73