Oil is used for heating and transportation -- most notably, as fuel for gas-powered vehicles. America’s dependence on foreign oil has declined in recent years, but oil prices have increased.
The Energy Department supports research and policy options to increase our domestic supply of oil while ensuring environmentally sustainable supplies domestically and abroad, and is investing in research, technology and processes to make oil drilling cleaner and more efficient -- including enhanced oil recovery and improved offshore drilling practices.
Office of Petroleum Reserves
Petroleum Reserves
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Offshore Drilling
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The Strategic Petroleum Reserve or SPR is an emergency stockpile of oil located in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts. Learn more abou... -
Barbara Kutchko, a researcher at the National Energy Technology Lab, tells us about how she got interested in science, the ways her research is influencing important decisions in real-time and what she hates about toy stores.
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FECM’s Office of Resource Sustainability is a leading government organization fostering innovation in oil, gas, coal, and critical minerals production and use to ensure the effective stewardship of our vast national resources.
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The first time the Teapot Dome Oilfield was sold, it threw the Harding administration into scandal. Now -- 93 years later -- we're selling the field legally.
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Think you know where coal, solar and other power plants are located around the country? Test your knowledge with our power plants quiz!