The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Opportunity: Accelerating the Transition of the Oil and Gas Sector

This briefing by RMI outlines how the US Department of Energy's Loan Program Office (LPO) Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program, combined with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax incentives, provides a financial mechanism for the US oil and gas sector to transition to clean energy. The EIR program offers low-cost, long-tenor debt financing for projects that repurpose ceased energy infrastructure or reduce the operational emissions of existing facilities.

• The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program, part of the LPO's Title XVII authority, provides low-cost debt financing for projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace ceased energy infrastructure, or reduce emissions from operating infrastructure. Loans can cover up to 80% of eligible project costs with a maximum tenor of 30 years, priced at 37.5 basis points above Treasuries of the corresponding tenor. The IRA allocated $5 billion to the EIR to support up to $250 billion in lending.
• The EIR program is a time-sensitive opportunity, as its loan authority currently expires in September 2026, although loan disbursements may continue through 2031.
• Upstream oil and gas infrastructure can be repurposed for several clean energy activities eligible for EIR financing, including lithium extraction from oilfield brine (specifically in areas like the Smackover rock formation in Arkansas), developing enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and converting offshore oil and gas infrastructure for offshore wind power.
• Downstream sector opportunities for EIR financing include converting gas stations into electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and repurposing oil refineries for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other biofuels.
• EIR financing can support the reduction of operational emissions across the oil and gas value chain through the monitoring and mitigation of methane emissions, the electrification of operations using renewable energy, and the transition from gray to green hydrogen in refineries.
• The document identifies specific regional opportunities and examples, such as the potential for over 100 GW of offshore wind by 2050 in the Gulf of Mexico, the RenuWell project in Alberta, Canada for brownfield remediation, and the Lost Hills oil field in Southern California where 80% of operations are powered by a 29 MW solar plant.

APA

RMI (2024). The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Opportunity: Accelerating the Transition of the Oil and Gas Sector. https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-infrastructure-reinvestment-opportunity-accelerating-the-transition-of-the-oil-and-gas-sector/

Chicago

RMI. The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Opportunity: Accelerating the Transition of the Oil and Gas Sector. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-infrastructure-reinvestment-opportunity-accelerating-the-transition-of-the-oil-and-gas-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Opportunity: Accelerating the Transition of the Oil and Gas Sector |date=30 September 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-infrastructure-reinvestment-opportunity-accelerating-the-transition-of-the-oil-and-gas-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024energy, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Opportunity: Accelerating the Transition of the Oil and Gas Sector}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/the-energy-infrastructure-reinvestment-opportunity-accelerating-the-transition-of-the-oil-and-gas-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }