Department of Energy-funded ?microhole? technology could usher in a revolutionary new approach to the way America's oil and gas wells are drilled. The targeted result: greatly reduced costs and environmental impacts and a wave of new drilling that could help bolster the Nation's energy security. And if progress continues apace for DOE?s microhole research and development program, the technology could be on the cusp of commerciality in just a few years. DOE?s microhole initiative centers on developing technologies related to drilling wells with diameters smaller than 43/4 inches and deploying downhole microinstruments specially designed for such small holes. The idea is to use smaller, transportable drilling rigs to dramatically cut the costs and risks of drilling wells for oil and gas producers while shrinking the ?footprint? of drilling operations and reducing related waste volumes. The microhole technology program is managed by the Office of Petroleum of the Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil, an arm of DOE?s National Energy Technology Laboratory. NETL early this year announced the second phase of its microhole initiative. This year's round was designed to push microhole technology another step closer to commerciality and widespread adoption by the U.S. oil and gas industry. ?This [second round] is the first solicitation round for demonstrations of advanced technology that might become the future of significantly reduced costs for exploration and development,? said Roy Long, Exploration and Production Technology Manager for SCNGO?s Office of Petroleum. ?Within 3 years, we'll know whether we have commerciality for most of these technologies.?