DE-SOL-0009796 Notice Type: Request for Information (RFI) This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued for informational and planning purposes only by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to the RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government is not at this time seeking proposals. Respondents are advised the Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is considered non-binding. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is conducting a Market Survey to identify interested parties capable of providing a pair of coalbed methane wells to be used for research purposes. The magnitude of this effort is expected to be on the order of $100,000. NETL is in the early stages of a biogasification research project to investigate the potential for native microbes living within shallow coal seams to contribute to coalbed methane (CBM) production, with the longer-term objective of providing nutrients to these microbes that may enhance CBM production. As such, research is proceeding in the laboratory on coal samples and produced water samples collected from mines and CBM production sites, and through the use of computer models. In order to test the impacts of nutrient amendments under realistic conditions, however, NETL has determined that a small scale field test is required. The field test will consist of two CBM wells drilled on the grounds of the NETL site in Morgantown, WV. One will be for production, and will be pumped; the other will be for injection of produced water and nutrients. The wells are anticipated to be approximately 200 feet (60 meters) apart, and approximately 500 feet (150 meters) deep. A stretch of flat ground accessible by a paved road has been identified within the lab property for potential drilling (fig. 1). This site formerly held a number of large satellite dishes, and is cleared of trees and brush. Data from two older CBM test wells at the lab (identified on fig. 1 as NETL01 and NETL02) indicate that coal seams are present at depths of about 200 to 600 feet. A geologic cross section from these two wells is shown in fig. 2. The depths and thicknesses of the coal seams from the geologist log on NETL02 are listed below: * Harlem Coal 184.95' deep 0.66' thick * Brush Creek Coal 368.59' 0.55' * Upper Freeport Coal 455.47' 6.75' * Lower Split Upper Freeport 468.70' 1.18' * Upper Kittanning 539.20' 1.44' * Lower Kittanning 629.80' 1.55' Figure 1. Location of proposed drill site on the NETL property in Morgantown; NETL01 and NETL02 mark the locations of old CBM test wells used to make the cross section shown in fig. 2. The target seam for the biogasification field study is the Upper Freeport, which is the thickest coal encountered in the wells. The lower split of the Upper Freeport Coal is desired to be included, along with some bottom hole below the coal seam for tools and pumps. As such, the total depth (TD) of the holes will be approximately 500 feet. It is anticipated that each well will be constructed in a standard manner by drilling a surface hole and setting surface casing, then rotary drilling a nominal 8-7/8 inch diameter hole to a depth of about 440 feet. 7 inch diameter casing will be set to the 440 foot depth and grouted to the surface. PVC casing is acceptable and is less costly than steel. Sixty (60) feet of drillstem HQ core (2.5 inch nominal diameter) are to be obtained from the production well. Core is to include the Upper Freeport Coal and the Lower Split of the Upper Freeport coal. Smaller diameter NQ core may be acceptable for the research studies, but this must be negotiated. The production well will be cored from a depth of 440 ft. to the TD of 500 ft. The injection well will be rotary drilled below the casing to the nominal TD. Both holes will be open-hole completed below the casing, swabbed, cleaned, and developed. A submersible pump is to be installed in the production well, and a wellhead attached. Installation of some surface plumbing, such as a gas-water separator, produced water storage tanks, sampling ports and other features might also be required as part of the official solicitation. Figure 2. Geologic cross section along the section between NETL01 and NETL02, constructed using the geology logs from the wells. Dark blue lines represent coal seams. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is 213111 with a size standard of 500 employees. All responsible business sources may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. Expression of Interest/Capability Statement Interested parties are requested to provide the following information in response to this market survey: (A) A cover page (no longer than one page) that briefly describes your company. The cover page shall include, at a minimum, the name of your organization, address, DUNS number, and your business size as it relates to the NAICS code and size standard information listed. Specify the business classification: large business, educational, non-profit, not-for-profit, small business, small disadvantaged business, woman owned, veteran owned, disabled veteran owned, 8(a) or HUB Zone. (Note: if a teaming arrangement is proposed your business size should be considered large unless you have obtained written SBA approval for your team to be considered in another size category). For business size definitions please refer to the Small Business Administration's web site: http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting/contracting-officials/eligibility-size-standards (B) A capability statement (between three to five pages) describing your capability and expertise to perform the services outlined in this announcement, specifically indicating: 1. Company capability and experience constructing and installing research-quality coalbed methane or water monitoring wells to the depths and specifications described, including experience and ability to perform rotary drilling, setting and cementing casing, and drillstem coring. 2. Documentation of a skilled workforce capable of safely, professionally, and quickly installing the wells and surface infrastructure as required. 3. This is a biological research project. As such, any chemical additives, lubricants, conditioners, anti-corrosion compounds or anything else introduced downhole must be severely limited. Please provide information about drilling and coring methods that would be proposed (i.e. rotary mud, air hammer, rotary mist, etc.); provisions for retrieving core barrels, ingredients expected to be used to make drilling mud, methods for mixing and introducing cement, and details about any type of chemical additives that might be introduced downhole. 4. We welcome suggestions for engineering improvements in the wells that may yield better production, or provide flow rates and residence times that are more representative of commercial CBM wells, along with recommendations for casing materials, well design, and completion practices. 5. Provide examples of environmental stewardship and safety management plans implemented on previous drill sites, and preliminary plans for NETL. It is recommended that submittals be limited to between three and five pages. For consistency, the respondent is instructed to submit their response in either MS Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format (version 2003 or earlier). All interested parties responding to this market survey must submit their responses via the FedConnect no later than 4:30 PM Local Time (Morgantown, WV) on May 27, 2016. The FedConnect web portal (found at https://www.fedconnect.net) is used to disseminate this sources sought notification, receive questions, and accept the expressions of interests and demonstrated capability information in response to this notification. ONLY RESPONSES RECEIVED THROUGH FEDCONNECT WILL BE ANALYZED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. You are strongly encouraged to submit your Expression of Interest/Capability Statement at least 24 hours before the specified due date in order to have time to resolve any transmission problems. It is your responsibility to allow an adequate amount of time for receipt of your submission. To get started, download a copy of the quick start guide, "FedConnect, Ready, Set, Go Guide" which will provide assistance/instructions on registering, finding an opportunity, sending and receiving messages, and submitting a response. To register, please visit the FedConnect web portal at https://www.fedconnect.net, and click on the link: "Click here to register." Please note that before you can register in FedConnect, you will need a DUNS (http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform) and a federal System for Award Management (SAM) account (www.sam.gov). You are encouraged to register as soon as possible and should allow at least 14 days to complete these registrations. To find this Sources Sought Notification, click on "Search Public Opportunities" and search by the RFP Number, DE-SOL-0009796 used to identify this sources sought notice. Please bookmark this page and check it frequently for updates. It is highly recommended that once you access the opportunity that you request to be alerted for amendments, messages, and any e-mail alerts associated with this requirement. To do so, you will need to click on the "Register to Receive Notifications" button under "What do I do now?" If someone from your company has already registered interest for this opportunity, the "Register to Receive Notifications" button will not display. Instead, you will have the option to join the response team by clicking the Join the Team button within the Response Team section. All questions regarding the content of this notification must be submitted electronically via FedConnect. You must register with FedConnect to respond as an interested party to submit questions, and to view responses to questions. Questions will not be answered over the phone. The Contracting Officer must receive questions regarding the Sources Sought Notification via FedConnect no later than ten (10) business days prior to the established due date. The Government will review the questions and reserves the right to not respond to any questions received after this timeframe or not relevant to providing responses to this notification. Please note - FedConnect is owned and operated by Compusearch Software Systems Inc., not by the Department of Energy and DOE does not provide help desk assistance for FedConnect. 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[email protected] By phone: 1-800-899-6665 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, except Federal holidays). As indicated previously, this is NOT a solicitation therefore no cost or pricing information should be provided. This is a market survey to identify potential sources capable of performing the effort required. Responses should be limited to the offeror's expression of interest, identification of business size, and demonstration of capabilities/experience based on the items indicated in this notification.