SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- LNG Dam Safety, Reliability & Design Inspections
- Notice Date
- 8/25/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of Finance Accounting and Operations, Division of Procurement, 888 1st Street, N.E., Washington, District of Columbia, 20426
- ZIP Code
- 20426
- Solicitation Number
- FERC08-C-81433
- Archive Date
- 9/23/2008
- Point of Contact
- Kevin R Woody,, Fax: 202-208-0987
- E-Mail Address
-
kevin.woody@ferc.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is a Sources Sought posting for market research purposes only. This is not a Request for Proposal. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC is seeking vendors capable of providing the below requirement: Scope of Work The contractor will examine the design, operation, and maintenance of proposed or existing LNG facilities and provide suggestions and/or recommendations for enhancing their safety, reliability, and design based on professional experience, good engineering practices, federal regulations, industry standards, FERC guidance documents, historical or recent industrial accidents and incidents, and problems uncovered during FERC staff inspections. The FERC has interstate LNG peak-shaving and storage facilities, and base-load import and export terminals under its jurisdiction. The contractor will examine all of the equipment, piping, and vessels, including related systems within the plant. Elements of these facilities subject to review are the cryogenic components and related systems including, but not limited to: the LNG storage tanks and refrigerant storage tanks/vessels; trucking; marine docks and unloading arms; pretreatment, liquefaction, vapor handling, and metering systems; transfer lines; compressors; pumps; vaporizers; Btu reduction by natural gas liquids stripping or blending systems; instrument and pneumatic control systems; firewater systems; hazard detection and control systems; spill containment; and all associated equipment/processes. The reviews also cover the operation, maintenance, management of change, and emergency procedural philosophies of each facility. FERC staff will obtain and provide the contractor with the necessary initial background and technical material including facility specifications and design details appropriate to the individual projects. This information shall serve as a basis for each review. FERC staff will be responsible for scheduling/coordinating all work with the LNG facility applicant/owner. FERC staff will accompany the contractor during technical conferences, site inspections, and site meetings. The contractor will be responsible for conducting these technical conferences with the applicant/plant operators and for implementing site inspections. Based upon the technical conferences, site inspections, and related studies, the contractor will submit reports and findings to FERC staff. Reports and findings include a written technical evaluation, recommendations, conclusions, and a Manual for each technical conference/site inspection. This contract does not include thermal and vapor exclusion zone, structural, or seismic design reviews of a facility. Pre-Filing (PF) Review For new facilities, information is filed under the PF docket number and FERC staff will provide the contractor with one copy of this filing. The contractor shall use eLibrary to obtain copies of minor applicant submittals or FERC issuances after the initial application filing. The contractor, using the applicant’s engineering information filed in the draft Resource Report 13 under the PF docket number, will conduct an initial design screening. This initial design screening will determine if the level of information provided is adequate for the cryogenic reviews which will be conducted later under the CP docket number. This design screening does not entail a detailed review of the proposal, but should examine the filed information for any significant design flaws which should be addressed prior to the filing of a CP application. If an initial design screening results in a finding that the design or filed information is significantly deficient, incomplete, and/or requires major modification, the contractor shall notify the FERC staff and the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) by email and identify the major design or filing deficiencies. A PF review should typically be completed within about 1 month of receipt of the project information from the FERC staff, and should take a contractor 1 to 3 days to complete depending upon the experience, skill, and expertise of the reviewer. A Manual is not a deliverable for this work item. Actual timetables/schedules will be determined by the appropriate LNG Branch Chief and may be adjusted as necessary to resolve unexpected issues. When the contractor has completed the review of a facility and decides that he/she no longer wants to retain the information for future use, the contractor shall either shred or burn all propriety information, or return it to the COTR for disposal. New Facility Review For new facilities, the engineering information is filed under a CP docket number. FERC staff will provide the contractor with one copy of this filing. The contractor shall use eLibrary to obtain copies of minor applicant submittals or FERC issuances after the initial application filing. The contractor, using the information filed under the CP docket number including Resource Reports 1, 11, and 13, will review the design of a new or significantly expanded LNG facility and prepare an engineering data request. The data request shall identify issues or concerns related to the design, operability, reliability, and maintenance of the proposed facilities, including interaction with any existing facilities. Data request questions should typically be emailed to FERC staff within 30 days after receipt of the application from FERC staff. A technical conference will occur approximately 3 months after an applicant has filed an application under a CP docket number. Excluding travel time, the contractor and FERC staff will typically require 2 days in the project area to conduct a field inspection of the new or expanded site and to hold a technical conference to obtain clarifications and discuss design issues with the applicant. After the technical conference and receipt of any additional information filed in response to the questions discussed at the technical conference, the contractor will prepare a camera ready Manual, including a set of the Piping and Instrumentation Drawings (P&IDs) and other drawings that were used for the design review. The P&IDs and other drawings shall be black ink on white paper and shall be 8.5-inches wide by 11-inches long. The Manual shall include all amendments and supplemental information filed by an applicant up to the date of the technical conference and all company/contractor verbal and follow-up written responses to the issues raised during the site visit and technical conference. Once the technical conference has been completed and supplemental information has been filed, final recommendations for the proposed design shall be emailed to FERC staff as soon as possible. The contractor shall also include a brief explanation after each recommendation to discuss why it is needed and what the company will likely need to do to satisfy each recommendation. A New Facility Review will typically be completed within about 3 months after the CP application is given to the contractor. Actual timetables/schedules will be determined by the appropriate LNG Branch Chief and may be adjusted as necessary to resolve unexpected issues. When the contractor has completed the review of a facility and decides that he/she no longer wants to retain the information for future use, the contractor shall either shred or burn all propriety information, or return it to the COTR for disposal. Partial Project Review A facility evaluation under the Partial Project Review process shall use the same types of information and timeline that is used for a New Facility Review unless the COTR or appropriate LNG Branch Chief identifies the need for an adjusted time line. Any changes in the timing requirements that seek a shortened schedule shall be identified by FERC staff prior to the contractor providing, in writing, the proposed cost for the Partial Project Review. An email may be used to transmit this information to the contractor. This work item establishes a process for the FERC to obtain from the contractor a review of limited aspects of an LNG facility for a fixed fee which is negotiated and established before work commences on the work item. The contractor will examine the information provided for the project, and provide FERC staff with a proposed fixed fee for completing the cryogenic review of the project. FERC staff will review the proposal and, if accepted, the COTR will issue a Work Order to authorize the Partial Project Review. The fee for a Partial Project Review will be less than the fee for a New Facility Review. The Partial Project Review option can be used by the FERC when an applicant seeks to modify or install one or more additional systems at an existing facility, e.g., a natural gas liquids stripping system and/or supplemental “ambient air” vaporizers. The contractor will thoroughly examine all aspects of the safety and reliability of the design for the proposed new systems, including a review of how they interact with the other existing plant systems. The level of review required for completion of the deliverables under this review option is the same as that used for a New Facility Review except it focuses only on the new systems and their impact on the existing systems, if any. The contractor will prepare updated pages for all sections of the Manual by incorporating the new facilities/systems. When the contractor has completed the review of a facility and decides that he/she no longer wants to retain the information for future use, the contractor shall either shred or burn all propriety information, or return it to the COTR for disposal. Existing Facility Inspection The contractor will prepare for and conduct with FERC staff a site inspection of an existing LNG plant using P&IDs, engineering drawings, semi-annual operational reports since the last inspection, and other information that has been filed or received by staff during this time period, e.g., in response to data requests, and the mostly recently prepared Manual. The FERC staff will send the contractor copies of the semi-annual operational reports, and electronically provide the contractor with a copy of the last Manual prepared for an existing facility. The site inspection usually entails a visual inspection of all areas in the plant, review of selected operations and/or maintenance procedures and records, and discussion of operating problems or other issues that have affected plant operations since the last inspection. The contractor will prepare an updated Manual for the facility that discusses the findings of the inspection and documents how any recommendations made at the last inspection were resolved. The contractor shall also update the Manual as needed to correct any problems with its content that are found during the course of the facility review/inspection. The contractor and FERC staff will brief plant personnel with their findings prior to concluding the site inspection. The contractor will provide FERC staff with a final version of the recommendations within 10 days after the conclusion of the site visit. The contractor shall complete the Manual for a biennial/annual inspection within 2 months after the site visit unless the time limit is waived in writing by the COTR or appropriate LNG Branch Chief. This Manual shall also include the Inspection Forms that were completed during the site inspection. LNG facility inspection schedules will be arranged with either the COTR or the appropriate LNG Branch Chief. When the contractor has completed the review of a facility and decides that he/she no longer wants to retain the information for future use, the contractor shall either shred or burn all propriety information, or return it to the COTR for disposal. Requirements The contractor must have an education in a relevant engineering field, e.g., chemical, mechanical, civil, or fire protection engineering. The contractor must have sufficient technical expertise and experience to recognize when a design is fatally flawed and will need extensive modifications to make it acceptable/workable. Emphasis will be placed on the design, operability, and reliability of the facilities, including their possible interactions with the surrounding areas (e.g., piping class, other industrial facilities in the area) around the facility. The impact of engineering design, such as appropriate use of existing technology and materials selection (e.g., carbon versus stainless steel), will be assessed. The basis of review will include various codes and standards, prior experience, precedents, and engineering knowledge. Personnel qualifications must demonstrate at least 15 years of design, operations, maintenance, safety, and/or fire protection engineering experience at industrial facilities or engineering firms with particular emphasis on processes involving hydrocarbon or cryogenic fluids (liquid oxygen, nitrogen, LNG). Experience from inspecting industrial facilities and working as an engineering design and procurement contractor can also be used to demonstrate relevant work experience. Prior work experience associated with LNG facilities or other cryogenic fluids is more heavily valued and preferred over experience in other industrial facilities that do not involve the construction, operation, and maintenance of processes that handle fluids. Deliverable Items Based upon the studies, conferences, and/or inspections, the contractor will submit reports to FERC staff setting forth the technical evaluations, recommendations, data request questions, and conclusions for each project as indicated within the Scope of Work. The contractor will attend technical conferences for new and expanded facilities and participate in discussions with plant personnel during on-site inspections of operating plants. The contractor shall also complete and provide to FERC staff a Manual for each New Facility Review, Existing Facility Review, and Partial Project Review, including a Summary Assessment. The Summary Assessment will include the contractor’s major findings of the project review or inspection and recommendations. For an existing facility the Summary Assessment will also discuss the status of the last inspection’s recommendations, if any. The inspection of existing facilities also requires the completion of Inspection Forms which shall be included in the Manual. One camera-ready Manual is required. The contractor shall also provide one electronic copy of the report and the manual on a compact disk in Word 2002 and/or Excel 2003. FERC staff will provide the contractor with either the latest Manual for an existing facility, or a “blank” manual for a new facility, including any Inspection Forms that have been previously used for a facility. All work products under this contract may be initially submitted electronically to the FERC staff using files attached to emails, with a copy to the COTR. One hardcopy, with a CD, shall be mailed to the COTR. Please note that this synopsis is for planning purposes only, does not constitute a solicitation for competitive bids/proposals, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. However, all interested parties who believe they can meet the requirements of the statement of work are invited to submit in writing complete information describing their capability and experience to provide the required services. Please provide company name, point of contact name and contact information (email and phone number). The information received because of this notice will be considered solely for determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. A determination by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission not to open the requirement to open competition, based on response to this sources sought synopsis, is solely within the discretion of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Government does not intend to pay for any information provided under this sources sought synopsis. Send responses or any questions via e-mail to Mr. Kevin R. Woody at Kevin.Wood@frec.gov. No phone calls will be accepted. The response due date is on 8 September 2008
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=3e0d20e7d360ed36a1353f1785d9fc07&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Will be determined by the location of the LNG facility, United States
- Record
- SN01650549-W 20080827/080825222817-3e0d20e7d360ed36a1353f1785d9fc07 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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