UK Research & Innovation: UKRI-3918 New England Shelf Hydrogeology

UK-Swindon: Offshore drilling services.

Section I: Contracting Authority

   I.1) Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
       UK Research & Innovation
       Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1FL, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 7562167366, Email: NERCProcurement@ukri.org
       Contact: Kate Richardson
       Main Address: www.ukri.org
       NUTS Code: UKK14

   I.2) Joint procurement:
      The contract involves joint procurement: No          
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not Provided
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No

   I.4)Type of the contracting authority:
      Body governed by public law

   I.5) Main activity:
      Other activity: Research

Section II: Object Of The Contract

   II.1) Scope of the procurement

      II.1.1) Title: UKRI-3918 New England Shelf Hydrogeology            
      Reference number: UKRI-3918

      II.1.2) Main CPV code:
         76320000 - Offshore drilling services.


      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES

      II.1.4) Short description: The British Geological Survey (BGS), acting on behalf of the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), requires a marine coring capability and suitable vessel to operate offshore New England, USA, for a scientific drilling, coring and groundwater sampling campaign for a period of between 60 – 90 days (estimated) between May and August 2025. This scientific coring project seeks to extend our understanding of the current and past states of fluid composition, pressure, and temperature in continental shelf environments. In many coastal settings worldwide, the distribution of freshwater within continental shelf sediments is far out of equilibrium with modern sea level. One of the most remarkable examples is found on the Atlantic continental shelf off New England where groundwater within shallow Pliocene-Pleistocene sand aquifers over 100 km offshore has low salinity (3000 mg/l or less). This project will test several hypotheses to help constrain rates, directions, and mechanisms of groundwater flow and chemical fluxes in continental shelf systems.

      II.1.6) Information about lots
         This contract is divided into lots: No
            
      II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
          Value: 25,578,242.22
                  
         Currency:USD            

   II.2) Description

      II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
            34514000 - Floating or submersible drilling or production platforms.
            43124900 - Rock-drilling equipment.
            45262422 - Subsea drilling work.
            76340000 - Core drilling.


      II.2.3) Place of performance
      Nuts code:
      US - United States
   
      Main site or place of performance:
      United States
             

      II.2.4) Description of the procurement: The project requires a contractor to provide a suitable platform from which to deploy coring apparatus to achieve near-continuous core samples (min. diameter 60mm) from seabed to a total depth (TD) of 550 mbsf (meters below sea floor) at each of 3 pre-determined sites. Additionally, the project requires to drill (not core) 2 boreholes at 2 of the 3 pre-determined sites for groundwater testing and sampling at specific intervals selected using the results from the cored boreholes. The contractor will be responsible for supplying the vessel and personnel; and undertaking the drilling, coring and groundwater testing/sampling requirements.

Please see the Specification for full details.

      II.2.5) Award criteria:
      Quality criterion - Name: Technical / Quality / Weighting: 70
                  
      Cost criterion - Name: Price / Weighting: 30
            

      II.2.11) Information about options
         Options: No
         

      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
         The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
         

      II.2.14) Additional information: Not Provided


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

   IV.1.1)Type of procedure: Open


   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
      The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No       
      

   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction
      An electronic auction has been used: No

   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2) Administrative information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
       Notice number in the OJEU: 2024/S 000-025291
      
   

   IV.2.9) Information about termination of call for competition in the form of a prior information notice
      The contracting authority will not award any further contracts based on the above prior information notice: No

Section V: Award of contract

Award Of Contract (No.1)

   Contract No: Not Provided    
   Lot Number: Not Provided    
   Title: Not Provided

   A contract/lot is awarded: Yes


   V.2) Award of contract

      V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract: 22/01/2025

      V.2.2) Information about tenders
         Number of tenders received: 2
         Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1 (SME - as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC)          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0          
         Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 2          
         Number of tenders received by electronic means: 2

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor

      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
         
         Contractor (No.1)
             Matrix Offshore Services, LLC, 001555286
             1661 Old Belfast Road, Lewisburg, TN, 37091, United States
             Tel. +1 9313596564
             Internet address: https://matrix-offshore.com/
             NUTS Code: US
            The contractor is an SME: Yes

      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
         Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 25,578,242.22          
         Total value of the contract/lot: 25,578,242.22
         Currency: USD

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No
         
Section VI: Complementary information

   VI.3) Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement. Procurement Contract Transparency Data: Redacted contract documents will be made available within the next 30 days on the UKRI website at: https://www.ukri.org/about-us/procurement-contract-transparency-data
To view this notice, please click here:
https://ukri.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=905902719

   VI.4) Procedures for review

      VI.4.1) Review body
          UK Research & Innovation
          Swindon, SN2 1FL, United Kingdom

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
         Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures: Not Provided

      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided

   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 24/01/2025