Published date: 12 November 2021

Awarded contract - This means that the contract has been awarded to a supplier.


Closing: 1 November 2021, 5pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Research consultancy services - 73210000

Location of contract

United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, British Oversea Territories

Value of contract

£40,000

Procurement reference

SC210007

Published date

12 November 2021

Closing date

1 November 2021

Closing time

5pm

Contract start date

15 November 2021

Contract end date

31 March 2022

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Competitive quotation (below threshold)

The buyer selects a group of potential suppliers to invite to tender.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

Description

This project focuses on the use of soil-gas measurements to infer the integrity status of decommissioned onshore oil and gas wells in England. The integrity of buried decommissioned wells may be impaired by long-term degradation of well materials and seals, so that fugitive gas may be released through the overlying soil. Previous studies have measured soil-gas to try and infer integrity, but the measurements and inferences have been variable - so the integrity status of decommissioned wells remains uncertain. This project will develop and trial a protocol for making, interpreting and reporting soil-gas measurements, so that integrity status can be determined with more confidence.
The project will start with a desk-based review of existing methods for measuring and interpreting soil-gas to infer decommissioned well integrity. An initial concept scheme for monitoring soil gas will then be developed and trialled at a minimum of 3 decommissioned production wells. The results of the review and trial will be used to develop a systematic monitoring protocol, which will include examples and advice on how it may be used to confirm the presence, or absence, of fugitive releases from decommissioned wells. The work will be summarised in a report that will make recommendations for improving the protocol, and will discuss how soil-gas monitoring compares with other techniques for assessing well integrity. It will also use expert judgement to comment on up to 3 related technical issues such as: (i) the role of low permeability surficial sediments in containing fugitive releases, (ii) the potential for using the protocol in other situations involving engineered sub-surface containment of gases.
The protocol will focus on methane, but will include accompanying gases if they help to identify methane sources. The protocol will cover basic reconnaissance methods for "screening" decommissioned well sites, and more detailed "follow-up" methods for investigating "screened in" sites that may have fugitive releases from decommissioned wells. The protocol will consider the criteria to be used when deciding if monitoring at a site should escalate from reconnaissance to detailed investigation. It will distinguish between methane signals and variations due to (a) background levels, (b) natural soil processes including diurnal and seasonal cycles, (c) potential confounding sources e.g. agricultural emissions, and (d) any additional methane (i.e. additional to a-c) that may be a fugitive emission from a decommissioned well. The protocol will consider uncertainties so that a level of confidence can be associated with any assessment that fugitive methane is, or is not, present from a decommissioned well. It will also consider how the emission flux of methane from a decommissioned well may be determined from soil gas measurements.

More information

Previous notice about this procurement

Onshore Oil & Gas: Development of a Soil-Gas Monitoring Protocol for Assessing the Integrity of Decommissioned Wells

  • Opportunity
  • Published 8 October 2021, last edited 8 October 2021

Attachments

Additional text

To apply please respond to the attached Invitation to Quote and associated documents. Email your response to roger.timmis@environment-agency.gov.uk. Tenders to be received no later than 17:00 on 1 November 2021. If you have any further questions about this tender then please e-mail roger.timmis@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Award information

Awarded date

8 November 2021

Contract start date

10 November 2021

Contract end date

31 March 2022

Total value of contract

£39,945

This contract was awarded to 1 supplier.

Heriot-Watt University

Address

Research Avenue South, Edinburgh, EH14 4AP

Reference

No reference - other

Value of contract

£39,945

Supplier is SME?

Yes

Supplier is VCSE?

No

Attachments

About the buyer

Contact name

Professor Roger Timmis

Address

Environment Agency
c/o Lancaster Environment Centre
Lancaster
LA1 4YQ
England

Telephone

02030258796

Email

roger.timmis@environment-agency.gov.uk