Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Procurement Operations Branch, MS2500, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817

B -- ASSESSMENT AND RELIABILITY OF PRODUCTION TUBING DESIGN SOL 5002 DUE 102097 POC Jackie Halprin, Contracting Officer, (703) 787-1341 E-MAIL: Contract Specialist, jane.carlson@mms.gov. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) intends to fund a study that will examine the design and reliability of production tubing used in oil and gas wells on the Outer Continental Shelf. The study will assess the current design criteria for production tubing as well as assess actual practices for wells in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Study recommendations should focus on the adequacy of the current practices and where improvements should be made to improve performance. Tubular strings are subjected to a variety of loads. To ensure a safe, reliable tubular design, the operator must select tubing to withstand forces that change over the life of the well. Anticipating possible future conditions, such as corrosion, and designing for them, can result in significant cost savings and improve operator safety. Well data from the GOM indicate that a substantial number of wells have sustained casing pressure due to tubing string failures. The MMS estimates that about 40 percent of the active completions in the GOM have pressure affecting the production casing. Many of those wells appear to have some type of tubing failure. Substantial sustained pressures can result in leaving reserves because the operator can't afford to replace the tubing. This problem can affect the production casing and even place the wellbore at risk. The MMS has learned that many operators do not design the tubing string for the life of the well, because they consider the production string as the primary pressure barrier. The study should also investigate the effects of corrosion/erosion on tubing design. Many of the tubing/casing communication problems are not necessarily tubing design failures but are a result of loss of wall thickness due to corrosion/erosion. Related factors include reservoir characteristics, which might impact tubing failures (CO2, H2S, water, etc.); tubing string metallurgy; and type of packer fluid and inhibitor used. Information about running and testing the tubing string should be integrated into the study (torque turn, internal and external pressure tests, etc.). Possible areas of investigation related to tubing performance could focus on: API tolerances on new tubing; inspection techniques; handling procedures to prevent body and pin damage; review API connections and determine sealing mechanisms reliability; and determine reliability of the sealing mechanisms of non-API connections. The study should also identify and evaluate tubing-related failures to determine if there are common failures (connections, gas lift mandrels, subsurface safety valves, seals, etc.) and failure modes. The study should rely in part on efforts currently underway regarding casing pressure studies at Louisiana State University, manufacturer efforts and data, and other relevant studies. The study should classify failures in terms of manufacturer-related defects and service failures. The contractor will be the lead investigator in a Joint Industry Project on this study and will be responsible for obtaining industry participation and funding to completethe project. The Government will fund no more than $50,000 toward the total cost, anticipated to be $100,000 and $150,000. The remainder must be funded by industry participants. The period of performance will be from 12 to 18 months from the date of award. The Request for Proposal (RFP), which will be issued on or about 15 days following publication of this notice, will contain specific instructions regarding proposal preparation, due dates, etc. Dates specified in the RFP override any conflicting dates contained in this notice. A copy of this RFP may be obtained by faxing a request to (703) 787-1387 or by mail to the above address. Questions should be faxed or e-mailed to the Contracting Officer, at the above fax number, by e-mail to "jackie.halprin@mms.gov." Please include your full name, solicitation number and title, your organization, complete address, voice and fax numbers, and e-mail address, if applicable. Phone calls will neither be accepted nor acknowledged. Any conflict in the due dates shown in this notice shall be governed by this narrative. (0275)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0008 19971006\B-0001.SOL)