USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

B -- COTE D'IVOIRE: SIR REFINERY WASTEWATER TREATMENT FEASIBILITY STUDY DUE 022800 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for the improvement of wastewater and sludge treatment at SIR's Abidjan refinery. The downstream petroleum sector in Cote d'Ivoire is going through a major restructuring process at present. The oil refining company SIR is being privatized, and storage and distribution facilities will follow suit shortly thereafter. Meanwhile the government of Cote d'Ivoire has developed ambitious plans to make Abidjan a major petroleum entrepot serving the West African and international markets. The country is positioned in a strategic location and already supplies much of the demand in the region and has a well-planned strategy and support from its neighbors and the World Bank for moving in this direction. The refinery wastewater treatment facility treats the wastewater coming from the processing units, oily water discharged from storage, and the runoff water from the paved areas of the refinery. The facilities consist of storm water pond, settling tank, API separator, neutralizing tank, holding tank, aeration tank, and coagulation/flocculation tank. The major problems experienced are: The hydrocarbon levels in the storm water pond are substantial, the pH content of the discharge water is difficult to regulate and is substantially above specification, sludge is entrained exiting the flotation tank recycling to the processing units, and sulfate levels are substantially above acceptable levels in the process water sent to treatment. SIR has invested substantial time and over $500,000 in trying to rectify these problems with limited success. Furthermore, the general operating conditions of the facilities appears to generate substantial discharge of H2S into the atmosphere, which not only is undesirable from an environmental perspective, but creates a dangerous work environment. SIR would like to solve the existing problems irregardless of the planned increase in capacity by adopting the latest technologies. The tasks will be: 1) On-Site Analysis and Evaluation 2) Additional Tests and Analysis 3) Expansion Requirements 4) Development of Solutions 5) Environmental Impact 6) Scoping Study of Sludge Disposal Facilities 7) Final Report The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $161,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission/desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firmsthat want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English and French directly to the Grantee by 4:00 P.M., Monday, February 28, 2000 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associatedwith the preparation and submission of Proposals.***** Posted 01/14/00 (W-SN416232). (0014)

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