Sources Sought
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) / REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) 24” OD Drilling to 6,500’ TVD (RV/DC)
Department of Energy
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Department of Energy who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contact in the notice details below; no price is needed.
Due Nov 12, 2026 (check date)
- Response due
- Nov 12, 2026, 4:00 PM PST · 7:00 PM EasternThe AI summary flags this date: check it on SAM.gov before you respond. See why
- Solicitation number
- RFIPP002
- Place of performance
- Mercury, NVThe AI summary reads the place as: Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Rock Valley Direct Comparison (RV/DC) site, Nye County, Nevada; SAM.gov lists Mercury, NV, USA
AI summary Beta
Mission Support and Test Services, LLC (MSTS), the contractor that runs the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) for the Department of Energy, is asking drilling firms to show interest and give feedback on drilling one 24-inch-wide well to 6,500 feet deep at the Rock Valley Direct Comparison (RV/DC) site in Nevada. This is a request for information (RFI) and expression of interest (EOI) for market research, not a request for offers; SAM.gov lists responses due November 12, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific. MSTS plans a time-and-materials contract (you are paid for the labor hours and materials used) with a design and engineering base scope and two options for long lead equipment and for the drilling itself.
Things to watch
From the version posted Oct 12, 2026.
- Worth checking: Response date left blank in the attached RFI. SAM.gov lists November 12, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific, but the attached RFI still shows a placeholder date for both the response and the written question deadline, so confirm both with the point of contact. From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
Deadline: No later than 4:00 P.M. PST on XXX, 2026.
- Serious: U.S. citizens only on site. Every person who works at the Nevada National Security Site must be a U.S. citizen, which limits who a firm can staff, including subcontractor crews. From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
All employees working at the NNSS must be United States citizens.
- Worth checking: Very large, specialized drilling job. The conceptual design needs 42-inch and 28-inch casing (the surface casing string is estimated at over 1 million pounds), a 28-inch by 42-inch liner hanger and rig modifications, so only firms with heavy drilling equipment or strong partners are likely to be able to respond. From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
Casing Running Method 42” casing will exceed 1MM lbs, Crane or other…
- Minor: Market research only, not a request for offers. A response does not start a contract; MSTS is gathering information to decide on a later solicitation, and the contract would be issued by MSTS (a Department of Energy contractor), not by the government directly. From the notice:
…to conduct market research and determine which companies would be interested in participating in a solicitation…
- Minor: You supply power, fuel and water storage. There is no utility power or field office at the site, so the contractor must bring generators, fuel and water tanks, which adds cost to a bid. From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
No utility power exists on site.
- Minor: Heavy drilling-fluid losses expected. The nearby 2025 coring well lost fluid from about 120 feet down, and MSTS expects larger losses with the bigger hole, so a loss-control plan and large water storage are central to a good response. From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
…untreated losses can be expected to be noticeably higher.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments.
- EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf
- water usage table - eDCRO_111855 - eDCRO_111866 (2).pdf
- RVDC-1.01-026RPT UE-27a Borehole End of Well Report - eDCRO_111854 - eDCRO_111864 (1).pdf
Full brief
What they want
- Show interest in a later contract to deliver one 24-inch wellbore to 6,500 feet true vertical depth (TVD), with the bottom 1,400 feet left without casing, and to manage all subcontractors
- Send a recommended technical approach: how to run very heavy 42-inch and 28-inch casing, a dual-string reverse circulation drill string (two pipes, fluid pumped down one and cuttings returned up the other), and the drill string for the 24-inch section
- Send conceptual bottom hole assembly (BHA: the tools at the end of the drill string) designs for every hole section
- Send a loss circulation material (LCM: material that plugs drilling-fluid leaks) program, plus water and mud storage volumes, given expected fluid losses
- Send a conceptual cement pump schedule for each hole section
- Say whether you can run the listed well-logging tools (measurements taken inside the hole) and the largest hole size each tool fits
- List up to three similar drilling projects from the last 5 years, any DOE or other government drilling work, and a timeline from an October 2027 award to the start of drilling
- Optional: a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate and ideas for a better contract structure
- Contract type
- Anticipated time-and-materials master agreement with separate options: Base Scope is design and engineering services; Option 1 is long lead items, rig modifications and procurement; Option 2 is construction and drilling operations. This notice is a request for information, not a solicitation.
- Place of performance
- Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Rock Valley Direct Comparison (RV/DC) site, Nye County, Nevada; SAM.gov lists Mercury, NV, USA
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 12, 2026, 4:00 PM Pacific (7:00 PM Eastern), as listed on SAM.gov
- How to submit
- Email to Shawna Ham at HAMSL@nv.doe.gov with the subject line "Response to EOI/RFI: GZ Borehole - [Your Company Name]"
What to include when you submit
- Send the response as a PDF, in English
- Company profile: company name, address, website, point of contact, and active SAM.gov Unique Entity ID (UEI), if you have one
- Say your business size and socio-economic category (for example large business, small business, HUBZone, 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned, woman-owned). The contemplated NAICS code is 238910 (core drilling and test boring for construction), with a size standard of $19,000,000
- List similar drilling operations your firm managed in the last 5 years; for up to three comparable projects give well depth and diameter, geologic summary, drilling or mining method, wellbore diagram, and drilling schedule or timeline
- List any DOE or other government agency projects from the last 5 years
- Assuming an award in October 2027, give your estimated timeline to start of drilling, including long lead items, engineering, procurement and mobilization; also give the design and engineering scope and timeline, the long lead item list and timeline, and rig modifications and timeline
- Technical summary: casing running approach for the surface casing and intermediate liner, dual-string reverse circulation drill string design, recommended drill string for the 24-inch hole, bottom hole assembly designs for all hole sections, LCM program with water and mud storage volumes, cement pump schedule for each hole section, ability to run the logging tools and their maximum hole size, main technical risks, alternative approaches that cut cost, schedule or risk, and any key requirements MSTS is missing
- Section B is optional: ROM cost estimate broken out by design and engineering, long lead items and rig modifications, time and materials during operations, rental items, personnel cost, consumables, and standby daily rates; also what extra information you would need, and whether another contract structure would work better
- Do not include proprietary, confidential or classified information
You must have
- All employees working at the NNSS must be United States citizens From EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - GZ Borehole - eDCRO_111853 - eDCRO_111862.pdf:
All employees working at the NNSS must be United States citizens.
Current contractor
No incumbent is named for this work and no competition numbers are given. The nearby 2025 coring well (UE-27a) was drilled by subcontractor Major Drilling Group International Inc. and logged by DGI Geoscience US Inc., but that was a different job and the documents do not call it a predecessor to this one.
Not in the notice text
- The date and time for written questions are blank in the attached RFI (shown as XXX, 2026); ask the point of contact
- No set-aside, evaluation method or evaluation factors are given; the later solicitation is not yet posted
- No contract value, budget, or length of the base period and options is stated; the RFI only assumes an award in October 2027
- SAM.gov leaves the NAICS code blank, while the RFI says the contemplated code is 238910 with a size standard of $19,000,000
- The geophysical log data (LAS file) from the nearby well is not attached and is available only by emailing the point of contact
- Whether well control equipment (blowout prevention) will be required is still to be decided by MSTS
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 12, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- MSTS – DOE Contractor, North Las Vegas, NV
- Contracting contact
- Shawna Ham
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
MSTS is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) and Expression of Interest (EOI) to conduct market research and determine which companies would be interested in participating in a solicitation for the delivery of a wellbore, including management of all necessary subcontractors, to be drilled at the NNSS. See Attachments for details. Please note, Geophysical Logs LAS file is available upon request via email.