UNSPSC 71121200: Coring services

Services to remove core sample from the wellbore.

UNSPSC 71121200 Coring services, a Class code, encompasses well plugging, drilling, abandonment, and site restoration work that state and local governments are procuring at scale. Recent solicitations show state environmental agencies and county utilities buying comprehensive orphan well remediation including plugging operations, drilling services, site restoration, equipment rental, specialized labor classifications, waste disposal, and infrastructure removal—a scope substantially broader than the abstract code name suggests. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy dominates recent activity, issuing four direct solicitations in July 2026 for plugging and abandonment of 38 orphan gas storage wells across Gratiot and Montcalm counties under prequalification vehicle DS 260000000032 through 260000000035, with responses due July 21, 2026. Each solicitation requires bidders to submit unit pricing for 68 line items covering labor, equipment, materials, and site work, with Davis-Bacon prevailing wage compliance and technical scoring on key personnel, business-owned equipment, experience, and vendor questions (minimum 80 points for award consideration). Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Mississippi Oil and Gas Board, and Sarasota County also appear in the recent pipeline, procuring well drilling, aquifer storage and recovery conversions, and well abandonment work through RFQ, IFB, and direct solicitation vehicles.

Geographic concentration is strongest in Michigan (four concurrent EGLE orphan well contracts), followed by Mississippi (multiple MSOGB orphan well plugging solicitations), Florida (Sarasota County well abandonment, Marion County potable wells, Collier County well improvements, and Seminole County pump station maintenance), and scattered activity in Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Oregon, and Wisconsin. County utilities and state environmental or natural resources departments are the primary issuing bodies, with a secondary stream from municipal water departments and special water districts. Sarasota County (IFB 2026QQ759, $50,000 ceiling, responses due July 10, 2026) sought well abandonment at a single residential property; Marion County (IFB 26B-081, responses due May 21, 2026) solicited construction of four new potable wells; San Bernardino County Department of Public Works (RFQ SPD126SPDAD6431, responses due August 31, 2026) sought on-call well and pump maintenance for five-year periods at up to $2.8 million per contract. Most solicitations are concentrated in the July 2026 window, reflecting federal orphan well program funding cycles and state-level environmental remediation schedules.