UNSPSC 71121615: Well drilling stabilizing or hole opening services

Services to stabilize the drill string while enlarging the borehole.

UNSPSC 71121615 Well drilling stabilizing or hole opening services (Commodity) encompasses plugging, abandonment, and site restoration of orphan and abandoned wells—gas storage wells, oil and gas wells, and municipal water supply wells—as recently solicited by state departments, counties, and special districts across Michigan, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Oregon, and Illinois. State and local procurement offices use this code to buy comprehensive well closure services including drilling, casing installation, cementing, site preparation and restoration, equipment removal, and specialized services such as wireline operations and waste disposal. The work typically involves Davis-Bacon or prevailing wage compliance, unit-price or firm-fixed-fee structures, and detailed project timelines segmented by mobilization, drilling, plugging, and site restoration phases. Issuing bodies include state environmental and natural resources departments (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; Mississippi Oil and Gas Board; Texas General Land Office; Illinois Department of Natural Resources), counties (Gratiot, Montcalm, Jefferson, Madison, Union), and municipalities managing municipal water systems and public lands. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has dominated recent activity, issuing four large direct solicitations in July 2026 for orphan gas storage well plugging and abandonment across Gratiot and Montcalm counties, all with July 21, 2026 response deadlines and mandatory pre-bid meetings on July 9, 2026.

Geographic concentration is heaviest in Michigan (Gratiot County cluster with 38 total wells across four concurrent solicitations), followed by Mississippi (multiple counties via Mississippi Oil and Gas Board procurements for federally funded Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act orphan well programs) and Texas (Railroad Commission and General Land Office statewide well plugging RFQs). Illinois, Oregon, and Florida show lighter but consistent activity. The Michigan solicitations (DS7612600000000322, DS7612600000000332, DS7612600000000352, DS7612600000000342) represent the most active recent cluster, with each requiring prequalification through five prior RFP vehicles, technical evaluation weighted on key personnel, business-owned equipment, technical experience, and vendor questions (100 points, 80-point minimum threshold), and best-value award based on pricing and schedule. Typical bid structures require unit pricing for 68 line items covering labor (Davis-Bacon-compliant roustabout laborers, toolpushers, cementer, welder, electrician classifications), rig configurations, drilling equipment, casing and tubing, cementing materials, wireline services, waste disposal, and site restoration. Federal funding through the Orphaned Wells Program and IIJA Formula grants drives significant Mississippi and Texas pipeline activity; the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board's statewide plugging RFQ (455261006) references 221 potential vendors, 125 of which qualify as Historically Underutilized Businesses with formal set-asides for minority-owned and women-owned enterprises.