UNSPSC 71121625: Rat hole well drilling service

Services to drill an extra hole drilled at the bottom of the hole.

UNSPSC 71121625 Rat hole well drilling service is a Commodity code capturing state and local government procurement for well abandonment, plugging, remediation, and site restoration services at orphaned oil and gas wells and municipal water infrastructure. The code's nominal definition—rat hole drilling—reflects a specialized vertical drilling technique, but recent solicitations show state and local buyers using this classification for comprehensive well plugging and abandonment projects that span drilling, casing replacement, cementing, wireline services, site preparation, equipment removal, and regulatory compliance. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy dominates recent activity, issuing four parallel direct solicitations in July 2026 for orphan well plugging across Gratiot and Montcalm counties totaling 38 wells (New Haven Sections 3, 4, 5–10, 31–33, and Plank area). State oil and gas boards in Mississippi and Texas have also posted multiple solicitations for orphan well programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Beyond oil and gas abandonment, water utilities in Florida, California, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, and Illinois are posting concurrent opportunities for municipal well rehabilitation, new well construction, monitoring well replacement, and pump system installation—categories that represent a broader scope than the code's traditional definition but fall under the taxonomic path. Issuing bodies span state environmental and energy departments, county and city utilities departments, municipal water boards, and special-purpose water districts.

Michigan leads recent activity with mandatory prequalified contractor lists, Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, and response deadlines of July 21, 2026, across multiple direct solicitations (DS 260000000032, DS 260000000033, DS 260000000034, DS 260000000035) for plugging at New Haven Energy LLC wellheads. Other recent representative solicitations include the Texas General Land Office's RFQ for high hydrogen sulfide well plugging (posted May 2026), the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board's IFB for seven orphan wells (posted March 2026, bid deadline April 13, 2026), the City of Sarasota's quote for single-family residential well abandonment at $50,000 ceiling (posted July 2, 2026, due July 10, 2026), Hillsborough County's ITB for two-year water well maintenance across 67 wells at $688,073.00 estimated value (posted May 19, 2026, due June 12, 2026), and the City of Palm Bay's bid for construction of four 850-foot production wells (posted March 5, 2026, due April 28, 2026). The code shows strong activity in Florida, Michigan, and Texas, with secondary presence in Mississippi, California, Oregon, Georgia, Illinois, and other states. Prevailing wage requirements under Davis-Bacon or state labor codes are standard; prequalification through prior RFPs is common in Michigan orphan well programs; and best-value evaluation dominates over lowest price, reflecting the technical complexity and safety-critical nature of the work.