UNSPSC 71121648: Underbalanced drilling services

Underbalanced drilling tubing is generally considered to involve two phase fluid circulation (nitrified fluid) during drilling to lower the bottom hole pressure to below the reservoir pressure, Underbalanced Drilling With Coiled Tubing is a Safe, Economical Method For Drilling And Completing Gas Wells.

UNSPSC 71121648 Underbalanced drilling services is a Commodity code. State and local governments rarely solicit true underbalanced drilling work under this code; instead, the recent opportunities tagged to it span water well construction, orphan oil and gas well plugging and abandonment, pump station rehabilitation, well rehabilitation and maintenance, and site-specific drilling projects. The mismatch between the code's nominal scope and what is actually being purchased reflects how state and local procurement offices sometimes tag opportunities with imprecise or inherited codes rather than aligning to the precise service line. The actual buying pattern shows municipalities, counties, state environmental and natural resources departments, and utility districts procuring well drilling, casing, pump installation, well abandonment, and associated site restoration and remediation work—often federally funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or state revolving funds and subject to prevailing wage and Build America, Buy America Act requirements.

Issuing bodies include state environmental agencies (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy; Mississippi Oil and Gas Board; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Illinois Department of Corrections; Illinois Department of Natural Resources), county and municipal utilities departments and public works offices (Hillsborough County, Seminole County, Gwinnett County, Escambia County in Florida; San Bernardino County in California; Sarasota County; Boulder County), city governments (DeBary, Albany, Wrens, Ocala, Reynolds, Pascagoula, Lubbock, Bend, Austin), and special districts (Hilldale Water District, Boulder County Parks and Open Space). The code shows the heaviest recent activity in Michigan orphan well programs, Florida water and wastewater infrastructure, and projects tied to federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding. Representative recent opportunities include the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy prequalification RFP for oil and gas well plugging services (RFP 260000002522, awards announced October 12, 2026, totaling $800,000 across five prequalified vendors including Lease Management, Inc., M&A Energy Services LLC, and Plants and Goodwin, Inc.); the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board IFB for plugging and remediation of nine orphaned oil and gas wells in Jasper and Jones Counties (IFB RFx 3160008162, bids due December 18, 2026, mandatory pre-bid October 22, 2026); Hillsborough County ITB for water well maintenance and repair services at 67 county wells ($688,073 estimated over two years, bids due June 12, 2026, license requirement for Southwest Florida Water Management District certification); the City of DeBary irrigation system upgrade project (Bid 03-15, $90,000 engineer estimate, April 10, 2015 deadline—an outlier appearing to have missed its response date); and Seminole County Wastewater Pump Station Rehabilitation (Project CC-7100-26, IFB format, bids due August 5, 2026, 24-hour emergency response requirement, $50,000–$100,000 estimated annual value range). Orphan well and remediation work concentrated in Michigan and Mississippi carries federal funding, Davis-Bacon wage mandates, and 80-point technical evaluation thresholds restricting awards to prequalified vendors; water well maintenance and municipal drilling work appears in Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Colorado with stronger local utility and parks department issuing patterns. The code shows consistent quarterly activity but no standout repeat buyer beyond state orphan-well programs in Michigan and Mississippi.