UNSPSC 71131021: Onshore hydraulic fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing (Fraccing) is a method used to extract gas from onshore gas deposits such as coal seams, shales and tight gas (deposits surrounded by rock/sand). Western Australia has only shale and tight gas deposits. If not done correctly, the fraccing process has the potential to contaminate surface and underground drinking water sources.

UNSPSC 71131021 Onshore hydraulic fracturing, a Commodity code, shows no relevant recent activity in state and local procurement. The ten most recently posted opportunities in the source are all unrelated to onshore hydraulic fracturing: they span retail electricity supply (City of New Haven), emergency backup generators (Columbia County, Georgia), IT infrastructure reconstruction (DeKalb County, Georgia), electrical maintenance services (Washington State Department of Ecology), power generation equipment procurement (South Dakota via Sourcewell), generator maintenance and repair services (City of Dallas), UPS and battery services (Pinellas County, Florida), power distribution equipment (Georgia World Congress Center Authority), and small electrical components (Hillsborough County, Florida). None of these opportunities involve oil and gas extraction, well completion, fracturing fluid systems, proppants, downhole equipment, or the subsurface rock treatment work that hydraulic fracturing encompasses.

The code's apparent mismatch with recent state and local buying activity suggests either minimal market demand for onshore hydraulic fracturing services from public sector agencies or systematic miscoding of opportunities by procurement offices. State and local governments do not typically operate oil and gas wells or pursue well completion work directly; hydraulic fracturing is ordinarily contracted by private energy producers in the course of upstream petroleum and natural gas development. Until procurement offices begin tagging relevant opportunities under this code or operators of state-owned energy assets post related solicitations, the code warrants a skip in your pursuit queue.