UNSPSC 73101507: Research and Development refining fuels

The refining process is the method by which crude oil is altered into usable, consumable products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fuel oil and other petroleum products. When crude oil is refined, it is heated until it becomes a gas.

UNSPSC 73101507 Research and Development refining fuels is a Commodity code that shows significant mismatch between its nominal scope and the actual state and local procurement activity recorded under it. The recent opportunities tagged to this code encompass landfill gas collection and control system construction, digester gas utilization project development, park irrigation system installation, and municipal executive search services—none of which align with fuel refining research and development as the code name implies. The one opportunity with genuine relevance to energy conversion from waste gas—the Eastern Municipal Water District's Digester Gas Utilization Project—is a Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate-Maintain (DBFOOM) procurement for long-term operation of renewable natural gas production from anaerobic digester gas at three wastewater reclamation facilities, which addresses energy asset development rather than research and development. The remaining three opportunities bear no connection to the code's stated purpose and appear to reflect miscoding by the issuing bodies.

Activity under this code is geographically dispersed across Georgia, Florida, and California, though the sample is too small to characterize concentration or trend. The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority (Georgia) issued an Invitation to Bid (ITB) due May 21, 2026, for landfill gas extraction system expansion at its Old Dixie Highway Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, requiring Georgia-licensed general contractors with five years' minimum experience in similar projects and on-site performance of at least 50 percent of labor. The Eastern Municipal Water District (California) issued a Request for Proposal due April 14, 2026, for a DBFOOM digester gas utilization agreement with a 15- or 20-year term, mandatory pre-proposal meeting on March 9, 2026, and site tours March 18–19, 2026; this procurement requires proposers to demonstrate five years' direct experience in similar DBFOOM digester gas projects and to post estimated bonding of $20 million (bid), $2 million (payment), and $2 million (performance). The code shows no active pipeline of opportunities aligned with its stated research and development focus; pursuit activity under this code requires verification that individual opportunities actually address fuel refining R&D and are not miscoded waste-energy or infrastructure projects.