08 - CEDIGAZ SSJ FAR 13.5 SAM.gov_Redacted.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN

COMMERCIAL ITEMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FEDERAL ACQUISITION

REGULATION (FAR) 13.501(a), 41 U.S.C. 1901

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Headquarters Procurement Services (MA-64), located in Washington, D.C., proposes to enter a contract on the basis of other than full and open competition with CEDIGAZ. This action is in support of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Office of Energy Analysis (OEA). This document sets forth the justification for the sole-source acquisition found at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5, and in accordance with 41 U.S. Code § 1901 and FAR subpart 13.5 procedures.

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved.

EIA intends to award a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) order to CEDIGAZ for a one-year Base and four one-year Options from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029.

EIA requires an order with CEDIGAZ to procure a subscription to their global international natural gas resources and online database, as well as their Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) services.

Contract Awardee Information:

• Company Name: CEDIGAZ

• Company Address: 1 Avenue De Bois-Preau, Rueil-Malmaison, 92500, France

• Unique Entity ID (UEI): KJ5LP9TKJU28

• CAGE Code: FAZQ6

3. Description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs including the estimated value.

The requirement consists of a subscription to a full membership to online services for the following:

CEDIGAZ News Report: A weekly information bulletin available online that provides a quick and concise overview of all the news and developments occurring in the upstream and downstream gas industry world-wide. CEDIGAZ News Report analyzes many international newspapers, journals, and specialized periodicals in the energy and natural gas sectors.

U-Gas News Report: A supplement to the CEDIGAZ News Report, the U-Gas News Report is devoted to Unconventional Gas such as coalbed methane, shale gas, tight gas, methane hydrate.

CEDIGAZ Insights: Short reports (5 to 10 pages) on additional information regarding the natural gas markets with a priority given to key market players; market perspectives for selected countries or world regions; major natural gas projects; status and progress of legal framework and dedicated regulations; and short reviews of recent studies regarding the natural gas sector as delivered by natural gas or energy institutions and major consultants. These reports provide clarification and synthesis of the information on key market issues.

CEDIGAZ is the only source that provides detailed information including a statistical database for natural gas, particularly for vented and flared data which is necessary to calculate carbon emissions and dry natural gas production. EIA would not be able to carry out its mission of providing timely and relevant information to policymakers without the data that CEDIGAZ provides in the manner that it provides it. CEDIGAZ stands as the only responsible source for the required energy data and has attested to the fact that it is the only provider of its data in a sole proprietor letter dated July 18, 2024.

6. A description of efforts made to ensue that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practical, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

The Contracting Officer posted a Notice of Intent to Sole Source to SAM.gov on July 23, 2024 as required by FAR 5.2, to ensure offers were solicited from as many potential sources as practicable for this sole-source Firm-Fixed-Price order. The posting closed August 7, 2024 with no vendors responding to the notice of intent.

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

No award shall be made until the Contracting Officer determines the cost to the Government to be fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on a comparison of the proposed price with prices found reasonable on previous purchases.

EIA attends conferences and meetings to stay abreast of the international natural gas market and conducts inquiries to collect information on publications and other periodicals. The market research conducted included surveying whether other vendors provide this data and was accomplished through searches of previous DOE contracts and Internet searches. EIA has concluded that there is no other publicly available source for the integrated set of data provided by CEDIGAZ. CEDIGAZ is the exclusive creator, publisher, and distributor for all the content contained in CEDIGAZ products and services. The material is written entirely by CEDIGAZ team, and it retains the exclusive copyright to this content.

Furthermore, a Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted to SAM.gov on July 23, 2024 and closed August 7, 2024. No responses were received.

8. Other facts supporting the use of Sole Source Justification

N/A

9. A statement of actions, if any, that were taken to remove or overcome any barriers to competition:

No other vendors have been identified or expressed an interest in providing the unique detailed reports that are supplied by CEDIGAZ. If in the future other sources are identified to provide these unique reports, then this requirement will be competed.

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CERTIFICATION:

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate.

Acquisition Initiator:

, Contracting Officer’s Representative Date

Concurrence and Approval:

I have reviewed this justification and certify that it is accurate and complete to the best of my

, Contracting Officer Date

Headquarters Procurement Services