BAA_FBO_Notice.Oil_Thickness_Sensor.Final.1.pdf

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT

BSEE Opportunity Number E16PS00099

Oil Thickness Sensor Development

DESCRIPTION

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Oil Spill Preparedness Division is requesting proposals to be submitted in accordance with the terms of this announcement. This notice constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016. A formal Request for Proposals (RFP) and/or solicitation regarding this announcement is attached. BSEE anticipates that a total of

$515,000.00 will be available for the scientific research described in this announcement.

BSEE reserves the right to select for award and fund all, some, one, or none of the proposals submitted in response to this announcement Additionally, BSEE reserves the right to accept proposals in their entirety or to select only portions of proposals for award. In the event that

BSEE desires to award only portions of a proposal, negotiations may be opened with that

Offeror. BSEE will not issue paper copies of this announcement. BSEE provides no funding for reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of BSEE to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this BAA is to fund development and testing of a sensor that can be mounted to an oil recovery skimmer or deployed easily (e.g. from vessel, or via aircraft) in the area of an oil skimming operation that is capable of measuring the thickness of various crude and refined oils on water and wirelessly communicating thickness information in near real time.

BACKGROUND

The use of mechanical systems to collect, contain and recover oil is considered to be a primary technique in responding to offshore oil spills. This method has the advantage of immediate removal of oil from the environment. A typical recovery operation involves a boom system towed in a U configuration by one or two vessels which collects surface oil in the boom apex. Once sufficient thickness is collected, a skimmer system recovers the collected oil.

Skimmer systems operate most effectively with a reasonably thick layer of oil. Weir skimmers are a type of skimmer used to recover fluids at a fast rate; however, they can collect high volumes of water along with the oil when the slick is not of sufficient thickness. Oleophilic (oil attracting) skimmers have the advantage of increasing efficiency with lesser slick thicknesses because they selectively recover oil on their surfaces. Their operation, however, is also improved with thicker oil layers.

Determining oil thickness is challenging, and many technologies have been investigated to measure oil thickness both remotely and on the water surface. There are many remote sensing technologies available including infrared thermal sensing, ultraviolet scanners, radar sensing, microwave radiometers, ultrasonic techniques, laser fluorometry, and hyperspectral imaging, etc.

However, no single sensor is able to provide all information required for oil spill contingency planning. Therefore, combinations of sensors are currently used for oil spill surveillance.

Moreover, current remote sensing technology is limited in measuring absolute thickness; most available remote technologies can only determine relative thickness.

On water sensors, or direct-contact sensor technologies exist that potentially have capability of measuring oil thickness. Examples of potential technologies include but are not limited to the use of capacitance, electrical conductivity, light sensor arrays, electromagnetic energy absorption detection, acoustics, or digital photography. Several of these technologies have been tested in a laboratory environment, and others are commercially available for other applications.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

1. Design of a sensor that can measure the thickness of oil on water.

The sensor should consider all of the following design criteria, and Offeror’s proposal must address all design criteria.

Ability to measure a wide range of oil thicknesses (e.g., threshold level of 1 mm to

75 mm in 3-5 mm increments). Offeror should specify proposed threshold, range, and measurement increment.

Ability to measure multiple types of crude and refined oils. If oil type calibration is necessary, the proposal should discuss method for calibration. Calibration must be able to be accomplished immediately and on site

Ability to communicate thickness and location data remotely in near real time to an operator located on the vessel. RF, WiFi and/or other communication methods may be considered. Communication via satellite may be considered only if deemed cost effective.

Ability to mitigate erroneous readings due to fouling.

Ability to withstand environmental conditions such as exposure to salt water, temperature extremes, UV. The sensor should ideally be able to operate in temperature ranges of -20F to 200F.

Cost considerations. The proposal should discuss likely commercial cost of the proposed sensor as well as maintenance costs.

Reusability. Proposal should discuss lifetime of sensor.

Design for wave conditions. Proposal should discuss potential operation in calm and wave conditions.

Discussion of sensor housing. The proposal should address how the sensor might be mounted to a typical skimming device, or, alternatively, how it would be housed and deployed/retrieved (e.g., manned/unmanned aircraft, vessel, etc.)

Discussion of anticipated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at end of prototype test. The anticipated TRL level at project end would be 4 or 5. Refer to the following URL to obtain the report describing TRL levels applicable to oil spill response. www.bsee.gov/Technology-and-Research/Oil-Spill-Response-

Research/Projects/Project1042/

2. Build Prototype sensor for testing at Ohmsett:

The Offeror should plan to test the prototype sensor at Ohmsett, The National Oil Spill

Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility. It is anticipated that the final prototype test will be conducted in the main Ohmsett tank, both in calm and wave conditions. Please see www.Ohmsett.com for information about the facility. The Offeror may propose interim testing in more controlled conditions if it is deemed necessary. The proposal should include cost associated with travel of personnel to and from Ohmsett.

However, the facility’s cost for the test itself will be funded separately by BSEE. The prototype will be considered a deliverable to be retained by BSEE at the end of the contract.

All questions, including questions of a technical nature, shall be directed to the Contracting

Officer specified below:

Charles Cernat

Contracting Officer

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

Acquisition Operations Branch

45600 Woodland Drive

Sterling, VA 20166

EMAIL: Charles.Cernat@bsee.gov

PHONE: 703-787-1339

ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

This BAA is open to all responsible sources qualified to receive awards in accordance with the

FAR. Please see attached Request for Proposal for instructions.

AWARD INFORMATION

Any award will be made in accordance with the FAR. The prime Contractor should be clearly designated for each proposal. Additional information is discussed below.

a. Total Amount of Funding Available: Approximately $515,000.00 over 1 year is anticipated to be available for this BAA, subject to availability and final approval by BSEE.

b. Anticipated Award Types: A firm fixed price contract is anticipated.

c. Anticipated Period of Performance for Awards: One (1) year from date of award.

d. Proposal evaluations are anticipated to be completed by mid-summer 2016, with an award made in late summer 2016.

However, proposal selection and award decisions are solely the responsibility of Government personnel. The final distribution of a contract award (s) will depend on quality of proposals received and funding Agency priorities and availability of funds.

http://www.ohmsett.com/ mailto::%20Charles.Cernat@bsee.gov

Written proposals must be received on or before 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time on August 15, 2016. Please note it is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure/verify that the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Acquisition Operations Branch receives their submission on or before the time specified. If a proposal is not received on or before the date and time specified, the Offeror’s submission will be considered late.

(a) Proposals shall be hand carried, courier-delivered, or mailed to the address listed below:

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)

Acquisition Operations Branch 45600 Woodland Road, Mailstop VAE-AMD

Sterling, VA 20166

Attn: Charles Cernat

Phone: 703-787-1339

(b) Please note that BOEM and BSEE are located in a secure building. If offers are hand delivered, please ensure that the courier is instructed to check in at the Guard and ask call extension x71339. A staff member will meet the courier to receive the submittal.