JOFOC_FE.pdf

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition Under Simplified Procedures For Certain Commercial Items|

Department of Energy, Office Policy | Real-Time Global Energy Commodity Tracking and Intelligence Subscription

Services

I. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity.

The Department of Energy (hereafter referred to as "DOE"), Office of Headquarters Procurement Services (MA-64), located in Washington, D.C., proposes to issue a contract below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) by limiting the number of sources. This action is in support of the Office of Policy (OP).

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

This Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC) is conducted under the authority of Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) 12.102(b), which requires the preparation of written justification and approval as described in RFO 6.104. The rationale for this action aligns with the principles of RFO 6.103-2, addressing unusual and compelling urgency. The requirement is to obtain a subscription-based energy market intelligence platform providing real-time global tracking of petroleum commodity flows, LNG flows, global inventories, and refinery intelligence, along with supporting advisory services.

The award will be a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract with a total value of Award information is provided below:

• Contractor Name: Kpler Inc.

• Contractor Address: 185 Alewife Brook PKWY STE 210 | Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-

• Unique Entity ID (UEI): XCU6KYK7UF95

• CAGE: 93YM4

• NAICS: 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, And Technical Services

• Period of Performance: 12 months (Base Period: August 7, 2026 – August 6, 2027)

• Contract Type: FFP

• Government Cost Estimate Dollar Value of this Action:

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs.

The Office of Policy (OP) is seeking a subscription-based energy market intelligence platform that provides real-time global tracking of petroleum commodity flows, LNG flows, global inventories, and refinery intelligence, along with supporting raw data, publications, and advisory services as a single integrated offering. The contractor shall provide all necessary licenses, platform access, data feeds, technical support, and advisory personnel to deliver a comprehensive commodity intelligence solution.

Services include platform onboarding, data integration support, access to real-time analytical tools, and expert advisory engagement. The solution must provide:

6. A Description of Efforts to Ensure that Offers were Solicited from as Many Potential Sources as is Practicable

This sole source acquisition is conducted under the authority of RFO 12.102(b), which requires the preparation of a written justification and approval as described in RFO 6.104. The rationale for this action aligns with the principles of RFO 6.103-2, addressing unusual and compelling urgency. In accordance with RFO 5.101(b)(2), a presolicitation notice was not posted due to the urgency of the requirement, and the JOFOC will be posted publicly within 14 days after award, as required by RFO 6.30l(b).

7. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination

The Contracting Officer will determine that the anticipated cost to the Government is fair and reasonable based on a comparison to the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and a review of the vendor's published commercial catalog pricing. The estimated price of for a 2-seat annual subscription is consistent with commercially available pricing for premium commodity intelligence platforms of this scope and capability.

8. Market research and results.

The Contracting Officer reviewed the requiring activity's technical requirements and assessed the commercial marketplace for subscription-based energy market intelligence services capable of supporting the Office of Policy's urgent mission requirements. The review focused on identifying commercially available services that provide comprehensive, real-time global energy market data and analytical capabilities necessary to support the Department's policy analysis and decision-making responsibilities.

Per DOE Acquisition Guide 8.3, Contracting Officers must first consider those sources identified as mandatory in RFO Part 8, required by statute, or specified by regulation. The following mandatory and preferred sources were evaluated:

• AbilityOne: The AbilityOne procurement list was reviewed to determine whether real-time global energy commodity tracking, vessel flow monitoring, inventory intelligence, and refinery analytics are listed services. These services are not available through AbilityOne.

• DOE Preferred Solutions / Enterprise-Wide Agreements (EWAs): DOE Preferred Solutions listed on Acquisition Answers were reviewed to determine suitability for this requirement. A thorough review confirmed that no existing DOE EWA or preferred solution aligns with the specific real-time global petroleum and LNG tracking capabilities required by OP.

• Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) / GWACs / MACs: Available Federal Supply Schedule vehicles and Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts were reviewed. No existing vehicle was identified that provides the specific integrated combination of real-time vessel tracking, global inventory estimates, refinery intelligence, and advisory services required by OP through a single subscription platform within the required timeframe.

Based on the requiring activity's technical evaluation and the Contracting Officer's review of the marketplace, the market research conducted was reasonable under the circumstances and provided a sufficient basis to conclude that Kpler is the only known source capable of satisfying the Government's requirements within the required timeframe.

As noted above, Kpler's platform uniquely provides, through a single unified subscription:

• Real-time vessel tracking enabling visibility into global crude oil, LNG, refined products, and energy flows

• Global inventory estimates for crude oil and LNG, both on land and at sea

• Refinery intelligence providing operational status and monitoring of global refinery activity

• Integrated market analytics combining commodity flow data with advisory services

• Responsive expert advisory support enabling OP analysts to rapidly respond to ad hoc data calls from the Secretary, the White House, and Congress

No other commercially available single-platform solution was identified that provides this complete combination of capabilities within the timeframe required to meet OP's mission needs.

A copy of this justification will be posted to the government wide point of entry (GPE) 14 days after award.

9. Other factors supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

See section 5.

10. Other sources expressing written interest in the requirement.

See section 6.

11. Potential actions by the agency to remove/overcome barriers to competition.

The Office of Policy will periodically review, at least semi- annually, its requirements to identify other potential vendors, who may be able to provide products meeting their requirements.

Certification:

The information contained in this JOFOC is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Contracting Officer Certification

The information contained in this JOFOC is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.