Q_A.pdf

WESTPAC Q&A

Solicitation SPE602-26-R-0706

1. If a Service-Disabled veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) submits an offer for a specific line item, will the Government consider setting aside that item for SDVOSB participation?

The solicitation currently contains no small business set asides. The Contracting Officer will continue to assess interest in the solicitation and capabilities of offerors. Should there be a change, the RFP will be amended to reflect any updates.

2. When will the Offer Entry Tool (OET) is anticipated to open?

The Offer Entry Tool (OET) opened on April 8, 2026.

3. Upon opening the C and E QAPs attachment provided on SAM.gov, the file displays a draft watermark and/or generates errors that prevent proper review of the content. Could you confirm whether the file was uploaded correctly and advise how to access the correct and final version? If necessary, could a revised file be re-uploaded or shared?

The C and EQAPs attachment have been reviewed on SAM.gov, and no issues have been identified with accessing or opening the file. The document is functioning as intended. If any additional issues are reported, the files will be reviewed and re-uploaded as necessary or provided directly to the requesting vendor.

4. Could you please provide information regarding the schedule for the preproposal conference, including how and where the date, time, and participation details will be announced?

The preproposal conference details, including the date, time, and Teams Meeting link on SAM.gov on April 15th, 2026. The pre-proposal slides are available on SAM.gov

5. Could you please advise on how to register for the virtual pre-proposal conference?

No registration was required for the upcoming preproposal conference.

6. Since the solicitation is now active, I wanted to confirm whether the earlier correspondence is considered part of the record for this procurement, or whether the Letter of Supply Commitment must be resubmitted as part of official proposal submission by the stated due date.

Any previously submitted Letter of Supply Commitment is not considered part of the record for this procurement and was not evaluated. All required documents must be submitted through OET as part of the proposal package by the stated proposal submission deadline to be considered a part of the record.

7. Is sulfur content different between fuels?

Please refer to the applicable fuel specifications for definitive requirements.

8. Will Quality Assurance personnel be on-site before/during loading?

Yes. A QA representative is typically present on-site to conduct testing.

9. Are samples evaluated by third-party labs or sent off-site (e.g., Germany)?

No. Testing must be conducted on-site using the offeror’s equipment.

10. What is the delivery location / final destination?

Delivery depends on offer terms. Offers are evaluated against all applicable locations in the schedule.

11. If offering from Bahrain/UAE/Saudi, where would fuel be delivered?

Potentially any location in the schedule (including outside the Middle East), depending on offer terms.

12. Can fuel be sourced anywhere and delivered anywhere (FOB origin tanker)?

Offers may be evaluated globally; awards are based on lowest laid down cost.

13. Can a large refinery support a small business offer via letter of commitment if offering on a small business set-aside?

No. The refinery (source of supply) must also qualify as a small business. Please see the non- manufacturer rule mentioned In FAR Part 17.

14. Is there a waiver allowing use of large refineries for small business offers?

No. There is no class waiver for refined petroleum products.

15. If a refinery is foreign but small business, can it qualify as a U.S. small business?

No. It must be a U.S. small business.

16. Can we still submit an offer if our refinery is large?

Yes, but it will not be evaluated as a small business offer.

17. How can a small business participate if the Refinery is not a small business, since most of the refineries have more than 1500 people working for them and how can a small business qualify for this bid?

To qualify as a small business concern, the small business must satisfy one of the requirements of the non-manufacturer rule. Please see FAR Overhaul 19.104-1(f).

18. What is the likelihood of obtaining a commitment letter from a refinery if they are also bidding on the same requirement?

The ability to obtain a commitment letter is dependent on each company’s individual business decisions and arrangements.

19. Please check your system to see if refinery has ever delivered any product or if DLA is picking up products from said refinery.

Offerors should check publicly available resources, such as FPDS to see if a company is currently performing work with DLA Energy.

20. If the fuel property requirements can be fully met without injecting the mandatory additives, is it permissible to omit the injection altogether?

No, if the solicitation/ specification/QAP says additives are required, then they are required. Please see MIL-DTL-5624X section 3.3 Additives for the additive requirements and specifications. Any exceptions to these requirements would be in the solicitation and/or QAP C16.01. If you need exceptions, they will need to be requested and evaluated.

21. Are there any specific precautions or known issues the vendor should be aware of when injecting additives via line injection?

Please refer to Specification MIL-DTL-5624X, QAP C16.01, and the solicitation for any instructions. As examples:

Specification MIL-DTL-5624X 3.3.6 states “Additives shall not be premixed with other additives before injection into the fuel to prevent possible reactions among the concentrated forms of different additives.”

QAP C16.01 states “Line injection of additives (FSII and CI/LI) from shipping tank to delivery conveyance or other free on board (FOB) point is permitted under the following conditions:

(i) Additives must be proportionately injected throughout the entire loading process to ensure the additive is homogeneously blended into the jet fuel. The Contractor shall maintain records evidencing the homogeneous blending of all line injected additives.

Such methods may include meter or tank gauge readings or test results taken at intervals to provide confidence in the injection process.

(ii) When FSII is required, additive concentration must be verified based on a representative sample from each shipping conveyance.

22. The specific additives used may change depending on the contract circumstances. If we need to change to a CI or LI that is not currently registered on the existing QPL (Qualified Products List), is prior registration mandatory?

If you want to use a CI/LI that is not on the QPL, you will need to submit an exception request for us to review. To get a CI/LI added to the QPL, the CI/LI manufacturer would have to do that.

23. If prior registration is required, approximately how many months of lead time should we anticipate?

There would likely be testing involved to ensure the product would not cause any issues, so it could take a while for a CI/LI manufacturer to get their product added to the QPL.

24. When an additional LI is approved, will the specific injection dosage be provided as well? (If proceeded with an additional registration for LI by submitting an Exception Request. For existing approved additives on the QPL, the injection dosage per additive is explicitly specified.)

If an additive is added to the QPL, then the approved dosage range would be included in the QPL. If you request an exception to use a different CI/LI that is not on the QPL, then you would need to provide the planned dosage with the request. If the Navy is familiar with the additive and would only allow a different dosage range, they may specify that in their response or they may deny the exception if they are not familiar with the additive.

25. For JP-8, we previously received a request to produce the fuel matching the lower limit of the icing inhibitor specification (Spec: 0.07~0.10 vol%, target requested: close to 0.07 vol%). Does the same principle apply to JP-5?

There may be special circumstances where a certain dosage is requested, but typically the dosage just needs to be in the acceptable range and the product needs to meets specification.

- The JP-5 specification is 0.08~0.11 vol%. Should we aim to produce it matching the lower limit of 0.08 vol%?

If a specific concentration is not specified in the solicitation or specifically requested, it just has to be within the correct range and meet specification.

26. When using a non-dedicated line, we need to clarify the applicable scope of the flash point requirement of 62.5°C. Does this requirement apply to the shore tank within the refinery, the ship’s cargo (compartment) tank, or must both criteria be satisfied?

QAP C16.01 specifies instances where a flash >60 is currently required. A non-dedicated shore tank or ship cargo tank does not apply as a multiproduct pipeline since “this requirement is meant to address multiproduct commercial pipelines and does not apply to multiproduct systems within a facility.” Flash requirements could be revised in future if we start seeing issues with flash, but any potential changes would come through contracting or in a future solicitation.

27. After loading JP-5 onto the vessel, does the DLA Energy site surveyor visit the terminal in person to conduct sampling?

Yes.

28. Is the Site Surveyor visit required only for the initial shipment, or for every single shipment?

Yes, every shipment.

29. Could you provide the detailed procedures for the Site Surveyor visit, as well as any equipment and manpower requirements from our side?

Only what they require, such as badging or transportation once at the facility.

30. When loading at the KNOC pier, is it necessary for a representative to be present and accompany the operation?

First time yes, afterwards they can meet the surveyors only.

31. Regarding the previously requested batch-wise samples and the quarterly 5-gallon samples:

- What is the required sample quantity per batch?

- Should the sampling point be at the on-site shore tank, the vessel cargo tank, or within the shipment (transfer) line?

See QAP C16.01 section on Additional Sampling. The quarterly samples are 5 gallons. Batch samples are 20mL per each individual tank in a procurement batch. Both are from the shore tanks.

32. I would like to find out if they would consider an FOB Origin offer out of the Gulf Coast or if they only do local FOB Origin / Delivery.

All offers submitted, whether FOB Origin or FOB Destination, will be considered as long as they meet the solicitation requirements.

33. Does Item: T0008 have a problem receiving 9,000,000 Gallons Jet A 1 in its tankers into its dock?

Yes, T0008 COCOGUAM can accept 9,000,000 USG as this equates to 214,285 BBLs. The Max Parcel is 235,000 BBLs (9,870,000 USG).

34. Can an alternate method of offer submission be authorized if a vendor is experiencing issues with OET access?

There is no alternative method of submission. Offers cannot be accepted through email or other means. All offers must be submitted through OET in accordance with the solicitation requirements by the deadline.

35. Can a vendor use an escalator that is not listed in the solicitation?

No. Vendors must use only the escalators specified in the solicitation. However, a vendor may submit a request with its offer to use a different escalator for consideration.

36. Is it acceptable to offer JA instead of JA1?

Offered products must be those specified in the solicitation and must meet the specification requirements outlined in the applicable C QAP for JA1.

37. Can a vendor offer a product with FOB Origin in the U.S?

Yes, all offers submitted FOB Origin will be considered, regardless of the shipping point location as long as they meet the solicitation requirements.