A.03.09_Brand_Name_JA_Mobil_Oil_LLA_U1.pdf

Control Number: 17-0009

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY: USACE Walla Walla District (CECT-NWW), Construction and A-E Branch, 201 N. Third Ave, Walla Walla, Washington 99362.

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: Approval is requested to procure brand name products under a Firm-Fixed price contract.

The period of performance is from date of award to 28 April 2017. Action will be funded by Appropriations Department 89 (Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) – Power Marketing Administration), appropriation symbol 4045 (expense funds).

Funds do not expire. The estimated value of the contract award is eighty thousand dollars ($80K).

This project meets the definition of a commercial item as defined in FAR 2.101. This supply is customarily used by, and has been sold, leased or licensed to, the general public. Market research included a Google search for Mobil DTE Heavy Medium ISO VG 68 Oil. Results support the commerciality of the product showing it offered in both 5 gallon and 1 gallon containers from suppliers such as Grainger Industrial Supply, Zoro, The Lubricant Store, eBay and Amazon. Two different viscosity levels of the same type of oil are available, with the higher viscosity oil having an additional additive blended into the oil. Lower Granite will require approximately 8,000 gallons worth of Mobil DTE Heavy ISO VG 100 Oil with 2.5% Lubrizol 5346 additive.

Contractor will need the capability to blend the Lubrizol 5346 additive to the oil with dedicated pumps and tanks to prevent contamination of the blend, capability to properly filter, sample, and test the oil, and capability to deliver the oil. At this time, the exact delivery dates for the oil are anticipated to occur in April 2017. This procurement will be made with a stand alone Firm-Fixed price contact to a small business that qualifies under NAICS 324191.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES OR NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION:

a. The requirement is for 8,000 gallons of Mobil DTE oil, of Heavy viscosity with 2.5% Lubrizol 5346 additive, for use in the hydropower unit one at Lower Granite powerhouse. Two brand name items are being specified. The brand name oil will be Mobil DTE Heavy ISO VG 100 Oil with 2.5% of the name brand additive Lubrizol 5346.

b. The requiring activity is Walla Walla District, (CENWW).

c. This requested contract will have delivery date of a period not to exceed a total of 90 calendar days from modification to completion of final demobilization. Award is planned for 14 March 2017.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: In accordance with statutory authority, 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 13.501 (a)(1), “Sole source (including brand name) acquisitions.”

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED:

Background for Properties: There are quite a number of considerations in finding suitable turbine oil for regions powerhouses, including oxidation resistance, anti-foaming characteristics, rust preventative characteristics, group 1 or group 2 oil, and “stick-slip” friction properties. All of these can be measured by standardized ASTM methods, with the exception of stick-slip. Stick-slip is a term used to describe the movement of Kaplan turbine blades as they are being moved, where it is desirable for the static friction coefficient and the kinetic friction coefficient to be low and to be close to each other for smooth operation and positioning of the blades. From 1970-1978, 25 BLH Kaplan units were installed at Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite. From initial startup, all units exhibited premature failure due to breaking of links/pins at the blade operating mechanisms, such as at Lower Monumental unit one in April 2005. Laboratory testing of stick-slip properties on 19 samples was performed by PowerTech laboratories, using a custom-built experimental apparatus to simulate Kaplan operation and determine which oils could perform best in the boundary lubrication regime inherent to these linkages. This test apparatus was the property of the lab, and has since been destroyed. Therefore, recreating this test in any form would cause significant costs and unacceptably large schedule delays. The results indicated that Chevron 2190 TEP and Mobil DTE were the best candidates. There are also many other essential properties of oil besides “stick-slip” friction, such as acid neutralization, foaming characteristics, gas bubble characteristics, water separability, rust preventative characteristics, and oxidation stability. Testing was conducted by the USACE through HDR under contract W9127N-10-D-1014 in order to help identify suitable replacement turbine oil for the 6 Walla Walla District powerhouses. Working with the Hydroelectric Design Center (HDC), the study results are included in the report titled “Oil Analysis and Recommendations for McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, and Dworshak Dams”, dated July 2014 (Enclosure 1). Oils tested included Mobil DTE, Chevron 2190 TEP, Hyperion, and Exxon Teresstic. Only Mobil DTE and Chevron 2190 TEP were found to pass all these properties tests with characteristics suitable for turbine oils. Further testing for compatibility with existing oil showed that only Mobil DTE was compatible with the existing in-service oil.

Background for Compatibility: Compatibility testing is a central premise of a successful oil change, particularly for hydroturbines, where it is infeasible to remove 100% of the old oil. Incompatible oils will chemically react with each other, probably depleting antioxidants and critical additives and creating varnish, which can clump into “slugs”, possibly to the extent of requiring an unplanned outage for early replacement of the oil. The two oils which were found to meet the properties required for Kaplan turbines as described above, Chevron 2190 TEP and Mobil DTE, were tested for compatibility with the in-service oil at McNary, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, and Dworshak. Only Mobil DTE passed the compatibility testing with any of the in-service oils. Tests were performed by Herguth Laboratories, Inc., according to the ASTM D7155, “Standard Practice for Evaluating Compatibility of Mixtures of Turbine Lubricating Oils” (Enclosure 2).

Justification: It has been recommended by former USACE chemist, John Micetic that we must do compatibility testing when adding to or replacing the lubricating oils in our hydropower units because of the inherent problems involved when different types of lubrication oils are mixed. Chemical reactions in incompatible mixes lead to loss of additives, flocculation, and acceleration of oxidation, varnish, foaming, and air entrainment. Since it is not feasible to remove 100% of the old oil from the system prior to the addition of new oil, compatibility between the existing oil and the new oil is critical. Compatibility is measured by the ASTM D7155, “Standard Practice for Evaluating Compatibility of Mixtures of Turbine Lubricating Oils”. Several oils were considered possible candidates and were chosen for testing, based in part on which oils yielded acceptable stick- slip results in a custom-built testing apparatus belonging to PowerTech laboratories, which no longer exists. Herguth Laboratories found that of these candidates, only Mobil DTE has acceptable properties for Kaplan turbine oil and is compatible with the existing in-service oil in the Dworshak, McNary, Little Goose, Lower Granite, or Lower Monumental hydropower units. Therefore, we request a brand name purchase of Mobil DTE Heavy oil (Viscosity Grade 100) with 2.5% Lubrizol 5346 additive for the hydropower units at Lower Granite. If an incompatible oil were to be used, a worst-case scenario is that each main unit would need to be unstacked and thoroughly cleaned at all oil-wetted surfaces, which is estimated to cost $1M and take 6 months per unit. If an oil with unsuitable stick-slip properties were to be used, damage to Kaplan hub linkages could be equivalent to or worse than the case of failing to replace the oil at all.

Impact: The impacts of using a different oil could include: poor stick-slip properties leading to linkage failures inside the turbine runner hub; inadequate foaming properties leading to poor control of blades and wicket gates;

poor rust inhibition and/or water separability properties leading to corrosion damage to the governor valves and blade linkages, or requiring unstacking and thorough cleaning of each unit at an estimated cost of $1M and an outage of 6 months or more.

Alternatives: Currently there are no known alternatives. Several alternative oils were tested for properties and compatibility, and all failed the testing except Mobil DTE.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: There may be competition between firms that sell the required brand name and type of oil. Based on market research, there is more than one distibutor of this type of oil.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: The lubricating oil will be purchased through a Mobil small business distributor. In addition, Mobil was contacted to inquire about potential distributors. Mobil confirmed that there are several distributors that will be able to compete for this work.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: A cursory Google search shows several businesses selling this brand and type of oil in smaller quantities, but for very large quantities, distributors tend to work within certain regions. A phone call by CENWW to Mobil at 0800 hrs on 21Feb17 revealed that there will be severall of Mobil's distributors allowed to supply a quote for this solicitation.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES: Other sources have not written to express interest. All offers able to supply this oil will be considered.

10. OTHER FACTS: The Government already tested several alternative oils as research for other powerplants, which were the most likely candidates based on prior experience. All failed to meet either the desired oil properties or the ASTM D7155 standard for compatibility with the existing oil, with the exception of Mobil DTE. Oils tested included Mobil DTE Heavy, Mobil DTE Heavy Medium, Hyperion, Chevron 2190 TEP, and Exxon Teresstic.

11. TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Catherine Campbell, P.E. TITLE: Senior Mechanical Engineer

SIGNATURE:

12. REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION:

I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: TITLE:

SIGNATURE:

13. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION:

I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

Certified Cost or Pricing data will not be required.

APPROVED BY: TITLE:

SIGNATURE:

14. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION:

"I certify that this J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief."

APPROVED BY: Jani Long TITLE: Contracting Officer

SIGNATURE:

15. DETERMINATION: In accordance with the requirements of UAI 1.602-2-100(b)(11), I have reviewed the J&A and determined it is legally sufficient.

APPROVED BY:____________________________ TITLE:__________________________________

SIGNATURE:___________________________________________________________________

Tyler Moore District Counsel Digitally signed by MOORE.JAMES.TYLER.1254879645 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=MOORE.JAMES.TYLER.1254879645 Date: 2017.01.24 10:11:50 -08'00'

Digitally signed by LONG.JANI.C.1231624801 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=LONG.JANI.C.1231624801 Date: 2017.01.24 10:49:18 -08'00'

APPROVAL

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement turbine oil for the use in Lower Granite Unit 1 on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) and subject to the availability of funds, and provided the property herein described has otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

APPROVED BY: TITLE:

SIGNATURE: