Injection well failure mode evaluation

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation seeks evaluation of potential failure modes for the Paradox Valley Unit injection well in western Colorado, with quotes due November 10, 2026, and questions due October 27, 2026. This is a total small business set-aside under NAICS 541690 with a size standard of $19.0 million.

Place of performance is the Paradox Valley Unit, approximately 60 miles southwest of Grand Junction, Colorado. The work addresses a 16,000-foot-deep Class V brine disposal well operating since 1996 that injects approximately 65,000 tons of salt annually at surface pressures up to 5,350 psi and experienced a magnitude 4.5 earthquake in March 2019 leading to shutdown until June 2022.

The contractor must identify, evaluate, and document potential risks and failure indicators across surface and subsurface systems, including single-point, multi-source-point, cascading, and catastrophic failures; identify operational indicators of impending failure; recommend detection methods and monitoring procedures; propose risk assessment metrics and key performance indicators; and deliver draft and final reports with preliminary professional opinions on implementing recommendations.

Required personnel must include a Project Manager and key technical staff with minimum ten years of relevant industry experience in petroleum engineering, geomechanics, and injection well analysis, with expertise in deep disposal well design, casing and tubing integrity, mechanical integrity testing, and failure mode analysis. Experience within the Paradox Basin is preferred.

The Period of Performance runs January 20, 2027, through April 30, 2027, with all work completed within 100 calendar days of award. Deliverables include a kickoff meeting (7 days), project schedule (10 days), draft report (60 days), bi-weekly progress meetings, and final report (100 days). This is a fixed-price purchase order. Award goes to the responsible contractor offering the lowest price for a technically acceptable proposal, with the two lowest-priced quotes evaluated first for technical acceptability.