Elkhurst federal multi-well plugging package

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Office of Oil and Gas is soliciting bids for the Elkhurst Federal Multi-Well Plugging Package, a comprehensive well plugging and site reclamation project located in Clay County. The procurement involves permanently plugging five orphaned and abandoned oil and natural gas wells identified by specific API numbers (47-015-00110, 47-015-00512, 47-015-00519, 47-015-03517, and 47-015-03518). The contract requires a comprehensive scope of work including permitting, site preparation, rig and crew services with a minimum three-man crew, mobilization and demobilization, field moves, and complete site reclamation. Deliverables include equipment and material provisions such as vacuum water trucks, bulldozers, excavators, skid steers, drilling materials, and specialized equipment like cherry pickers and impression blocks. Key procurement dates include a mandatory pre-bid meeting on January 14, 2026, at 11:00 AM Eastern, a technical questions deadline of January 20, 2026, at 2:00 PM Eastern, and the solicitation closing on January 26, 2026, at 10:30 AM Eastern. All bids must be submitted electronically through the wvOASIS Vendor Self Service (VSS) portal.

The contract is federally funded under Section 40601 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which mandates Buy America provisions for steel and manufactured products. Contractors must maintain commercial general liability and automobile liability insurance with minimum limits of $2,000,000 per occurrence and provide a bid bond of five percent of the total bid amount, along with performance and labor/material payment bonds equal to 100 percent of the contract value. The project requires strict compliance with Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements, endangered species protections, state historic preservation office standards, and methane emissions quantification protocols. A post-plugging methane emissions evaluation will be conducted by an independent third party, with any detectable leakage requiring contractor remediation at no additional compensation. The contract is structured as a fixed-period contract with an anticipated 180-day completion window, and contractors must obtain various permits including West Virginia Division of Highways Right-of-Way Entry Permit and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stream activity permits. While specific budget ranges were not explicitly detailed, the comprehensive nature of the project and the extensive equipment and service requirements suggest a substantial contract value.