PURCHASE OF FLAC3D SOFTWARE

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) plans to award a sole-source contract to Itasca Consulting Group, Inc. for the acquisition of the proprietary FLAC 3D software, which will be used in NETL’s Extreme Drilling Laboratory. This procurement will be conducted under the authority of FAR 13.501, allowing for a non-competitive negotiation with a single source due to the specialized nature of the software. Although the Government intends to negotiate exclusively with this vendor, it invites interested parties to express their interest and submit proposals within twenty days of the publication date. Responses will be reviewed solely to determine whether a competitive procurement is warranted, though the Government retains full discretion to proceed without competition. The contract, identified under solicitation number DOE-SNOTE-060726-001, was publicly posted on July 26, 2006. It covers the purchase of commercial software supplies essential to NETL’s research endeavors in extreme drilling technologies. No specific set-aside classifications, NAICS codes, or detailed location information for performance have been provided. The notice serves to inform the market of the intended non-competitive procurement while ensuring transparency and allowing for potential alternative sources to come forward within a limited timeframe.