United States Energy Association

Request for Proposal: Methane Emissions Benchmarking Study

RFP issue date:                                            May 10, 2024

Last date for queries submission:            May 28, 2024 (17:00 ET)

Closing date of RFP:                                    June 26, 2024 (17:00 ET)

Maximum Award Amount:                       $250,000 USD (inclusive of fees and taxes)

Implementing Program:                            Advancing Modern Power through Utility Partnerships (AmpUp)

Implementing Agency:                               United States Energy Association (USEA)

Funding Agency:                                          United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Subject:                                                         Request for Proposal (RFP) USEA/USAID-2024-AmpUp-10

Components of this RFP as follows:

• • Scope of Work (SOW) described under article IV
  • Instructions for the preparation of the proposal described under article VI
  • Evaluation criteria described under article VII
  • Budget table template as annex 1

Please submit your offer in soft copy with a read receipt to Ms. Sarah Blanford, Deputy Program Director, USEA, at [email protected].

Dear Offeror,

The United States Energy Association invites prospective organizations or individuals through this Request for Proposal (RFP) to submit proposals for conducting a benchmarking study of methane emissions for a variety of USAID-assisted countries.  

USEA intends to subaward a sub-agreement with a period of performance of three months.

Offerors are requested to submit their most responsive technical proposal addressing the Scope of Work (SOW) outlined under article III of this RFP and a competitive financial offer proposing a reasonable price to accomplish the objectives of the work.

 Questions concerning this request shall be submitted via email to the attention of Sarah Blanford, Deputy Program Director at [email protected] by 17:00 hours EST on May 21, 2024.  In compliance with standard procedure, all inquiries and comments will be shared with the rest of the Offerors along with the Project’s response. Questions received after the closing date for questions will not be answered.

Proposals are due by 17:00 hours EST of the closing date. Please submit all proposals with a read receipt to Sarah Blanford, Deputy Program Director via email at [email protected]. Proposals must be in digital format (PDF). Please note that USEA will not accept responsibility for delays with transmission or receipt of proposals. Proposals received after that date and/or time specified will not be considered.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS - The proposal and deliverables shall be delivered in English.

AUTHORIZED GEOGRAPHIC CODE - The authorized geographic code for procurement of services under this contract is 937.

ELIGIBILITY – This RFP is open to qualified organizations domestically (in the U.S.) and internationally (abroad).

USEA will evaluate responsive and technically acceptable proposals in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated under article VII, “Evaluation Criteria.” USEA will not evaluate nonresponsive or technically unacceptable proposals. Please note that USEA will find proposals technically unacceptable if they fail to comply or fully respond with the material terms of this RFP.

Issuance of this RFP does not constitute a subaward commitment on the part of USEA, nor does it commit USEA to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. Further USEA reserves the right to reject any or all applications received.

As this is a USAID-funded program, the RFP follows USAID Procurement Regulations and Laws. All applicants’ details will be kept confidential.

1. INTRODUCTION

This activity is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Resilience, Environment, and Food Security (REFS) and implemented by the U.S. Energy Association (USEA).

USEA, headquartered in Washington, DC, is an association of public and private energy-related organizations, corporations, and government agencies. USEA is the prime implementing partner of USAID’s Advancing Modern Power through Utility Partnerships (AmpUp). Advancing Modern Power through Utility Partnerships (AmpUp) is a USAID-funded program centered around peer-to-peer relationships and strong practitioner and stakeholder networks to support net-zero goals. Pathways to unlock a low-carbon economy include: 1) decarbonizing the power system; 2) reducing demand for energy; and 3) electrification of end-uses. Programming in the three areas strengthen steps towards decarbonization in developing countries. The AmpUp program is a continuation of the Energy Utility Partnership Program (EUPP) and uses the vast experiences and knowledge of a diverse team as well as energy sector experts from around the world - offering an unparalleled network of utility and energy sector expertise to support the global energy transition.

II.           BACKGROUND

USAID’s Energy Division has allocated funds to AmpUp to work on a methane activity that will be aligned with USAID/Washington’s overall line of effort on methane mitigation worldwide. USAID works closely with the President’s Special Envoy for Climate (SPEC) housed at the U.S. State Department.  The USAID Energy Division is working closely with USAID missions in Central Asia (Regional Mission, Kazakhstan Mission, and Turkmenistan Mission) and Bangkok-based Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) (regional methane initiative under the Southeast Asia regional Southeast Asia Smart Power Program - SPP). Opportunities for USAID to work on methane in the oil and gas industry as well as on downstream areas such as pipeline safety exist in Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, Power Africa, Libya and Egypt, Iraq, and Pakistan, in addition to those countries and regions referenced previously.

This Methane Benchmarking Study is intended to deliver information in a format that can accelerate USAID’s work to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.

3. IMPLEMENTATION AND APPROACH

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from interested organizations or individuals (private/government/nongovernmental/institutes/not-for-profit/civil societies) deemed most suitable to undertake the project. The applicant can propose an association/consortium/partnership of multiple organizations; however, one organization must be identified as the lead organization.

Subaward Agreement Management and Oversight

An agreement between USEA and the potential selected applicant shall be subject to all USEA/USAID Special Terms and Conditions, including all mandatory standard provisions (Including RAAs and ADS) Flow-Down clauses, where applicable, and the provisions included in 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 700. All Offerors are strongly encouraged to review these provisions prior to submitting a proposal.

• Standard Provisions for U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/303maa.pdf
• Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/agency-policy/303mab.pdf

Subaward agreement management, oversight of contractual obligations, and payment will be carried out by USEA. USEA will be responsible for any communication with USAID regarding the subaward. Subawardees and contractors have no relationship with USAID under the terms of this subaward. All required USAID approvals must be directed and processed through USEA.

USEA Involvement and Responsibilities

USEA will be involved in all the activities under a subaward agreement between USEA and the Subawardee and/or Consultant in the following ways:

• Review and approval of proposed tasks
• Review and approval of deliverables
• Approval of invoices for payment

IV.         SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will undertake a study to benchmark methane emissions from oil and gas operations for U.S. operators and any non-U.S. state-owned and shareholder-owned operators in other countries where data is readily available.

The consultant will gather data and develop sub-categories based on practical usefulness for outside operations to benchmark themselves against.  For instance, the data could be divided by parts of operation (e.g., parts of well drilling and completion – drilling mud, well venting and flaring; production and gathering systems – pneumatic devices, leads and fugitive emissions, well unloading; processing plants – compression, equipment leads; storage tanks – vented tanks, working and breathing losses); the data could be divided by types of operators (e.g. oil and gas, oil-only, gas-only, onshore, offshore, gathering, processing, high-pressure pipeline, distribution, and low-pressure pipeline); etc.  If the consultant chooses to categorize by type of company, then in the case of international oil companies (IOCs), for example, if a company reports combined data for all operations worldwide, this should be used as a “large company” or “integrated operator” category, as appropriate.  But if the company reports separate data for operation, the implementer should use this in more defined categories, such as small offshore, mid-size offshore, or large offshore, for example. 

In the proposal, the bidder will recommend what they deem to be the most useful approaches.  It is recommended that multiple types of classifications be provided.  Bidders should present an approach that maximizes the amount of useful benchmarking information and an explanation for each benchmarking indicator and why it could be particularly useful for USAID-assisted countries. 

Tasks:

The tasks to be performed by the Consultant under this Scope of Work shall include the following:

Task 1:              Conduct a launch meeting with USAID and USEA, outlining the project methodology and timetable for deliverables

Task 2:                Prepare a draft comprehensive report outline

Task 3:                Prepare a draft comprehensive report based on the scope of work

Task 4:                Incorporate USAID and USEA feedback on the draft report

Task 5:                Prepare and handover the final report and deliver a Power Point presentation of the finished report to USAID/USEA

Deliverables:

The deliverables to be provided by the Consultant under this Scope of Work shall include the following:

Deliverable 1:    Draft outline of report.

Deliverable 2:    Draft report based on the scope of work.

The report should also cover the following:

• Overview and context of this study.
• Database in Excel and graphics/chart-based analysis of the information compiled above. The manner of presenting this information will be discussed and finalized with the selected bidder.
• Contact information (name, organization, designation, email) of individuals consulted during the study and details of reference materials utilized.

Deliverable 3:    Final comprehensive report

Deliverable 4:    Copy of PowerPoint presentation