INVITATION FOR OFFER FEDERAL NATURAL GAS LIQUIDS FROM CLIFFSIDE HELIUM ENRICHMENT UNIT (CHEU) IFO No. BLM-2024-CHEU-001
October 2023 ¿ September 2024, or until conveyance
Introduction
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Amarillo Field Office (AmFO) of the Department of Interior (DOI) is requesting written offers to purchase Federal Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) produced from the Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit (CHEU). BLM¿s CHEU is in Potter County, Texas, near the city of Amarillo.
The BLM seeks to enter a NGL transportation and sales agreement for NGL volumes. The NGL will be available at the tailgate of the CHEU. The BLM will produce helium and natural gas in a combined stream from the Bush Dome Helium Storage Reservoir in Potter County, Texas, and separate the products at the CHEU. The reservoir is about 15 miles northwest of Amarillo, Texas. The BLM will store the NGL on site for pick up by the successful bidder on this agreement. The BLM estimates the NGL volumes from CHEU will average 1,000 to 5,000 gallons per day and will remain relatively steady through the remaining life of Helium Program (Helium Stewardship Act of 2013).
NGL pick up is expected to take place during regular business hours 8:00 a.m-4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. A mutually agreed-to procedure will be established where BLM personnel will contact the buyer for NGL pick up when the storage amount reaches a predetermined level. The NGL will be stored on site and the buyer will be required to pick up the liquids via truck transport daily or as needed. The buyer will be responsible for all transportation costs, but BLM will pay demerge charges, if BLM facility takes longer than 1 hour to complete liquids pickup and BLM is at fault for transportation delays. BLM will not pay demerge charges on delays caused by receiving activity, weather, or any other circumstances outside of BLM¿s Control.
Pricing of NGL will be based upon current market values tied to a common spot market (such as OPIS Conway, Kansas NGL Trading Hub) and the quality of the NGL. The NGL at the pickup point is a non-fractionated liquid byproduct consisting of such components as Methane, C2-Ethane, C3-Propane, NC4-Normal Butane, IC4-Iso Butane and C5-Natural Gas. An automatic sampling system will be an integral part of the installation; however, the analysis of samples will be the responsibility of the buyer. Operational details of the project (e.g., maps, NGL quality, etc.) are available upon request. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Carole James at 806-356-1027.
Written offers via email (cdjames@blm.gov) or facsimile (fax no. 806-356-1041) are due by 11:00 a.m. CDT on Friday, August 18, 2023. We will notify award winners via email by 3:00 p.m. CDT on Monday, August 21, 2023. Please call Carole James at 806-356-1027 with questions about this Invitation for Offer (IFO).
Offers
The Exhibit is the offer sheet containing estimated daily production, preferred index prices and total estimated amount per base year and each of four option years, etc. Your offer, an increment or decrement in relation to the applicable index, should be placed on the offer sheet. Please note that we are selling all these NGL under a swing obligation on the daily market rather than using a base load and swing component. The CHEU volume may increase or decrease through the term of this sale although BLM anticipates relatively stable production rates.
Consideration of Offers
BLM may enter into an agreement based on initial offer(s) without discussions. Accordingly, each initial offer should be submitted on the most favorable terms that the offeror could submit. However, BLM may negotiate with offerors in the event offers of similar or unanticipated value are received.
The BLM shall enter into an agreement resulting from this IFO to the offeror whose offer, in BLM¿s judgment, is most advantageous to the Federal Government. BLM will award to the buyer by means of a Natural Gas Liquids Purchase Confirmation Notice, which will also include payment instructions.
Neither party shall disclose directly or without the prior written consent of the other party the terms of any transaction to a third party (other than the employees, lenders, royalty owners, counsel, accountants and other agents of the party, or prospective purchasers of all or substantially all of a party¿s assets or of any rights under this Agreement, provided such persons shall have agreed to keep such terms confidential) except; (i) in order to comply with any applicable law, order, regulation, or exchange rule, (ii) to the extent necessary for the enforcement of this agreement, (iii) to the extent necessary to implement any transaction, or (iv) to the extent such information is delivered to such third party for the sole purpose of calculating a published index. Each party shall notify the other party of any proceeding of which it is aware which may result in disclosure of the terms of any transaction (other than as permitted hereunder) and use reasonable efforts to prevent or limit the disclosure. The existence of this Agreement is not subject to this confidentiality obligation. The parties hereunder shall keep the terms of any transaction confidential for one year from the expiration of the transaction.
Term
Deliveries of the Federal NGL to the buyer will commence on October 1, 2023. The delivery period will be for a term ending September 30, 2024, or until conveyance.
The reasons for which the BLM may declare an early cancellation may be, but are not limited to:
¿ The failure to pay, when due, any payment required under this agreement, if such failure is not remedied within 5 business days after written notice of such failure, provided that the payment is not the subject of a good faith dispute, and the buyer provides documentation described under Payment Terms.
¿ The failure to provide adequate financial assurances to the BLM specified under Pre-Qualification and Credit Requirements.
¿ Any representation or warranty which is proven to have been false or misleading in any material respect when made or deemed to be repeated.
¿ Conveyance of the Cliffside Gas Field.
Transportation and Scheduling of Natural Gas Liquids
The buyer agrees to take 100 percent of the Federal NGL delivered at the delivery point for the entire agreement period. BLM will use reasonable efforts, consistent with industry practice, to inform the buyer regarding significant changes in NGL production levels and production shut ins. The buyer, through customary industry practices, will communicate directly with BLM. The buyer, at its expense, shall make all necessary arrangements to receive delivery of Federal NGL at the delivery point. The buyer is not responsible for costs of transportation upstream of the delivery point, nor is it responsible for storage costs of the Cliffside facility. However, the buyer will be responsible for all transportation costs during and after pickup of the NGL from the plant site. No later than eight (8) calendar days before the first day of each month, BLM will notify the buyer of the weekly liquid volumes and quality anticipated for the following month of production. The buyer understands that any such estimate is not a warranty of actual deliveries to be made but is provided to facilitate planning of delivery of Federal NGL. This will continue for each month of the delivery period.
Payment Terms
The BLM will invoice the purchaser for payments and transportation adjustments.
