Drilling services for oil and gas exploration on federal and state lands. Find active federal and state drilling oil and gas wells contracts — AI-scored against your profile across SAM.gov and 200+ portals.
Annual federal spend under NAICS 213111 averages $400–600 million, driven primarily by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for onshore and offshore drilling oversight and plugging operations. The Army Corps of Engineers also contracts for environmental remediation drilling. Contracts are typically awarded as firm-fixed-price, single-award IDIQs or BPAs, with occasional sealed-bid auctions for specific well plugging projects. Demand spikes with oil prices and federal leasing cycles; the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law added ~$4.7 billion for orphan well plugging, creating a multi-year surge in small-business opportunities.
These agencies are the largest buyers of drilling oil and gas wells services and products in the federal government. Each awards contracts under NAICS 213111 regularly — build relationships with their small business offices first.
Win by targeting BLM and state energy agency IDIQs for well plugging and abandonment—these are often 100% set aside for small businesses under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (up to $250K) or via 8(a) and HUBZone sole-source awards. The highest-leverage move is to get listed on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) under Special Item Number 541990 (Environmental Services) or 561210 (Facilities Support) to be eligible for task orders. Also, obtain a BLM-approved Drilling Contractor Safety Certification and register in the System for Award Management (SAM) with NAICS 213111 as primary.
Contracts are primarily LPTA (lowest price technically acceptable) for plugging and abandonment, and best-value tradeoff for complex exploration support. Common vehicles include GSA MAS (Environmental Services), BLM’s Well Plugging IDIQ, BOEM’s Offshore Drilling Support IDIQ, and state-level BPAs. Evaluation typically focuses on past performance, safety record, and price.
Most federal drilling contracts require a performance bond (usually 20-100% of contract value) and liability insurance of at least $2 million per occurrence. BLM-specific bonds for oil and gas wells on federal lands start at $10,000 per well but can be higher for offshore work.
Yes, many buyers require an API Q1 or ISO 9001 quality management certification, plus a valid Drilling Contractor Safety Certification (e.g., IADC or BLM-approved). For offshore, BOEM requires a BSEE-approved safety and environmental management system (SEMS).
Awards vary widely: small plugging jobs may be $50K–$250K, while multi-well IDIQs can reach $10–50 million over five years. The median federal drilling contract is around $500K, with many set aside for small businesses.
Highly competitive for large IDIQs (10-15 bidders), but less so for small, geographically specific plugging contracts. Small businesses face lower competition when they hold a GSA Schedule or are on a state-level qualified bidders list.
Yes, but you must self-perform at least 50% of the work if you are a small business prime (per FAR 52.219-14). Subcontracting to other small businesses is common, but you must notify the contracting officer and obtain consent for large subcontracts.