AquaDuctus Project:

Geotechnical & geophysical surveys

To address Europe's future energy demand, significant investments into hydrogen infrastructure are essential. One of the core components of this initiative is the development of a pan-European hydrogen pipeline network in the North Sea, designed to connect major hydrogen producers with key consumers across the continent.?AquaDuctus is Part of this future pipeline network. AquaDuctus project consists of an offshore part (Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and territorial waters of the German North Sea and a receiving terminal at the coastline of Lower Saxony) and an onshore part to make connection with the onshore grid.

AquaDuctus is planned as a large diameter pipeline (48 inch) with a transport capacity of 20 GWH2 and a design pressure of 120 bara. The conceptual design of the pipeline enables the connection of neighbouring European hydrogen infrastructures and the planned production facilities in the German EEZ (SEN-1 Area).

The procurement item consists of four lots.

On the offshore part of the project (Lot 1 and Lot 2) the pipeline is expected to be mostly buried in the seabed and the crossing of the shore will be done via tunnelling. For the offshore part there are two sections to be considered. Section I extends from shore to the area of SEN-1. Section II extends from SEN-1 to the end of the German EEZ. Section II is an option in this procurement procedure and may only be awarded together with Section I. For the purposes of the offer evaluation, the contents of Section I and II will be considered. The evaluation of Sections I and II for the respective services (Scope of Work packages A and B) is based on an equal weighting of 50% each.

Due to administrative requirements, separate approval is necessary for Section II, therefore it is designated as an optional position.

Lot 3 covers the geophysical and geotechnical surveys needed for the project section in shallow waters.

Lot 4 covers the geotechnical surveys needed for the tunnel section of AquaDuctus pipeline.

Owner of the Project (Client) is the AquaDuctus Pipeline GmbH. GASCADE Gastransport GmbH is acting as General Service Provider for the AquaDuctus Pipeline GmbH and will be responsible for the surveys.

Lot 1: Work Package A - Offshore Geophysical Survey

Lot 1 covers the geophysical surveys needed for the project. The survey area is located in the German sector of the North Sea. For Section I the route corridor is estimated to be 117.8 km in length with water depths varying between 15 and 41 metres. For Section II (optional) the route corridor is estimated to be 200 km in length with water depths varying between 30 and 45 meters. Further details regarding service provision - that are not relevant for cost calculation - will be provided after the contract is awarded. Wider localised survey coverage may be required in areas where the seabed topography or geology is less suitable for pipeline installation or nearby infrastructure positions need to be confirmed. This will be decided as the survey progresses. It is anticipated that line spacing for the geophysical survey will be based on a centre line and then 3 lines each side at approximately 75m spacing. The survey parameters (line spacing, equipment settings etc.) will depend on the proposed method of acquisition - vessel, ROV based or other towed system. The aim is to confirm the feasibility of a surveyed route or area during the survey. Further technical specifications are detailed in "B.1.1 Scope of Work Package A (Lot 1)".

Lot 2: Work Package B - Offshore Geotechnical Survey

Lot 2 covers the geotechnical surveys needed for the project. The survey area is the same as in Lot 1 (German sector of the North Sea; Section I: the 7-A16 route corridor length along which the geotechnical investigation is to be conducted is approximately 117.8 km in length. Water depths vary from 41 to 15 meters. For Section II (optional) the route corridor is estimated to be 200 km in length with water depths varying between 30 and 45 meters. Further details regarding service provision - that are not relevant for cost calculation - will be provided after the contract is awarded. The geotechnical acquisition will consist of piezocone penetration tests, electrical resistivity cone testing and piston and/or vibro cores to describe the geotechnical properties of the seafloor soils. The geotechnical sample locations will be selected on the basis of the results coming out of the geophysical studies (Lot 1). Further technical specifications are detailed in "B.1.2 Scope of Work Package B (Lot 2)".

Lot 3: Work Package C - Shallow Water Geophysical and Geotechnical Survey

Lot 3 covers the geophysical and geotechnical surveys needed for the project section in shallow waters. The survey area is located in the German sector of the North Sea. The survey corridor has a total length of approximately 7 km in water depths varying from 15 meters to shore (top of beach line). At low tide the beach is expected to dry out forming mud flats for a distance of ~200m. Further technical specifications are detailed in "B.1.3 Scope of Work Package C (Lot 3)".

Lot 4: Work Package D - Geotechnical Survey Tunnel Section

Lot 4 covers the geotechnical surveys needed for the tunnel section of AquaDuctus pipeline. The survey area includes two dry sections, the foreland areas and the intertidal mud flats. The survey corridor has a total length of approximately 7 km. Further technical specifications are detailed in "B.1.4 Scope of Work Package D (Lot 4)".

The tender documents must be checked by the interested companies for completeness and legibility upon receipt/download.
If the contract notice, the tender documents or any other documents or information communicated, handed over or made accessible to the applicants/tenderers contain ambiguities or violate applicable law, the applicants/tenderers are obliged to notify the contracting authority immediately.
Unresolved ambiguities must be considered by the applicants/tenderers as risks to be accounted for in their offers.
Any procedural complaints (in German: Rügen) must be clearly marked as such.
Applicants/tenderers are expressly reminded of their obligation to raise complaints under § 160 (3) GWB.
Furthermore, the contracting authority expressly points out the legal remedy deadline under § 160 (3) sentence 1 no. 4 GWB.
According to this, a request for review (in German: Nachprüfungsantrag) is inadmissible if more than 15 calendar days have passed since receipt of the contracting authority"s notification that it does not intend to remedy the complaint.

A maximum of three (3) suitable applicants per lot will be invited to submit an initial offer, provided that a sufficient number of requests for participation by suitable applicants have been submitted. These maximum three (3) applicants per lot will be determined based on the quality of the references. For further information see Attachment A.5 (Eligibility Evaluation). The remaining applicants will no longer be considered for the further procurement procedure and will be informed promptly. If more than three (3) applicants per lot equally meet the requirements for eligibility and the number of applicants is too high even after an objective selection in accordance with the published selection criterion/criteria, the selection may be made from among the remaining candidates by lot.

The Attachments B.1.1 to B.4, which are part of the tender documents, contain particularly confidential and sensitive information.
Therefore, the contracting authority requests the applicants to submit a Non-Disclosure Agreement (Attachment A.4) (see § 5 (3) sentence 2 SektVO). This can be submitted via the messaging function of DTVP. The particularly confidential and sensitive tender documents will then be made available to the tenderer promptly after receipt of the Non-Disclosure Agreement through the messaging function of DTVP.

The contracting authority reserves the right to request documents pursuant to § 51 para. 2 or 3 SektVO. The requested documents must be submitted by the affected tenderer within the deadline set by the contracting authority. There is no entitlement to request documents.

Reference is made to the tender documents.

Reference is made to the tender documents.