UK SBS PR16186 Cored Boreholes in the Vale of Pickering

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), through its centre/survey the British Geological Survey (BGS), invites tenders for the provision of core drilling and (possible) other site services to support project monitoring and research activities. The purpose of the project is to improve the understanding of the geology of the Kimmeridge Formation and the quality and movement of fluids in that strata. It is planned that the work shall be carried out at one site to the south of Pickering, around Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire. At the site, two cored boreholes shall be required to provide: a. Improved understanding of the underlying geology, b. Full core from the borehole to be sub-sampled and processed into core boxes, c. Access to the underlying bedrock to enable aquifer properties to be determined by geophysical logging, packer testing, and hydrochemical analyses. d. The completed boreholes to be used as monitoring boreholes for scientific purposes. It is planned to drill the boreholes from Ground Level (GL) to a Total Depth (TD) of approximately 50 metres and 200 metres . Both cored boreholes will penetrate the Kimmeridge Formation and remain in that formation. The cored borehole to a depth of 50 metres will subsequently be geophysically logged and instrumented with multi-level fluid sampling apparatus sealed against the formation. The deeper borehole will be geophysically logged and then probably back-filled, however BGS will retain the option of completing the deeper borehole with fluid monitoring sensors at one or more fixed levels as required (by piezometer tubing or similar). The geophysical logging and any water sampling, packer testing and fluid monitoring installation will be done by BGS, using their own equipment. However, at this time it is not known whether testing will be carried out using a tripod/rig owned by BGS or a rig supplied by the Bidder. Tenderers are invited to submit costs for the hire of a "workover rig" for possible use in any packer testing.