The tender documents: what they must include

1. Scope of work

A clear description of what is to be obtained: the final result, not just the list of activities. For example: "electromechanical construction of a battery of 4 tanks of 160 m³ with their interconnection, through hydrotesting and delivery with a quality dossier".

• Purpose of the contract in one or two sentences.
• Location: field, site, plant, coordinates or location map.
• Drawings, technical specifications, data sheets and design reports that form part of the tender documents, with their revision number.
• Estimated quantities (takeoff) and unit of measure for each item.
• Condition in which the site is handed over and condition in which it must be returned.

2. The set of tasks to be performed

The detail of the tasks, ordered and numbered the same way as the pricing sheet, so that each task has its price.

• List of tasks with their sequence (for example: mobilization, civil works, construction, testing, commissioning, demobilization).
• Who supplies the materials: the client ("free issue") or the contractor.
• Engineering by the contractor, if any (detailed, construction, as-built drawings).
• Tests, trials and inspections to be performed and who witnesses them.
• Documentation delivered at the end: quality dossier, certificates, as-built drawings, manuals.

3. The standards to be applied

The list of applicable technical standards, with their edition. If no edition is indicated, the one in force on the bid date is understood.

• Design and fabrication standards (for example ASME B31.3 for process piping, API 650 for tanks, ASME VIII for pressure vessels).
• Welding and testing standards (ASME IX, API 1104, ASME V for non-destructive testing).
• Electrical and hazardous area standards (AEA, IEC 60079).
• Argentine regulation: SE Resolution 785/2005 (tanks), ENARGAS NAG for gas installations, occupational health and safety laws, provincial environmental regulations.
• If standards conflict, which one prevails (order of precedence of the documents).

Explanation of the most cited standards: Glossary and standards.

4. Deadlines

The tender documents must say when the work is performed, without ambiguity:

• Start date: fixed date or "from the notice to proceed", with how many days' notice is given.
• Execution period in calendar or business days (specify which).
• Required completion date and whether it is a critical date (for example, because there is a plant turnaround or a well to hook up).
• Mandatory intermediate milestones and their link to payments.
• Contract duration and extension options, in service contracts.
• Permitted working days and hours, shifts, rotations (for example 14×14 or 7×7) and whether work is done at night or on holidays.
• What happens on days of rain, wind or snow, access restrictions and stoppages for reasons attributable to the client.
• Penalties for delay: how they are calculated and their cap.

5. Scope limits ("boundaries")

Where the contractor's work begins and where it ends. In the industry these are called battery limits and tie-in points.

• Physical limits: from which flange, valve or stake to which.
• Explicit exclusions: what is NOT included (for example: supply of power, water, earthworks, permits).
• Interfaces with other contractors working on the same site and who coordinates.
• A responsibility matrix: for each item (materials, equipment, power, water, fuel, personnel transport, lodging, meals, security, permits, waste disposal) who supplies it: client or contractor.

6. Special work requirements

Beyond technical standards, each company, field and site has its own rules. They must be in the tender documents because they cost money and time:

• Operator's internal standards: HSE standards, work permits, risk analysis, lockout/tagout, work at height, confined spaces, lifting.
• Field or site requirements: entry inductions, access hours, approved roads, hazardous areas, restrictions due to proximity to wells or operating facilities.
• Vehicles and equipment: maximum age, inspections, GPS and satellite monitoring, spill kit, defensive driving courses.
• Personnel: medical exams, mandatory training, certifications (qualified welders, crane operators, riggers).
• Local content: provincial laws that give preference to local companies and workers (for example, in Neuquén, Law 3338).
• Quality: inspection and test plan (ITP), hold and inspection points, third-party inspection.
• Environment and community: waste management, environmental permits, relations with surface landowners and communities.

7. Collective labor agreement

If the client requires personnel to be classified under a particular agreement, the tender documents must say so expressly, because it changes the cost of labor (and it is one of the most common sources of conflict in the field).

• In the Neuquén Basin the most common agreements are Petroleros Privados (CCT 644/12) and Petroleros Jerárquicos for supervisory staff; in construction, UOCRA (in the field, CCT 545/08); in transportation, Camioneros (CCT 40/89); in metalworking shops, UOM.
• Clarify whether the client accepts another classification, how zone allowances, meal allowance, travel hours and relocation pay are handled, and who absorbs agreement wage increases (normally via the adjustment clause).

8. How to quote and how it is evaluated

• Pricing sheet with items, units and quantities: the bidder only fills in prices.
• Currency, whether quoting in dollars is accepted, and reference exchange rate.
• Payment terms and period, advance payment (if any) and retainage.
• Price adjustment formula or, at least, the accepted indices.
• Guarantees (bid, advance payment, performance) and required insurance.
• Documentation that the technical and commercial bids must include.
• Evaluation criteria and their weight: how the winner is decided.
• Schedule: questions, site visit, submission and bid validity.