The National Nuclear Security Administration started its oral interviews with four joint ventures vying for a contract to operate the Pantex plant in Texas, a source said Monday.
A second source familiar with the ongoing search for a Pantex maintenance and operations contractor for the U.S. nuclear weapons clearing house confirmed to Exchange Monitor that the oral exams are underway.
There are four teams invited to take part in the oral exams this week, one of these people told Exchange Monitor on Monday. Among the rumored team members are Fluor, BWX Technologies (BWXT), Amentum, Bechtel National, Jacobs, Honeywell and Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Some information on potential bidders can be gleaned from the federal government’s procurement database, the System for Award Management.
For instance, a Pantex Mission Alliance was formed in June and registered in July with the system. That team is based out of a Jacobs office in Tennessee, according to filings in that database. Sources said Atkins is a partner on the team.
Another likely contender is Pantex Production Partners, formed in May and registered with the federal procurement system in July. Filings show the firm is owned by Huntington Ingalls Industries, according to filings with the System for Award Management. Amentum, Chantilly, Va., is also on this team, sources said.
Naval nuclear reactor builder BWXT has said publicly, including during its third-quarter investor conference call in August, that it is pursuing the Pantex contract, though it has not made the details of its bid public.
Fluor Chief Executive David Constable made his company’s bid public in November, but did not provide specifics. DJ Johnson, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Federal Solutions, did not deny the company was going after the contract or say whether it was a partner on a team when asked at an industry conference in October.
The National Nuclear Security Administration isn’t saying much about the process, citing the ongoing source-selection process for the contract, worth about $30 billion over 20 years.
“An Oral Presentation is part of Criterion 2, which can be found in the Pantex M&O Contract competition at: Pantex Plant Management and Operating (M&O) Contract Competition | Department of Energy,” an NNSA spokesperson told Exchange Monitor in an email. “NNSA is currently in the evaluation process for the Pantex M&O contract competition and can provide limited information. The number of offers received is source selection information and cannot be disclosed.”
Consolidated Nuclear Security, a Bechtel National-led team, has managed Pantex and the Y-12 National Security Complex since 2014. The NNSA is splitting up management of the sites again and plans to award a standalone Pantex contract in 2024 and a standalone Y-12 contract in 2025.
