--- title: "UKRI-5996 BGS North Sea Late Cenozoic Environments" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI)" published: "2026-04-30" --- # UKRI-5996 BGS North Sea Late Cenozoic Environments Buyer: UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI) Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5.json) ## Summary UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is currently in the planning stage of its procurement process for the project titled "UKRI-5996 BGS North Sea Late Cenozoic Environments." This initiative, falling under the services industry category and specifically focusing on offshore drilling services, aims to undertake a 30-day scientific drilling and coring campaign in the southern North Sea off the coasts of the Netherlands and Denmark. The main goal is to explore and gain insights into the Earth's historical climate patterns. The procurement process is still in planning, with key dates including an expression of interest due by 30th June 2026 and future notices planned for 2nd July 2026. The total budget for this project is estimated at €15,000,000, funded by central government public authority. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in offshore drilling services, especially those capable of providing marine coring capabilities and vessels suitable for scientific exploration. Companies focusing on geological surveys, marine research, and environmental analysis will find potential growth avenues by participating in this tender. The procurement is particularly suitable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), providing an avenue to engage in a high-value European research initiative that could lead to further collaborative opportunities in the scientific and environmental sectors. Interested parties are encouraged to express their interest and prepare for potential collaboration on this impactful scientific expedition. ## Notice The British Geological Survey (BGS), acting on behalf of the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD), requires a marine coring capability and suitable vessel to operate offshore southern North Sea, Netherlands or Denmark, for a scientific drilling and coring campaign for a period of 30 days (estimated) between April and May 2027. This scientific coring project seeks to extend our understanding of Earth's dynamics during the last 50 ice ages and the warmer periods between them. The North Sea Basin is an area that was heavily impacted by these ice age cycles as climate fluctuated between fully glacial to warmer-than-present conditions. The continuous sediment accumulation found in this marine environment should be thought of as a 'tape recorder' that contain an almost complete record of glacial-interglacial episodes, providing insight on Europe's past climate, ecology, and large river systems over the last ~3.3 million years. Relatively little is known about how Europe evolved during repeated ice age cycles. In this expedition, we aim to collect geological samples to gain insight into the baseline dynamics and thresholds for depositional and ecosystem regime shifts, as well as biodiversity turnover driven by rapid climate changes. This research will help us better understand the environmental responses to modern-day warming. ### Planning Information Interested parties are invited to express their interest in the upcoming tender opportunity. Please find details of the opportunity here: https://ukri2.my.salesforce-sites.com/ProSpend__CS_ContractPage?SearchType=Projects&uid=a1MTm00000AqHDVMA3&searchStr=&sortStr=Recently+Published&page=1&filters=&County= ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039684-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 30 Apr 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 2 Jul 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Dec 2026 - 30 Jun 2027 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £15,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI) | | Locality | SWINDON, WILTSHIRE | | Post town | Swindon | | Postcode | SN2 1FL | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire | | ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon | | Local authority | Swindon | | Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney | | Westminster constituency | Swindon North | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 76 - Services related to the oil and gas industry ### Codes - 76320000 - Offshore drilling services ## Release History - 30 Apr 2026 at 09:28 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039684-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039684-2026 30th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://ukri2.my.salesforce-sites.com/ProSpend__CS_ContractPage?SearchType=Projects&uid=a1MTm00000AqHDVMA3&searchStr=&sortStr=Recently+Published&page=1&filters=&County= - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.ukri.org/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-068ee5.json.