Background
First Point Assessment (FPAL) was established by the UK oil & gas industry in 1996 as a way of
streamlining the tender process. This streamlining is achieved in two ways. Firstly, FPAL has a
number of features such as Supplier Registration, Performance Feedback, Capability Profiling and
Verify that serve as a central hub of supplier information and remove the need for duplicate
requests for information (RFI). Secondly, as a response to the EU Utilities Directive 2004/17/EC
which calls for transparency, objectivity, competition and non-discrimination in the way that EU oil
and gas exploration and production companies select their suppliers, FPAL is regarded as Qualification
System under EU procurement rules.
When does The Utilities Directive Apply?
The Directive applies to oil & gas exploration companies in the European Union for contracts over the
threshold values, which with effect from 1st February 2006, increased to £288,741 (€499,000) for supply &
service contracts and to £3,611,474 (€6,242,000) in the case of works contracts.
FPAL as a Qualification System
To meet the stated aims of transparency, objectivity, competition and non-discrimination, the Utilities
directive requires a ‘call for competition’ to be made by publishing a notice in the Official Journal of the
European Union. This can be in the form of individual notice for each contract. To avoid the delays and
inefficiencies that this process can cause, an alternative ‘call for competition’ can be made in the form of
Qualification System Notice. FPAL places a Qualification System Notice in the Official Journal, at least
every 6 months, which advises potential suppliers that they should register and ‘qualify’ with FPAL, if they
wish to be considered for contracts over the threshold values with the purchasing organisations who subscribe
to FPAL. An important feature of this convenient arrangement is that purchasing companies who choose to
adopt this procedure may only select suppliers who have ‘qualified’.
Summary
Since the inception in 1996 of FPAL as a Qualification System, over seventy European oil & gas exploration companies
and their main contractors are now using it as a convenient method of compliance with the Utilities Directive.
The benefits of the FPAL system are that it provides any company in the European Union with:
• An efficient method of supplier selection from a list of 2500 ‘qualified’ suppliers without the need to publish a separate notice for each contract
• A way of awarding contracts quickly without risk of challenge under The Utilities Directive and its companion Remedies Directive
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