Correction update: The Department of Energy awarded a $1.4 billion contract ...

[mahina]

Last edited Sat Apr 5, 2025, 09:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Update: see post #6 by Abolishunist

“ Although in our current policital climate anything goes, there's more to the story.
10:34 AM
From your link: Strategic Storage Partners submitted their proposal in partnership with two primary joint venture partners, Aptim Federal Services, LLC (APTIM), headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and BWXT Technical Services Group, Inc. (BWXT), headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Elsewhere: The immediate owner of the winning bidder is APTIM Federal Services LLC, owned by Veritas Capital Partners V, LLC.
APTIM is a large federal contractor with over $3B in DOD contracts, including one massive $1.2B US Army Corps of Engineers contract for construction.

Veritas Capital Partners is a private equity firm that owns controlling stakes in many defense contractors, including the federal IT contracting arm of Raytheon. It's owned by billionaire Jordanian Ramzi Musallam.

The Request for Proposals went up in early 2024, under the Biden Administration—fairly transparent bidding process, and the requirements documents are public.”

The Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded a $1.4 billion management and operating contract for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a private company with no experience in the field, a "lesser-known entity" Strategic Storage Partners, LLC. So the DOE is no longer going to run the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

Strategic Storage Partners, LLC. started in 2019 as a real estate company to invest in the construction and construction of storage units.
The company is six years old: the website says it's under construction. The two sole employees evidently have no experience with anything related to this contract. The company, the two employees are bas and the Secretary of Energy are both based in/around Denver.

This is on the Department of Energy website but not in any reporting that I've seen. https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-awards-management-and-operating-mo-contract-strategic-petroleum-reserve

So much winning.

[stillcool]

1. Kind of sounds like Russia

[mahina]

27. That sounds exactly like Russia for sure. However, I got this information wrong.

I apologize for the angst if any. Please read DUer your abolitionist’s post reply number six for more information. Thanks very much!

[louis-t]

2. And ripe for corruption.

I wonder whose relative in the trmp mafia owns the company.

[mahina]

25. It sure does to me as well. Heads up, I updated the OP and hope you will go read.

DIer abolitionist’s Response. I got it wrong Thank you very much. Sorry for the anxiety!

[dalton99a]

3. Kick

[mahina]

24. So I got this one wrong. Please check the updated post and response number six.

I am sorry. Thank you!

[Rowdyag]

4. Puerto Rico

Sounds a lot like the company that got the contract for fixing Puerto Rico’s electrical grid… surprise, surprise

[mahina]

23. Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear it. I have to tell you that I got this one wrong so please check the update and

Duer abolitionist’s reply number six

Thank you for your patience! Sorry about that

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Inventory software care of Crazy Eddie

This is speculative vulture capitalism. In the front door, on the books, and out the back door in the dark of night.

The place will be empty when we need it.

[mahina]

22. I got this completely wrong and swallowed a story that was at least very incorrect

Please read DUer abolitionist’s response number six. If you see anything in my Update that looks like I didn’t get it right please let me know and I’ll fix it. Sorry for the stress, sincerely.

[Abolishinist]

6. Although in our current policital climate anything goes, there's more to the story.

From your link: Strategic Storage Partners submitted their proposal in partnership with two primary joint venture partners, Aptim Federal Services, LLC (APTIM), headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and BWXT Technical Services Group, Inc. (BWXT), headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Elsewhere: The immediate owner of the winning bidder is APTIM Federal Services LLC, owned by Veritas Capital Partners V, LLC.
APTIM is a large federal contractor with over $3B in DOD contracts, including one massive $1.2B US Army Corps of Engineers contract for construction.

Veritas Capital Partners is a private equity firm that owns controlling stakes in many defense contractors, including the federal IT contracting arm of Raytheon. It's owned by billionaire Jordanian Ramzi Musallam.

The Request for Proposals went up in early 2024, under the Biden Administration—fairly transparent bidding process, and the requirements documents are public.

[Gimble]

13. Thanks for providing clarity

Assuming your info is true (no reason to believe it's not true), what you are describing is very common in government contracting for large services procurements such as this M&O contract. I spent a lifetime involved in government contracting, so I've seen this type of bidding approach a lot. In fact, I was once a member of the Board of Directors of DynMcDermott which had this very contract in the early 2000's.

Large gov't contracts like the strategic petroleum reserve M&O contract are re-competed periodically, usually every 5 years. Often two or more qualified companies decide they are a stronger competitor as a team. They enter into a teaming agreement and often will form a Joint Venture (JV) company, such as Strategic Storage Partners LLC, for the purpose of bidding on the proposal and running the contract if they win. The newly formed JV is usually an LLC because it is thought that an LLC structure provides the parent companies certain tax advantages and protection from certain kinds of legal liabilities (although the corporate veil can be pierced under the right circumstances). The JV is usually managed by a President who reports to a board of directors comprised of executive staff from the parent companies. The newly formed LLC has the financial, technical, administrative and managerial support from the parent companies. DynMcDermott (mentioned above) was structured like this.

In theory, teamed qualified contractors bidding through a JV company is advantageous to the gov't because it provides the expertise of multiple qualified contractors (the team) and avoids subcontractor profits and fees it would otherwise incur if the team were structured as a prime/sub.

[mahina]

15. Wow thank you.

That is definitely important context. I am on the road but I will edit. I will you when I get back. Thank you so much for that. I still think it sucks but I’m grateful to know I was wrong. And also, I don’t like those guys.

Thanks again

[Abolishinist]

16. And thank you for acknowledging such, too many times the OP never seems to check

back on what they've posted.

LLCs are state, not federal, entities. So for example, if a company in CA was the first to register 'Great Seafood, LLC', then they own that name in CA. However, this does not mean that 'Great Seafood, LLC' could not be registered in AZ or any other state. Someone along the way probably googled the name and assumed the Colorado company was the one awarded the contract.

[Igel]

7. If it's the same company.

It's been pointed out "on the 'net" that there are several companies with the name scattered across the US.

Another pointed to this:
https://sam.gov/opp/502dc5b914254b2d86ebdc138f710a7f/view

Award Details
Contract Award Date: Apr 03, 2025
Contract Award Number: 89243525CCR000073
Task/Delivery Order Number:
Contractor Awarded Unique Entity ID: SJ65WNKH1WA4
Contractor Awarded Name: STRATEGIC STORAGE PARTNERS, LLC.
Contractor Awarded Address: Baton Rouge, LA 70802 USA

Still no information about the actual company. Some suggest it's a shell company of some sort, shielding the actual contractors from much public scrutiny (at least for a while).

[Irish_Dem]

8. So who is really getting this huge sum of money?

[mahina]

21. So it turns out I had this wrong or at least incomplete? Updated post and.

Also, please read DUer abolitionist’s response number six

It sent my blood pressure off, so I really hope it didn’t stress you out and please accept my apology for the at least incomplete information and maybe wrong information.

[lindysalsagal]

9. Corrupt scheme

[mahina]

20. Turns out I had not understood this. Please note Update updated post and read response number six.

Thank you very much! Sorry about that!

[sakabatou]

10. I'm sure nothing bad will happen!

[mahina]

19. Hi there, that was the way I felt. I wanted to be sure that you saw that my post was updated with Mark correct informati

Ion thanks to DUer abolitionist

Please check my revised post and read reply number six. It is not as simple as I portrayed it based on what I read and there’s more to it than that

We’re all carrying enough dread, no need to carry dread around something that I said wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong… Who in the world could ever have imagined this could be possible?

[hatrack]

11. This is pretty mangled reporting - Colorado Public Radio has actual coverage

EDIT

“Join me on a trip down this rabbit hole, because something very fishy is happening with the strategic petroleum reserve,” says Matt Randolph, who goes by the name “Mr. Global” on social media and runs accounts that seek to debunk misinformation about the oil and gas industry. Over nearly four minutes, Randolph highlights the contract that was awarded to Strategic Storage Partners, LLC. Now, whether the awardee was Strategic Storage Partners, LLC of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, or Strategic Storage Partners, LLC of Franktown, Colorado, is where the hubbub begins.

In the video, Randolph shares a screenshot from opengovus.com that shows the awardee as being the Colorado-based storage company, which the Colorado Secretary of State’s office lists as being registered by a Colorado lawyer. CPR News reached out to the law offices of the attorney for comment, but that person is currently out of the office and — if internet comments are any indication — likely to return to some confusing messages.

Randolph’s video, using social media accounts, highlights a handful of Coloradans by name who are connected to the Colorado storage company. At the end of the video, Randolph asks for the media to take a look into the story, prompting scores of social media comments calling for further investigations, theories and emails to CPR News and others.

However, the webpage regarding the contract on opengovus.com now lists the awardee as being the Louisiana company, one that appears to be a subsidiary of the company APTIM, also based in Baton Rouge. Further, the federal government’s official webpage for tracking contracts also lists the company as the Louisiana-based facility. Oh, and a U.S. Department of Energy press release from this week says the sites chosen for the contract are in Texas and Louisiana.

EDIT

https://www.cpr.org/2025/04/04/petroleum-reserve-in-douglas-county-self-storage-units/

[Midnight Writer]

12. Brown & Root were a small, local construction company until LBJ steered contracts toward them.

By the time of the Vietnam war, they were providing 85% of the military's infrastructure. They are now part of Haliburton.

They were also the number one campaign contributor to LBJ.

Thus, dynasties are created.

[mahina]

18. I had no idea. Thank you. By the way, I edited the OP because I was wrong.

Please check my revised post and read reply number six. I mean, at least it is not as simple as I portrayed it based on what I read and there’s more to it than that thanks to DUer abolitionist who has provided some additional information though I still don’t know much I don’t love it and I don’t think it should be contracted out but here we are. I should also say that I have not checked evolutionist information because I just got home from a ho ho ho, etc., and I am le tired.

[CoopersDad]

14. I guess Four Seasons Total Landscaping wasn't available. Sad.

Two employees, website under construction. What could go wrong?

[mahina]

17. Hiya. That's funny. Please check my revised post and read reply number six. I was.

Wr wr wrrr wr… it’s possible that I was incorrect lol

[LearnedHand]

26. BWXT is a known entity

No idea how much of this contact they'll share, but I believe they did manage/are currently managing Y-12 in Oak Ridge. At one time they were part of Babcock and Wilcox.