Loading (50 kb)...'
(continued)
(1) Include Cpl factors in the meter factor calculation or list and apply them on the appropriate run ticket.
(2) List Ctl factors on the appropriate run ticket when the meter is not automatically temperature compensated.
(k) What are the requirements for liquid hydrocarbon allocation meters? For liquid hydrocarbon allocation meters you must:
(1) Take samples continuously proportional to flow or daily (use the procedure in the applicable chapter of the API MPMS as incorporated by reference in 30 CFR 250.198;
(2) For turbine meters, take the sample proportional to the flow only;
(3) Prove allocation meters monthly if they measure 50 or more barrels per day per meter; or
(4) Prove allocation meters quarterly if they measure less than 50 barrels per day per meter;
(5) Keep a copy of the proving reports at the field location for 2 years;
(6) Adjust and reprove the meter if the meter factor differs from the previous meter factor by more than 2 percent and less than 7 percent;
(7) For turbine meters, remove from service, inspect and reprove the meter if the factor differs from the previous meter factor by more than 2 percent and less than 7 percent;
(8) Repair and reprove, or replace and prove the meter if the meter factor differs from the previous meter factor by 7 percent or more; and
(9) Permit MMS representatives to witness provings.
(l) What are the requirements for royalty and inventory tank facilities? You must:
(1) Equip each royalty and inventory tank with a vapor-tight thief hatch, a vent-line valve, and a fill line designed to minimize free fall and splashing;
(2) For royalty tanks, submit a complete set of calibration charts (tank tables) to the Regional Supervisor before using the tanks for royalty measurement;
(3) For inventory tanks, retain the calibration charts for as long as the tanks are in use and submit them to the Regional Supervisor upon request; and
(4) Obtain the volume and other measurement parameters by using correction factors and procedures in the API MPMS as incorporated by reference in 30 CFR 250.198.
[63 FR 26370, May 12, 1998. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29486, May 29, 1998; 63 FR 33853, June 22, 1998; 64 FR 72794, Dec. 28 1999]
§ 250.1203 Gas measurement.
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(a) To which meters do MMS requirements for gas measurement apply? MMS requirements for gas measurements apply to all OCS gas royalty and allocation meters.
(b) What are the requirements for measuring gas? You must:
(1) Submit a written application to, and obtain approval from, the Regional Supervisor before commencing gas production or making changes to previously approved measurement procedures.
(2) Design, install, use, maintain, and test measurement equipment to ensure accurate and verifiable measurement. You must follow the recommendations in API MPMS as incorporated by reference in 30 CFR 250.198.
(3) Ensure that the measurement components demonstrate consistent levels of accuracy throughout the system.
(4) Equip the meter with a chart or electronic data recorder. If an electronic data recorder is used, you must follow the recommendations in API MPMS as referenced in 30 CFR 250.198.
(5) Take proportional-to-flow or spot samples upstream or downstream of the meter at least once every 6 months.
(6) When requested by the Regional Supervisor, provide available information on the gas quality.
(7) Ensure that standard conditions for reporting gross heating value (Btu) are at a base temperature of 60 °F and at a base pressure of 14.73 psia and reflect the same degree of water saturation as in the gas volume.
(8) When requested by the Regional Supervisor, submit copies of gas volume statements for each requested gas meter. Show whether gas volumes and gross Btu heating values are reported at saturated or unsaturated conditions; and
(9) When requested by the Regional Supervisor, provide volume and quality statements on dispositions other than those on the gas volume statement.
(c) What are the requirements for gas meter calibrations? You must:
(1) Calibrate meters monthly, but do not exceed 42 days between calibrations;
(2) Calibrate each meter by using the manufacturer's specifications;
(3) Conduct calibrations as close as possible to the average hourly rate of flow since the last calibration;
(4) Retain calibration reports at the field location for 2 years, and send the reports to the Regional Supervisor upon request; and
(5) Permit MMS representatives to witness calibrations.
(d) What must I do if a gas meter is out of calibration or malfunctioning? If a gas meter is out of calibration or malfunctioning, you must:
(1) If the readings are greater than the contractual tolerances, adjust the meter to function properly or remove it from service and replace it.
(2) Correct the volumes to the last acceptable calibration as follows:
(i) If the duration of the error can be determined, calculate the volume adjustment for that period.
(ii) If the duration of the error cannot be determined, apply the volume adjustment to one-half of the time elapsed since the last calibration or 21 days, whichever is less.
(e) What are the requirements when natural gas from a Federal lease on the OCS is transferred to a gas plant before royalty determination? If natural gas from a Federal lease on the OCS is transferred to a gas plant before royalty determination:
(1) You must provide the following to the Regional Supervisor upon request:
(i) A copy of the monthly gas processing plant allocation statement; and
(ii) Gross heating values of the inlet and residue streams when not reported on the gas plant statement.
(2) You must permit MMS to inspect the measurement and sampling equipment of natural gas processing plants that process Federal production.
(f) What are the requirements for measuring gas lost or used on a lease? (1) You must either measure or estimate the volume of gas lost or used on a lease.
(2) If you measure the volume, document the measurement equipment used and include the volume measured.
(3) If you estimate the volume, document the estimating method, the data used, and the volumes estimated.
(4) You must keep the documentation, including the volume data, easily obtainable for inspection at the field location for at least 2 years, and must retain the documentation at a location of your choosing for at least 7 years after the documentation is generated, subject to all other document retention and production requirements in 30 U.S.C. 1713 and 30 CFR part 212.
(5) Upon the request of the Regional Supervisor, you must provide copies of the records.
[63 FR 26370, May 12, 1998. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29486, May 29, 1998; 63 FR 33853, June 22, 1998; 64 FR 72794, Dec. 28, 1999]
§ 250.1204 Surface commingling.
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(a) What are the requirements for the surface commingling of production? You must:
(1) Submit a written application to, and obtain approval from, the Regional supervisor before commencing the commingling of production or making changes to previously approved commingling applications.
(2) Upon the request of the Regional Supervisor, lessees who deliver State lease production into a Federal commingling system must provide volumetric or fractional analysis data on the State lease production through the designated system operator.
(b) What are the requirements for a periodic well test used for allocation? You must:
(1) Conduct a well test at least once every 2 months unless the Regional Supervisor approves a different frequency;
(2) Follow the well test procedures in 30 CFR part 250, Subpart K; and
(3) Retain the well test data at the field location for 2 years.
[63 FR 26370, May 12, 1998. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998; 63 FR 33853, June 22, 1998]
§ 250.1205 Site security.
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(a) What are the requirements for site security? You must:
(1) Protect Federal production against production loss or theft;
(2) Post a sign at each royalty or inventory tank which is used in the royalty determination process. The sign must contain the name of the facility operator, the size of the tank, and the tank number;
(3) Not bypass MMS-approved liquid hydrocarbon royalty meters and tanks; and
(4) Report the following to the Regional Supervisor as soon as possible, but no later than the next business day after discovery:
(i) Theft or mishandling of production;
(ii) Tampering or bypassing any component of the royalty measurement facility; and
(iii) Falsifying production measurements.
(b) What are the requirements for using seals? You must:
(1) Seal the following components of liquid hydrocarbon royalty meter installations to ensure that tampering cannot occur without destroying the seal:
(i) Meter component connections from the base of the meter up to and including the register;
(ii) Sampling systems including packing device, fittings, sight glass, and container lid;
(iii) Temperature and gravity compensation device components;
(iv) All valves on lines leaving a royalty or inventory storage tank, including load-out line valves, drain-line valves, and connection-line valves between royalty and non-royalty tanks; and
(v) Any additional components required by the Regional Supervisor.
(2) Seal all bypass valves of gas royalty and allocation meters.
(3) Number and track the seals and keep the records at the field location for at least 2 years; and
(4) Make the records of seals available for MMS inspection.
Subpart M—Unitization
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Source: 62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998.
§ 250.1300 What is the purpose of this subpart?
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This subpart explains how Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases are unitized. If you are an OCS lessee, use the regulations in this subpart for both competitive reservoir and unitization situations. The purpose of joint development and unitization is to:
(a) Conserve natural resources;
(b) Prevent waste; and/or
(c) Protect correlative rights, including Federal royalty interests.
§ 250.1301 What are the requirements for unitization?
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(a) Voluntary unitization. You and other OCS lessees may ask the Regional Supervisor to approve a request for voluntary unitization. The Regional Supervisor may approve the request for voluntary unitization if unitized operations:
(1) Promote and expedite exploration and development; or
(2) Prevent waste, conserve natural resources, or protect correlative rights, including Federal royalty interests, of a reasonably delineated and productive reservoir.
(b) Compulsory unitization. The Regional Supervisor may require you and other lessees to unitize operations if unitized operations are necessary to:
(1) Prevent waste;
(2) Conserve natural resources; or
(3) Protect correlative rights, including Federal royalty interests, of a reasonably delineated and productive reservoir.
(c) Unit area. The area that a unit includes is the minimum number of leases that will allow the lessees to minimize the number of platforms, facility installations, and wells necessary for efficient exploration, development, and production of mineral deposits, oil and gas reservoirs, or potential hydrocarbon accumulations. A unit may include whole leases or portions of leases.
(d) Unit agreement. You, the other lessees, and the unit operator must enter into a unit agreement. The unit agreement must: allocate benefits to unitized leases, designate a unit operator, and specify the effective date of the unit agreement. The unit agreement must terminate when: the unit no longer produces unitized substances, and the unit operator no longer conducts drilling or well-workover operations (§250.180) under the unit agreement, unless the Regional Supervisor orders or approves a suspension of production under §250.170.
(e) Unit operating agreement. The unit operator and the owners of working interests in the unitized leases must enter into a unit operating agreement. The unit operating agreement must describe how all the unit participants will apportion all costs and liabilities incurred maintaining or conducting operations. When a unit involves one or more net-profit-share leases, the unit operating agreement must describe how to attribute costs and credits to the net-profit-share lease(s), and this part of the agreement must be approved by the Regional Supervisor. Otherwise, you must provide a copy of the unit operating agreement to the Regional Supervisor, but the Regional Supervisor does not need to approve the unit operating agreement.
(f) Extension of a lease covered by unit operations. If your unit agreement expires or terminates, or the unit area adjusts so that no part of your lease remains within the unit boundaries, your lease expires unless:
(1) Its initial term has not expired;
(2) You conduct drilling, production, or well-reworking operations on your lease consistent with applicable regulations; or
(3) MMS orders or approves a suspension of production or operations for your lease.
(g) Unit operations. If your lease, or any part of your lease, is subject to a unit agreement, the entire lease continues for the term provided in the lease, and as long thereafter as any portion of your lease remains part of the unit area, and as long as operations continue the unit in effect.
(1) If you drill, produce or perform well-workover operations on a lease within a unit, each lease, or part of a lease, in the unit will remain active in accordance with the unit agreement. Following a discovery, if your unit ceases drilling activities for a reasonable time period between the delineation of one or more reservoirs and the initiation of actual development drilling or production operations and that time period would extend beyond your lease's primary term or any extension under §250.180, the unit operator must request and obtain MMS approval of a suspension of production under §250.170 in order to keep the unit from terminating.
(2) When a lease in a unit agreement is beyond the primary term and the lease or unit is not producing, the lease will expire unless:
(i) You conduct a continuous drilling or well reworking program designed to develop or restore the lease or unit production; or
(ii) MMS orders or approves a suspension of operations under §250.170.
[62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29486, May 29, 1998; 64 FR 72794, Dec. 28, 1999]
§ 250.1302 What if I have a competitive reservoir on a lease?
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(a) The Regional Supervisor may require you to conduct development and production operations in a competitive reservoir under either a joint Development and Production Plan or a unitization agreement. A competitive reservoir has one or more producing or producible well completions on each of two or more leases, or portions of leases, with different lease operating interests. For purposes of this paragraph, a producible well completion is a well which is capable of production and which is shut in at the well head or at the surface but not necessarily connected to production facilities and from which the operator plans future production.
(b) You may request that the Regional Supervisor make a preliminary determination whether a reservoir is competitive. When you receive the preliminary determination, you have 30 days (or longer if the Regional Supervisor allows additional time) to concur or to submit an objection with supporting evidence if you do not concur. The Regional Supervisor will make a final determination and notify you and the other lessees.
(c) If you conduct drilling or production operations in a reservoir determined competitive by the Regional Supervisor, you and the other affected lessees must submit for approval a joint plan of operations. You must submit the joint plan within 90 days after the Regional Supervisor makes a final determination that the reservoir is competitive. The joint plan must provide for the development and/or production of the reservoir. You may submit supplemental plans for the Regional Supervisor's approval.
(d) If you and the other affected lessees cannot reach an agreement on a joint Development and Production Plan within the approved period of time, each lessee must submit a separate plan to the Regional Supervisor. The Regional Supervisor will hold a hearing to resolve differences in the separate plans. If the differences in the separate plans are not resolved at the hearing and the Regional Supervisor determines that unitization is necessary under §250.1301(b), MMS will initiate unitization under §250.1304.
[62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29486, May 29, 1998]
§ 250.1303 How do I apply for voluntary unitization?
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(a) You must file a request for a voluntary unit with the Regional Supervisor. Your request must include:
(1) A draft of the proposed unit agreement;
(2) A proposed initial plan of operation;
(3) Supporting geological, geophysical, and engineering data; and
(4) Other information that may be necessary to show that the unitization proposal meets the criteria of §250.1300.
(b) The unit agreement must comply with the requirements of this part. MMS will maintain and provide a model unit agreement for you to follow. If MMS revises the model, MMS will publish the revised model in the Federal Register. If you vary your unit agreement from the model agreement, you must obtain the approval of the Regional Supervisor.
(c) After the Regional Supervisor accepts your unitization proposal, you, the other lessees, and the unit operator must sign and file copies of the unit agreement, the unit operating agreement, and the initial plan of operation with the Regional Supervisor for approval.
(d) You must pay the service fee listed in §250.125 of this part with your request for a voluntary unitization proposal or the expansion of a previously approved voluntary unit to include additional acreage. Additionally, you must pay the service fee listed in §250.125 with your request for unitization revision.
[62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998; 70 FR 49876, Aug. 25, 2005]
§ 250.1304 How will MMS require unitization?
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(a) If the Regional Supervisor determines that unitization of operations within a proposed unit area is necessary to prevent waste, conserve natural resources of the OCS, or protect correlative rights, including Federal royalty interests, the Regional Supervisor may require unitization.
(b) If you ask MMS to require unitization, you must file a request with the Regional Supervisor. You must include a proposed unit agreement as described in §§250.1301(d) and 250.1303(b); a proposed unit operating agreement; a proposed initial plan of operation; supporting geological, geophysical, and engineering data; and any other information that may be necessary to show that unitization meets the criteria of §250.1300. The proposed unit agreement must include a counterpart executed by each lessee seeking compulsory unitization. Lessees who seek compulsory unitization must simultaneously serve on the nonconsenting lessees copies of:
(1) The request;
(2) The proposed unit agreement with executed counterparts;
(3) The proposed unit operating agreement; and
(4) The proposed initial plan of operation.
(c) If the Regional Supervisor initiates compulsory unitization, MMS will serve all lessees of the proposed unit area with a proposed unitization plan and a statement of reasons for the proposed unitization.
(d) The Regional Supervisor will not require unitization until MMS provides all lessees of the proposed unit area written notice and an opportunity for a hearing. If you want MMS to hold a hearing, you must request it within 30 days after you receive written notice from the Regional Supervisor or after you are served with a request for compulsory unitization from another lessee.
(e) MMS will not hold a hearing under this paragraph until at least 30 days after MMS provides written notice of the hearing date to all parties owning interests that would be made subject to the unit agreement. The Regional Supervisor must give all lessees of the proposed unit area an opportunity to submit views orally and in writing and to question both those seeking and those opposing compulsory unitization. Adjudicatory procedures are not required. The Regional Supervisor will make a decision based upon a record of the hearing, including any written information made a part of the record. The Regional Supervisor will arrange for a court reporter to make a verbatim transcript. The party seeking compulsory unitization must pay for the court reporter and pay for and provide to the Regional Supervisor within 10 days after the hearing three copies of the verbatim transcript.
(f) The Regional Supervisor will issue an order that requires or rejects compulsory unitization. That order must include a statement of reasons for the action taken and identify those parts of the record which form the basis of the decision. Any adversely affected party may appeal the final order of the Regional Supervisor under 30 CFR part 290.
[62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998]
Subpart N—Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Civil Penalties
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Source: 62 FR 42668, Aug. 8, 1997, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998.
§ 250.1400 How does MMS begin the civil penalty process?
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This subpart explains MMS's civil penalty procedures whenever a lessee, operator or other person engaged in oil, gas, sulphur or other minerals operations in the OCS has a violation. Whenever MMS determines, on the basis of available evidence, that a violation occurred and a civil penalty review is appropriate, it will prepare a case file. MMS will appoint a Reviewing Officer.
§ 250.1401 Index table.
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The following table is an index of the sections in this subpart:
§ 250.1401 Table
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Definitions............................... § 250.1402
What is the maximum civil penalty?........ § 250.1403
Which violations will MMS review for § 250.1404
potential civil penalties?.
When is a case file developed?............ § 250.1405
When will MMS notify me and provide § 250.1406
penalty information?.
How do I respond to the letter of § 250.1407
notification?.
When will I be notified of the Reviewing § 250.1408
Officer's decision?.
What are my appeal rights?................ § 250.1409
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[62 FR 42668, Aug. 8, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998]
§ 250.1402 Definitions.
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Terms used in this subpart have the following meaning:
Case file means an MMS document file containing information and the record of evidence related to the alleged violation.
Civil penalty means a fine. It is an MMS regulatory enforcement tool used in addition to Notices of Incidents of Noncompliance and directed suspensions of production or other operations.
I, me in a question or you in a response means the person, or agent of a person engaged in oil, gas, sulphur, or other minerals operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Person means, in addition to a natural person, an association (including partnerships and joint ventures), a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a private, public, or municipal corporation.
Reviewing Officer means an MMS employee assigned to review case files and assess civil penalties.
Violation means failure to comply with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) or any other applicable laws, with any regulations issued under the OCSLA, or with the terms or provisions of leases, licenses, permits, rights-of-way, or other approvals issued under the OCSLA.
Violator means a person responsible for a violation.
§ 250.1403 What is the maximum civil penalty?
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The maximum civil penalty is $30,000 per day per violation.
[68 FR 61624, Oct. 29, 2003]
§ 250.1404 Which violations will MMS review for potential civil penalties?
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MMS will review each of the following violations for potential civil penalties:
(a) Violations that you do not correct within the period MMS grants;
(b) Violations that MMS determines may constitute, or constituted, a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), property, any mineral deposit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment; or
(c) Violations that cause serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), property, any mineral deposit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment.
(d) Violations of the oil spill financial responsibility requirements at 30 CFR part 253.
[62 FR 5331, Feb. 5, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998; 63 FR 42711, Aug. 11, 1998; 64 FR 9066, Feb. 24, 1999]
§ 250.1405 When is a case file developed?
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MMS will develop a case file during its investigation of the violation, and forward it to a Reviewing Officer if any of the conditions in §250.1404 exist. The Reviewing Officer will review the case file and determine if a civil penalty is appropriate. The Reviewing Officer may administer oaths and issue subpoenas requiring witnesses to attend meetings, submit depositions, or produce evidence.
[62 FR 42668, Aug. 8, 1997. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998]
§ 250.1406 When will MMS notify me and provide penalty information?
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If the Reviewing Officer determines that a civil penalty should be assessed, the Reviewing Officer will send the violator a letter of notification. The letter of notification will include:
(a) The amount of the proposed civil penalty;
(b) Information on the violation(s); and
(c) Instruction on how to obtain a copy of the case file, schedule a meeting, submit information, or pay the penalty.
[62 FR 42668, Aug. 8, 1997. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998; 64 FR 9066, Feb. 24, 1999]
§ 250.1407 How do I respond to the letter of notification?
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You have 30 calendar days after you receive the Reviewing Officer's letter to either:
(a) Request, in writing, a meeting with the Reviewing Officer;
(b) Submit additional information; or
(c) Pay the proposed civil penalty.
§ 250.1408 When will I be notified of the Reviewing Officer's decision?
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At the end of the 30 calendar days or after the meeting and submittal of additional information, the Reviewing Officer will review the case file, including all information you submitted, and send you a decision. The decision will include the amount of any final civil penalty, the basis for the civil penalty, and instructions for paying or appealing the civil penalty.
§ 250.1409 What are my appeal rights?
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(a) When you receive the Reviewing Officer's final decision, you have 60 days to either pay the penalty or file an appeal in accordance with 30 CFR part 290, subpart A.
(b) If you file an appeal, you must either:
(1) Submit a surety bond in the amount of the penalty to the Regional Adjudication Office in the Region where the penalty was assessed, following instructions that the Reviewing Officer will include in the final decision; or
(2) Notify the Regional Adjudication Office, in the Region where the penalty was assessed, that you want your lease-specific/area-wide bond on file to be used as the bond for the penalty amount.
(c) If you choose the alternative in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the Regional Director may require additional security (i.e., security in excess of your existing bond) to ensure sufficient coverage during an appeal. In that event, the Regional Director will require you to post the supplemental bond with the regional office in the same manner as under §§256.53(d) through (f) of this chapter. If the Regional Director determines the appeal should be covered by a lease-specific abandonment account then you must establish an account that meets the requirements of §256.56.
(d) If you do not either pay the penalty or file a timely appeal, MMS will take one or more of the following actions:
(1) We will collect the amount you were assessed, plus interest, late payment charges, and other fees as provided by law, from the date you received the Reviewing Officer's final decision until the date we receive payment;
(2) We may initiate additional enforcement, including, if appropriate, cancellation of the lease, right-of-way, license, permit, or approval, or the forfeiture of a bond under this part; or
(3) We may bar you from doing further business with the Federal Government according to Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, and section 2455 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, 31 U.S.C. 6101. The Department of the Interior's regulations implementing these authorities are found at 43 CFR part 12, subpart D.
[64 FR 26257, May 13, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 2875, Jan. 19, 2000]
Subpart O—Well Control and Production Safety Training
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Source: 65 FR 49490, Aug. 14, 2000, unless otherwise noted.
§ 250.1500 Definitions.
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Terms used in this subpart have the following meaning:
Employee means direct employees of the lessees who are assigned well control or production safety duties.
I or you means the lessee engaged in oil, gas, or sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
Lessee means a person who has entered into a lease with the United States to explore for, develop, and produce the leased minerals. The term lessee also includes an owner of operating rights for that lease and the MMS-approved assignee of that lease.
Production safety means production operations as well as the installation, repair, testing, maintenance, or operation of surface or subsurface safety devices.
Well control means drilling, well completion, well workover, and well servicing operations. For purposes of this subpart, well completion/well workover means those operations following the drilling of a well that are intended to establish or restore production to a well. It includes small tubing operations but does not include well servicing. Well servicing means snubbing, coil tubing, and wireline operations.
§ 250.1501 What is the goal of my training program?
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The goal of your training program must be safe and clean OCS operations. To accomplish this, you must ensure that your employees and contract personnel engaged in well control or production safety operations understand and can properly perform their duties.
§ 250.1502 Is there a transition period for complying with the regulations in this subpart?
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(a) During the period October 13, 2000 until October 15, 2002 you may either:
(1) Comply with the provisions of this subpart. If you elect to do so, you must notify the Regional Supervisor; or
(2) Comply with the training regulations in 30 CFR 250.1501 through 250.1524 that were in effect on June 1, 2000 and are contained in the 30 CFR, parts 200 to 699, edition revised as of July 1, 1999, as amended on December 28, 1999 (64 FR 72794).
(b) After October 15, 2002, you must comply with the provisions of this subpart.
§ 250.1503 What are my general responsibilities for training?
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(a) You must establish and implement a training program so that all of your employees are trained to competently perform their assigned well control and production safety duties. You must verify that your employees understand and can perform the assigned well control or production safety duties.
(b) You must have a training plan that specifies the type, method(s), length, frequency, and content of the training for your employees. Your training plan must specify the method(s) of verifying employee understanding and performance. This plan must include at least the following information:
(1) Procedures for training employees in well control or production safety practices;
(2) Procedures for evaluating the training programs of your contractors;
(3) Procedures for verifying that all employees and contractor personnel engaged in well control or production safety operations can perform their assigned duties;
(4) Procedures for assessing the training needs of your employees on a periodic basis;
(5) Recordkeeping and documentation procedures; and
(6) Internal audit procedures.
(c) Upon request of the Regional or District Supervisor, you must provide:
(1) Copies of training documentation for personnel involved in well control or production safety operations during the past 5 years; and
(2) A copy of your training plan.
§ 250.1504 May I use alternative training methods?
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You may use alternative training methods. These methods may include computer-based learning, films, or their equivalents. This training should be reinforced by appropriate demonstrations and “hands-on” training. Alternative training methods must be conducted according to, and meet the objectives of, your training plan.
§ 250.1505 Where may I get training for my employees?
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You may get training from any source that meets the requirements of your training plan.
§ 250.1506 How often must I train my employees?
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You determine the frequency of the training you provide your employees. You must do all of the following:
(a) Provide periodic training to ensure that employees maintain understanding of, and competency in, well control or production safety practices;
(b) Establish procedures to verify adequate retention of the knowledge and skills that employees need to perform their assigned well control or production safety duties; and
(c) Ensure that your contractors' training programs provide for periodic training and verification of well control or production safety knowledge and skills.
§ 250.1507 How will MMS measure training results?
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MMS may periodically assess your training program, using one or more of the methods in this section.
(a) Training system audit. MMS or its authorized representative may conduct a training system audit at your office. The training system audit will compare your training program against this subpart. You must be prepared to explain your overall training program and produce evidence to support your explanation.
(b) Employee or contract personnel interviews. MMS or its authorized representative may conduct interviews at either onshore or offshore locations to inquire about the types of training that were provided, when and where this training was conducted, and how effective the training was.
(c) Employee or contract personnel testing. MMS or its authorized representative may conduct testing at either onshore or offshore locations for the purpose of evaluating an individual's knowledge and skills in perfecting well control and production safety duties.
(d) Hands-on production safety, simulator, or live well testing. MMS or its authorized representative may conduct tests at either onshore or offshore locations. Tests will be designed to evaluate the competency of your employees or contract personnel in performing their assigned well control and production safety duties. You are responsible for the costs associated with this testing, excluding salary and travel costs for MMS personnel.
§ 250.1508 What must I do when MMS administers written or oral tests?
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MMS or its authorized representative may test your employees or contract personnel at your worksite or at an onshore location. You and your contractors must:
(a) Allow MMS or its authorized representative to administer written or oral tests; and
(b) Identify personnel by current position, years of experience in present position, years of total oil field experience, and employer's name (e.g., operator, contractor, or sub-contractor company name).
§ 250.1509 What must I do when MMS administers or requires hands-on, simulator, or other types of testing?
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If MMS or its authorized representative conducts, or requires you or your contractor to conduct hands-on, simulator, or other types of testing, you must:
(a) Allow MMS or its authorized representative to administer or witness the testing;
(b) Identify personnel by current position, years of experience in present position, years of total oil field experience, and employer's name (e.g., operator, contractor, or sub-contractor company name); and
(c) Pay for all costs associated with the testing, excluding salary and travel costs for MMS personnel.
§ 250.1510 What will MMS do if my training program does not comply with this subpart?
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If MMS determines that your training program is not in compliance, we may initiate one or more of the following enforcement actions:
(a) Issue an Incident of Noncompliance (INC);
(b) Require you to revise and submit to MMS your training plan to address identified deficiencies;
(c) Assess civil/criminal penalties; or
(d) Initiate disqualification procedures.
Subpart P—Sulphur Operations
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Source: 56 FR 32100, July 15, 1991, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998.
§ 250.1600 Performance standard.
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Operations to discover, develop, and produce sulphur in the OCS shall be in accordance with an approved Exploration Plan or Development and Production Plan and shall be conducted in a manner to protect against harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), property, natural resources of the OCS including any mineral deposits (in areas leased or not leased), the national security or defense, and the marine, coastal, or human environment.
§ 250.1601 Definitions.
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Terms used in this subpart shall have the meanings as defined below:
Air line means a tubing string that is used to inject air within a sulphur producing well to airlift sulphur out of the well.
Bleedwater means a mixture of mine water or booster water and connate water that is produced by a bleedwell.
Bleedwell means a well drilled into a producing sulphur deposit that is used to control the mine pressure generated by the injection of mine water.
Brine means the water containing dissolved salt obtained from a brine well by circulating water into and out of a cavity in the salt core of a salt dome.
Brine well means a well drilled through cap rock into the core at a salt dome for the purpose of producing brine.
Cap rock means the rock formation, a body of limestone, anhydride, and/or gypsum, overlying a salt dome.
Sulphur deposit means a formation of rock that contains elemental sulphur.
Sulphur production rate means the number of long tons of sulphur produced during a certain period of time, usually per day.
§ 250.1602 Applicability.
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(a) The requirements of this subpart P are applicable to all exploration, development, and production operations under an OCS sulphur lease. Sulphur operations include all activities conducted under a lease for the purpose of discovery or delineation of a sulphur deposit and for the development and production of elemental sulphur. Sulphur operations also include activities conducted for related purposes. Activities conducted for related purposes include, but are not limited to, production of other minerals, such as salt, for use in the exploration for or the development and production of sulphur. The lessee must have obtained the right to produce and/or use these other minerals.
(b) Lessees conducting sulphur operations in the OCS shall comply with the requirements of the applicable provisions of subparts A, B, C, G, I, J, M, N, and O of this part.
(c) Lessees conducting sulphur operations in the OCS are also required to comply with the requirements in the applicable provisions of subparts D, E, F, H, K, and L of this part where such provisions specifically are referenced in this subpart.
§ 250.1603 Determination of sulphur deposit.
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(a) Upon receipt of a written request from the lessee, the District Supervisor will determine whether a sulphur deposit has been defined that contains sulphur in paying quantities (i.e., sulphur in quantities sufficient to yield a return in excess of the costs, after completion of the wells, of producing minerals at the wellheads).
(b) A determination under paragraph (a) of this section shall be based upon the following:
(1) Core analyses that indicate the presence of a producible sulphur deposit (including an assay of elemental sulphur);
(2) An estimate of the amount of recoverable sulphur in long tons over a specified period of time; and
(3) Contour map of the cap rock together with isopach map showing the extent and estimated thickness of the sulphur deposit.
§ 250.1604 General requirements.
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Sulphur lessees shall comply with requirements of this section when conducting well-drilling, well-completion, well-workover, or production operations.
(a) Equipment movement. The movement of well-drilling, well-completion, or well-workover rigs and related equipment on and off an offshore platform, or from one well to another well on the same offshore platform, including rigging up and rigging down, shall be conducted in a safe manner.
(b) Hydrogen sulfide (H2S). When a drilling, well-completion, well-workover, or production operation is being conducted on a well in zones known to contain H2S or in zones where the presence of H2S is unknown (as defined in 30 CFR 250.490 of this part), the lessee shall take appropriate precautions to protect life and property, especially during operations such as dismantling wellhead equipment and flow lines and circulating the well. The lessee shall also take appropriate precautions when H2S is generated as a result of sulphur production operations. The lessee shall comply with the requirements in §250.490 of this part as well as the requirements of this subpart.
(c) Welding and burning practices and procedures. All welding, burning, and hot-tapping activities involved in drilling, well-completion, well-workover or production operations shall be conducted with properly maintained equipment, trained personnel, and appropriate procedures in order to minimize the danger to life and property according to the specific requirements in §250.109 through §250.113 of this part.
(d) Electrical requirements. All electrical equipment and systems involved in drilling, well-completion, well-workover, and production operations shall be designed, installed, equipped, protected, operated, and maintained so as to minimize the danger to life and property in accordance with the requirements of §250.114 of this part.
(e) Structures on fixed OCS platforms. Derricks, cranes, masts, substructures, and related equipment shall be selected, designed, installed, used, and maintained so as to be adequate for the potential loads and conditions of loading that may be encountered during the operations. Prior to moving equipment such as a well-drilling, well-completion, or well-workover rig or associated equipment or production equipment onto a platform, the lessee shall determine the structural capability of the platform to safely support the equipment and operations, taking into consideration corrosion protection, platform age, and previous stresses.
(f) Traveling-block safety device. After August 14, 1992, all drilling units being used for drilling, well-completion, or well-workover operations that have both a traveling block and a crown block shall be equipped with a safety device that is designed to prevent the traveling block from striking the crown block. The device shall be checked for proper operation weekly and after each drill-line slipping operation. The results of the operational check shall be entered in the operations log.
[56 FR 32100, July 15, 1991. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998; 67 FR 51760, Aug. 9, 2002; 68 FR 8435, Feb. 20, 2003]
§ 250.1605 Drilling requirements.
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(a) Lessees of OCS sulphur leases shall conduct drilling operations in accordance with §§250.1605 through 250.1619 of this subpart and with other requirements of this part, as appropriate.
(b) Fitness of drilling unit. (1) Drilling units shall be capable of withstanding the oceanographic and meteorological conditions for the proposed season and location of operations.
(2) Prior to commencing operation, drilling units shall be made available for a complete inspection by the District Supervisor.
(3) The lessee shall provide information and data on the fitness of the drilling unit to perform the proposed drilling operation. The information shall be submitted with, or prior to, the submission of Form MMS–123, Application for Permit to Drill (APD), in accordance with §250.1617 of this subpart. After a drilling unit has been approved by an MMS district office, the information required in this paragraph need not be resubmitted unless required by the District Supervisor or there are changes in the equipment that affect the rated capacity of the unit.
(c) Oceanographic, meteorological, and drilling unit performance data. Where oceanographic, meteorological, and drilling unit performance data are not otherwise readily available, lessees shall collect and report such data upon request to the District Supervisor. The type of information to be collected and reported will be determined by the District Supervisor in the interests of safety in the conduct of operations and the structural integrity of the drilling unit.
(d) Foundation requirements. When the lessee fails to provide sufficient information pursuant to §§250.211 through 250.228 and 250.241 through 250.262 of this part to support a determination that the seafloor is capable of supporting a specific bottom-founded drilling unit under the site-specific soil and oceanographic conditions, the District Supervisor may require that additional surveys and soil borings be performed and the results submitted for review and evaluation by the District Supervisor before approval is granted for commencing drilling operations.
(e) Tests, surveys, and samples. (1) Lessees shall drill and take cores and/or run well and mud logs through the objective interval to determine the presence, quality, and quantity of sulphur and other minerals (e.g., oil and gas) in the cap rock and the outline of the commercial sulphur deposit.
(2) Inclinational surveys shall be obtained on all vertical wells at intervals not exceeding 1,000 feet during the normal course of drilling. Directional surveys giving both inclination and azimuth shall be obtained on all directionally drilled wells at intervals not exceeding 500 feet during the normal course of drilling and at intervals not exceeding 200 feet in all planned angle-change portions of the borehole.
(3) Directional surveys giving both inclination and azimuth shall be obtained on both vertically and directionally drilled wells at intervals not exceeding 500 feet prior to or upon setting a string of casing, or production liner, and at total depth. Composite directional surveys shall be prepared with the interval shown from the bottom of the conductor casing. In calculating all surveys, a correction from the true north to Universal-Transverse-Mercator-Grid-north or Lambert-Grid-north shall be made after making the magnetic-to-true-north correction. A composite dipmeter directional survey or a composite measurement while-drilling directional survey will be acceptable as fulfilling the applicable requirements of this paragraph.
(4) Wells are classified as vertical if the calculated average of inclination readings weighted by the respective interval lengths between readings from surface to drilled depth does not exceed 3 degrees from the vertical. When the calculated average inclination readings weighted by the length of the respective interval between readings from the surface to drilled depth exceeds 3 degrees, the well is classified as directional.
(5) At the request of a holder of an adjoining lease, the Regional Supervisor may, for the protection of correlative rights, furnish a copy of the directional survey to that leaseholder.
(f) Fixed drilling platforms. Applications for installation of fixed drilling platforms or structures including artificial islands shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of subpart I, Platforms and Structures, of this part. Mobile drilling units that have their jacking equipment removed or have been otherwise immobilized are classified as fixed bottom founded drilling platforms.
(g) Crane operations. You must operate a crane installed on fixed platforms according to §250.108 of this subpart.
(h) Diesel-engine air intakes. After August 14, 1992, diesel-engine air intakes shall be equipped with a device to shut down the diesel engine in the event of runaway. Diesel engines that are continuously attended shall be equipped with either remote-operated manual or automatic-shutdown devices. Diesel engines that are not continuously attended shall be equipped with automatic shutdown devices.
[56 FR 32100, July 15, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 49928, Sept. 24, 1993. Redesignated and amended at 63 FR 29479, 29487, May 29, 1998; 63 FR 34597, June 25, 1998; 65 FR 15864, Mar. 24, 2000; 70 FR 51519, Aug. 30, 2005]
§ 250.1606 Control of wells.
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The lessee shall take necessary precautions to keep its wells under control at all times. Operations shall be conducted in a safe and workmanlike manner. The lessee shall utilize the best available and safest drilling technologies and state-of-the-art methods to evaluate and minimize the potential for a well to flow or kick. The lessee shall utilize personnel who are trained and competent and shall utilize and maintain equipment and materials necessary toassure the safety and protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources, and the environment. (continued)