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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE
GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION
| NTL No. 2005-G12 |
Effective Date: September 15, 2005
Issue Date: September 15, 2005
Expiration Date: December 8, 2005 |
NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL, GAS,
AND SULPHUR LEASES AND PIPELINE RIGHT-OF-WAY HOLDERS
IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION
Amended-Gulf of Mexico Regional Office Operations after Hurricane
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and rescinds NTL No. 2005-G11. It provides a description and information regarding the status of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Regional and New Orleans District Offices subsequent to Hurricane Katrina.
The revisions in this NTL include a change in one of the fax numbers (281-986-6179), addition of a room number to the Houston address, clarification that structural repairs of damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina must be approved prior to execution and provides further guidance on shallow hazards surveys submittals and waiver requests and the submittal of plans and right of use and easements.
The Regional and the New Orleans District Offices have resumed most operations under its Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). The COOP team is stationed in Houston, Texas. MMS is committed to conducting operations in as normal a manner as possible. The office addresses below are temporary and new addresses will be forthcoming in about 2 weeks.
This NTL is designed to assist you and provide guidance on the conduct of operations.
You may always call the general MMS numbers at the COOP site. These general contact points are:
• (281) 987-6876
• (281) 987-6865
• FAX (281) 987-6885 (Evacuation Statistics Only)
• FAX (281) 986-6179 (All other correspondence)
Physical and mailing address:
4141 N. Sam Houston Parkway E.
Room 104
Houston, TX 77032
Or
P.O. Box 60389
Houston, TX 77205
Office of Leasing and Environment
For leasing, adjudication, lease sales, environmental
review or bonding questions, you may call (281) 986-6162 or (281) 986-6160.
Adjudication is currently accepting designations of operator, updates to
bonding or OSFR coverage, and relinquishments, which should submitted by
mail only (no faxes) to the address above. These documents will be logged
in and computer records will be updated at a later date. Do not submit
requests for approval of assignments, name changes and mergers, non-required
filings, or any other non-critical submittals at this time. Further guidance
will be issued in 2-3 weeks.
Office of Production and Development
If you have questions or concerns with any of the following,
you may phone (281) 986-6169. Any of the following regulatory requirements due
prior to January 1, 2006 should be submitted after January 1, 2006 and prior to
March 1, 2006:
• Well Potential Test Reports (Form MMS-126; 30 CFR 250.1102 and NTL 98-23)
• Sensitive Reservoir Information Reports (Form MMS-127; 30 CFR 250.1102 and NTL 98-23)
• Semiannual Well Test Reports (Form MMS-128; 30 CFR 250.1102 and NTL 98-23)
• Bottomhole Pressure Surveys (30 CFR 250.1104)
• Run Tickets and meter proving reports (30 CFR 250.1202(c))
• Gas Volume Statements (NTL 2003-G20)
• Notifications for deep gas royalty relief (30 CFR 203.43 and 46)
• Deepwater royalty relief applications for expansion projects and pre-act deepwater leases
(30 CFR 203.60 through 62)
• Royalty relief applications for special cases (30 CFR 203.80)
You may request verbal approvals for the following regulatory requirements by calling (281) 986-6156:
• Approvals to produce within 500 ft of a unit or lease line (30 CFR 250.1101(b))
• Requests to produce gas caps of sensitive reservoirs (30 CFR 250.1101(a) and NTL 98-23)
• Flaring, venting, and liquid burning (30 CFR 250.1105)
• Downhole commingling (30 CFR 250.1106)
• Conservation Information Documents (NTL 2000-N05)
You may request verbal approvals for the following regulatory requirements by calling (281) 986-6168:
• Approvals for liquid hydrocarbon and/or gas measurement (30 CFR 250.1202 and 1203)
• Approvals for surface commingling (30 CFR 250.1204)
• Waivers for royalty and allocation meter proving/calibrations (30 CFR 250.1202 and 1203)
You may request verbal approvals for the following regulatory requirements by calling (281) 986-6161:
• Enhanced oil & gas recovery operations (30 CFR 250.1107)
• Suspensions of Operation and Suspensions of Production (30 CFR 250.168 through 177)
• Premature abandonments (NTL 2003-G02)
• Annual Unit Operating Agreements
• Voluntary Unitization Approvals
Office of Field Operations
Platform Approvals
The following list provides guidance on platform installations,
modifications and repairs that can be executed by operators prior to receiving formal
approval. Permit applications should be e-mailed to structures@mms.gov or hard copies
sent to the Houston, TX address with a notification and schedule of the planned
offshore work. The contact telephone number for the platform section is (281) 986-6165.
As a reminder, major repairs of damage resulting from Hurricane Katrina must be reviewed
and approved by MMS prior to execution.
New Platform Installations that have the following:
• Site Specific Soil Data
• Meet High Consequence Criteria; Level 1 per Section 2 of API RP 2A 21st edition
• All Connections have Fatigue Lives greater than 100 years
Major Modifications to existing platforms that have the following:
• Platforms where the deck height meets new design deck height requirements per Section 2 of
API RP 2A 21st edition
• Meet High Consequence Criteria; Level 1 per Section 2 of API RP 2A 21st edition
• Site Specific Soil Data
• No corrosion as evidence by a coating system grade of A
Adding a well to an existing platform that meets the following criteria:
• Platforms that were installed within last 5 years
• Platforms where the deck height meets new design deck height requirements per Section 2 of
API RP 2A 21st edition
• Additional well is within the original platform design
Converting a platform to a Right of Use and Easement that meet the following criteria:
• Platforms installed within last 5 years
• Platforms where the deck height meets new design deck height requirements per Section 2 of
API RP 2A 21st edition
• Wells on expired lease P&A’d
Platform Removal and Site Clearance that meet the following criteria:
• Sites in less than 300’ of water
• Complete structural removal to a minimum of 15 feet below the mudline
• Non-explosive removals
• Explosive removals using less than 50# of explosive charges and the NOAA fisheries observers
with all standard
helicopter flights and observer clearance for all detonations
• Trawling for verification of site clearance in the 1320’ radius area
Pipeline Approvals
A list of the pending pipeline applications sent into the
1201 Elmwood Park Blvd. office prior to August 24, 2005, should be emailed to
pipelines@mms.gov with the schedule of the planned offshore work. Questions
concerning any pipeline applications or procedures should be addressed to the
following telephones: (281) 986-6157 or (281) 986-6158. The following list
provides guidance on pipeline application requirements and guidance on work
that can be executed prior to receiving approval.
New Pipeline Applications:
• Lease Term and ROW Applications - Permit applications should be e-mailed
to pipelines@mms.gov and
one hard copy sent to the Houston, TX address
(30 CFR 250.1000).
Modification Applications:
• Lease Term and ROW modification applications - Permit applications should
be e-mailed to
pipelines@mms.gov and one hard copy sent to the Houston, TX address.
• ROW Temporary Cessation of Operations - Permit applications should be e-mailed to
pipelines@mms.gov and one hard copy sent to the Houston, TX address
(30 CFR 250.1000).
• Pipeline change in service- a notification and an updated safety flow schematic
should be e-mailed
to pipelines@mms.gov (30 CFR 250.1000).
• Converting an existing platform to a ROW pipeline accessory that was installed
within the last 5 years,
where the deck height meets new design deck height
requirements per Section 2 of API RP 2A 21st
edition an application should be
e-mailed to pipelines@mms.gov and one hard copy sent to the
Houston, TX address
(30 CFR 250.1000).
• Pipeline change in flow direction - a notification and an updated safety flow
schematic should be
e-mailed to pipelines@mms.gov (30 CFR 250.1000).
Repair Procedures:
• All repair procedure should be e-mailed to pipelines@mms.gov or faxed to
(281) 986-6179 for review
and acceptance (30 CFR 250.1008).
Completion Reports:
• All completion reports should be sent to the 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd. office
after January 1, 2006
(30 CFR 250.1008).
Cathodic Protection Reading Report:
The 2004 and 2005 pipeline cathodic protection reading reports will not be requested
until after March 1, 2006 (30 CFR 250.1008).
Notifications:
• 48 hour notifications on pipeline construction commencement and hydrotest
commencement will not
be required until after January 1, 2006 (30 CFR 250.1008).
• Out-of-Service and return to service notifications will not be required for
pipelines until after
January 1, 2006 and must be received by January 31, 2006
(30 CFR 250.1008).
Decommissioning Applications and ROW Relinquishments:
• Applications should be e-mailed to pipelines@mms.gov and one hard copy sent to
the Houston, TX
address (30 CFR 250.1752 & 30 CFR 250.1019).
Requests to Use Alternative Procedures and Departure Requests:
• Requests should be e-mailed to pipelines@mms.gov or faxed to (281) 986-6179
for review and
approval (30 CFR 250.141 & 142).
Plan Approvals (Exploration Plans, DOCDs & DWOPs)
• All new plan applications should be emailed to plans@mms.gov
and one hard copy sent to the
Houston, TX mailing address. When submitting your new
plans, the MMS will need one hard copy and
the appropriate number of compact disks (CD’s)
of all Public Information (PI) copies for states reviews.
These PI copies should be sent
to the Houston, TX mailing address. Inquiries about previously
submitted plans should be
emailed to plans@mms.gov or phoned to (281) 986-6163.
• Hazard survey reports should be emailed to plans@mms.gov. A CD of the report with a
hard copy of
the anomaly map should be sent to the Houston, TX mailing address.
• All new shallow hazards survey waiver requests should be emailed to plans@mms.gov
and one hard
copy sent to the Houston, TX mailing address.
• Revising surface locations within 500’ of a previously approved surface location will
not require prior
approval. Notification of these revisions should be emailed to
plans@mms.gov or faxed to
(281) 986-6179 as soon as possible for documentation purposes.
• All new Rights of Use and Easements requests should be emailed to plans@mms.gov and one
hard
copy sent to the Houston, TX mailing address.
• All new Deepwater Operations Plans (DWOPs) applications should be emailed to plans@mms.gov
and
one hard copy sent to the Houston, TX mailing address. Inquiries about previously submitted DWOPs
should be emailed to plans@mms.gov or phoned to (281) 986-6120.
Sustained Casing Pressure Departure Requirements
• Only those casing pressure departure requests involving wells that
do not bleed to zero will be
reviewed at this time. These approval requests should be emailed
to fieldoperations@mms.gov or
faxed to 281-986-6179. All other sustained casing pressure
departure requests will not be reviewed
until January 1, 2006 and should be submitted to
the 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd. office as soon as
possible after January 1, 2006. The contact
telephone number for sustained casing pressure
departure requests is (281) 986-6120.
New Orleans District Permits and Reports
A list of pending permit application sent to the New Orleans
District Office (eWell or paper shall be sent to neworleansdistrict@mms.gov with a
schedule of the planned offshore work. The following list provides guidance on
District Permit Applications and Reports.
All departure requests should be submitted to neworleansdistrict@mms.gov. Until
further notice, the eWell Permit and Reporting System is down and you will be
notified when you can resume eWell Permitting and Reporting. Permits and reports
for Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Lake Jackson Districts should be submitted
by mail, e-mail to the appropriate District e-mail address, or by fax.
Applications for Permit to Drill:
• All Applications for Permit to Drill shall be sent to the Houston COOP office electronically to
neworleansdistrict@mms.gov.
Applications for Permit to Modify:
• All Applications for Permit to Modify shall be sent to the Houston COOP office electronically to
neworleansdistrict@mms.gov.
Well Activity Reports:
• All Well Activity reports for New Orleans District should be sent to 990 N Corporate Blvd Suite 100
(pre hurricane address) after January 1, 2006
End of Operations Reports:
• All End of Operations Reports for New Orleans District should be sent to 990 N Corporate Blvd
Suite 100 (pre hurricane address) after January 1, 2006
Rig Move Reports:
• All Rig Move Reports for the New Orleans District shall be sent to the Houma District Office
New Orleans District Inspections:
• Any correspondence related to inspections for New Orleans District should be sent to the Houma
District Office.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Statement
The collection of information referred to in this NTL provides
clarification, description, or interpretation of requirements contained in 30 CFR 203,
30 CFR 256, and in 30 CFR 250, subparts A, B, E, I, J, K, L, and Q. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection requirements and
assigned OMB control numbers 1010-0071, 1010-0006, 1010-0114, 1010-0049, 1010-0067,
1010-0149, 1010-0050, 1010-0041, 1010-0051, and 1010-0142. This notice does not
impose additional information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
Contacts
Please address any questions regarding pipeline inspections or
reports to Ms. Elizabeth Komiskey of the GOMR Pipeline Section by e-mail at
elizabeth.komiskey@mms.gov or by telephone at (504) 736-2418.
Original signed
Chris C. Oynes
Regional Director
