(a) Before drilling
or redrilling a well or re-entering an abandoned well, a person shall submit
and obtain the commission's approval of an application for a Permit to Drill
(Form 10-401). If, after drilling a well, a person wishes immediately to
redrill below the structural or conductor casing to a new bottom-hole location
not requiring a spacing exception under
20 AAC
25.055, the person may request oral approval from the
commission to avoid interruption of operations. If oral approval is obtained,
the name of the representative of the commission who provided oral approval and
the date of the approval must be included on the application for a Permit to
Drill, which must be submitted by the commission's next working day for final
approval by the commission.
(b) The
commission will classify a well as
(1)
exploratory;
(2) development,
either oil or gas;
(3) service;
or
(4) stratigraphic
test.
(c) An application
for a Permit to Drill must be accompanied by each of the following items,
except for an item already on file with the commission and identified in the
application:
(1) repealed 4/4/2013;
(2) a plat identifying the property and the
property's owners and showing
(A) the
coordinates of the proposed location of the well at the surface, at the top of
each objective formation, and at total depth, referenced to governmental
section lines;
(B) the coordinates
of the proposed location of the well at the surface, referenced to the state
plane coordinate system for this state as maintained by the National Geodetic
Survey in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
(C) the proposed depth of the well at the top
of each objective formation and at total depth; and
(D) other information required by
20 AAC
25.050(b);
(3) a diagram and description of the blowout
prevention equipment (BOPE) as required by
20
AAC 25.035 or
20
AAC 25.036, as applicable;
(4) information on drilling hazards,
including
(A) the maximum downhole pressure
that may be encountered, criteria used to determine it, and maximum potential
surface pressure based on a pressure gradient to surface of 0.1 psi per foot of
true vertical depth, unless the commission approves a different pressure
gradient that provides a more accurate means of determining the maximum
potential surface pressure;
(B)
data on potential gas zones; and
(C) data concerning potential causes of hole
problems such as abnormally geo-pressured strata, lost circulation zones, and
zones that have a propensity for differential sticking;
(5) a description of the procedure for
conducting formation integrity tests, as required under
20 AAC
25.030(f);
(6) a complete proposed casing and cementing
program as required by
20 AAC
25.030, and a description of any slotted liner,
pre-perforated liner, or screen to be installed;
(7) a diagram and description of the diverter
system as required by
20
AAC 25.035, unless this requirement is waived by the
commission under
20
AAC 25.035(h) (2);
(8) a drilling fluid program, including a
diagram and description of the drilling fluid system, as required by
20
AAC 25.033;
(9) for an exploratory or stratigraphic test
well, a tabulation setting out the depths of predicted abnormally geo-pressured
strata as required by
20
AAC 25.033(f);
(10) for an exploratory or stratigraphic test
well, a seismic refraction or reflection analysis as required by
20 AAC
25.061(a);
(11) for a well drilled from an offshore
platform, mobile bottom-founded structure, jack-up rig, or floating drilling
vessel, an analysis of seabed conditions as required by
20 AAC
25.061(b);
(12) evidence showing that the requirements
of
20 AAC 25.025
have been met;
(13) a copy of the
proposed drilling program; the drilling program must indicate if a well is
proposed for hydraulic fracturing as defined in
20 AAC
25.283(m); to seek approval to
perform hydraulic fracturing, a person must make a separate request by
submitting an Application for Sundry Approvals (Form 10-403) with the
information required under
20 AAC
25.280 and
20 AAC
25.283;
(14) a general description of how the
operator plans to dispose of drilling mud and cuttings and a statement of
whether the operator intends to request authorization under
20 AAC
25.080 for an annular disposal operation in the
well.
(d) For a well
that is to be intentionally deviated, the requirements of
20 AAC
25.050(b) must be met.
(e) Each well branch requires a separate
Permit to Drill. If a previously drilled well is proposed to be redrilled below
the structural or conductor casing to a new bottom-hole location, the
application for a Permit to Drill must be accompanied by all items required
under (c) of this section. If concurrent multiple well branches are proposed
from a single conductor, surface, or production casing,
(1) the applicant shall designate one well
branch as the primary wellbore and include all items required under (c) of this
section with the application for a Permit to Drill for that well branch;
and
(2) for each other well branch,
the application for a Permit to Drill need only include information under (c)
of this section that is unique to that well branch.
(f) Each well must be identified by a unique
name designated by the operator and a unique API number assigned by the
commission under
20 AAC
25.040(b). For a well with multiple
well branches, each branch must similarly be identified by a unique name and
API number by adding a suffix to the name designated for the well by the
operator and to the number assigned to the well by the commission.
(g) If drilling operations are not commenced
with 24 months after the commission approves an application for a Permit to
Drill, the Permit to Drill expires.
(h) A Permit to Drill is not valid at a
location where the applicant does not have a right to drill for oil and
gas.
