Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 3 - OIL AND GAS DIVISION
Section 3.35 - Procedures for Identification and Control of Wellbores in Which Certain Logging Tools Have Been Abandoned
Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code ยง 3.35
Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) Abandonment of radioactive source.
(1)
Immediate notice of the loss of a radioactive source shall be filed by the
operator with the commission designating the location, by county, survey name
and abstract number, lease name and well number, distances from survey
boundaries and Lambert Coordinates.
(2) Procedures for recovery of the lost
radioactive source will be furnished to the commission and such radioactive
source shall not be declared abandoned until all reasonable effort has been
expended to retrieve the tool.
(3)
The operator shall erect, under supervision of the commission, a standardized
permanent surface marker as a visual warning to any person who may reenter the
hole for any reason, showing that it contains a radioactive source. This marker
shall contain the following information: well name, commission number, surface
location, name of the operator, name of the lease, the source or material
abandoned in the well, the total depth of the well, the depth at which the
source is abandoned, the plug back depth, the date of the abandonment of the
source, the activity of the source, and a warning not to drill below the plug
back depth.
(b) Abandonment procedures.
(1) Wells in which
radioactive sources are abandoned shall be mechanically equipped so as to
prevent either accidental or intentional mechanical disintegration of the
radioactive source.
(A) Sources abandoned in
the bottom of the well shall be covered with a substantial standard color dyed
(red iron oxide) cement plug on top of which a whipstock or other approved
deflection device shall be set. The dye is to alert the reentry operator prior
to encountering the source.
(B)
Upon abandoning the well in which a logging source has been cemented in place
behind a casing string above total depth, a standard color dyed cement plug
shall be placed opposite the abandoned source and a whipstock or other approved
deflection device placed on top of the plug.
(C) In the event the operator finds that
after expending a reasonable effort, because of hole conditions, it is not
possible to abandon the source as prescribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
this paragraph, he shall seek commission approval to an alternate abandonment
procedure.
(D) When a logging
source must be abandoned in a producing zone, a standard color dyed cement plug
shall be set and a whipstock or other approved deflection device placed above
to direct the sidetrack at least 15 feet away from the source.
(2) Upon permanent abandonment of
any well in which a radioactive source is left in the hole, and after removal
of the wellhead, a permanent plaque shall be attached to the top of the casing
left in the hole in such a manner that reentry cannot be accomplished without
disturbing the plaque. This plaque shall serve as a visual warning to any
person reentering the hole that a radioactive source has been abandoned in
place in the well. The plaque shall contain the trefoil radiation symbol with a
radioactive warning and shall be constructed of a long-lasting material such as
monel, stainless steel, or brass, in accordance with specifications established
by the commission. The plugging report filed with the commission shall identify
the well as an abandoned radioactive source well, and shall show compliance
with the procedures required by this section.
(3) The commission will maintain a current
listing of all abandoned radioactive source wells, and each district office
will keep such a list for radioactive source wells in that district.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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