Current through Bulletin 2024-18, September 15, 2024
3.1 General.
3.1.1 Blowout-Prevention Equipment (BOPE)
installations shall meet the minimum specifications for assemblies prescribed
by the most recent version of the American Petroleum Institute's Standard 53
(Blowout Prevention Equipment Systems for Drilling Wells) which are
incorporated herein by reference or as may be otherwise prescribed by the
Division. The American Petroleum Institute Standard 53 is available from the
American Petroleum Institute, 1220 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005-4070,
phone 202-682-8000,
www.api.org. Equipment for
the prevention of a blowout, capable of shutting in the well during any
operation, must be installed on the surface casing and maintained in good
operating condition at all times. This equipment must have a rating for
pressure greater than the maximum anticipated pressure at the wellhead.
Equipment for the prevention of a blowout is required on any well where
temperatures may exceed 120°C. A BOPE plan including testing must be
included in the plan of operations. BOPE shall have a minimum working-pressure
rating equal to or greater than the lesser of:
(a) A pressure equal to the product of the
depth of the BOPE anchor string in feet times one psi per foot.
(b) A pressure equal to the rated burst
pressure of the BOPE anchor string.
(c) A pressure equal to 2,000 psi.
Specific inspections and tests of the BOPE may be made by the
Division. The Division shall be notified at least 48 hours prior to the
commencement of a BOPE test. The requirements for tests will be included in the
Division's answer to the notice of the intention to drill. The operator shall
test the equipment for the prevention of a blowout under pressure. The operator
shall submit to the Division the pressure data and supporting information for
the equipment for the prevention of a blowout as soon as practicable after the
conclusion of the testing. All blowout preventers and related equipment that
may be exposed to well pressure must be tested first to a low pressure and then
to a high pressure:
(a) A pressure
decline of 10 percent or less in 30 minutes is for the low pressure test
considered satisfactory prior to initiating the high-pressure test;
(b) When performing the low-pressure test, it
is not acceptable to apply a higher pressure and bleed down to the low test
pressure;
(c) The high-pressure
test must be to the rated working pressure of the ram type blowout prevention
equipment and related equipment, or to the rated working pressure of the
wellhead on which the stack is installed, whichever is lower. A pressure
decline of 10 percent or less in 30 minutes is considered
satisfactory;
(d) Annular blowout
prevention equipment must be high-pressure tested to 50 percent of the rated
working pressure;
(e) The blowout
prevention equipment must be pressure tested: when installed, prior to drilling
out casing shoes, and following repairs or reassembly of the preventers that
require disconnecting a pressure seal in the assembly.
3.1.2 A Division employee may be present at
the well at any time during the drilling.
3.1.3 A logging unit equipped to regularly
record the following data shall be installed and operated continuously after
drilling out the shoe of the conductor pipe and until the well has been drilled
to the total depth.
(a) Drilling mud
temperature.
(b) Drilling mud pit
level.
(c) Drilling mud pump
volume.
(d) Drilling mud
weight.
(e) Drilling
rate.
(f) Hydrogen sulfide gas
volume.
The Division may waive the requirement for installation of a
logging unit on evidence that the owner or operator has engaged a qualified mud
engineer to monitor, log and record the data specified in the above
subparagraphs a. through d. The drilling rate required in subparagraph e shall
be logged with standard industry recording devices, and hydrogen sulfide
monitoring and safety equipment shall be provided whenever needed to satisfy
the requirement of subparagraph f.
3.2 Requirements Using Mud as the Drilling
Fluid.
The following requirements are for exploratory areas,
unstable areas containing fumaroles, geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and for
fields with a history of lost circulation, a blowout, or zone pressures less
than 1000 psi. These requirements may be reduced by the State Engineer where
the geothermal formations are known to be shallow and of low pressure and
temperature.
(a) An annular BOPE and a
spool, fitted with a low-pressure safety pop-off and blow-down line, installed
on the conductor pipe may be required to ensure against possible gas blowouts
during the drilling of the surface casing hole.
(b) Annular BOPE and pipe-ram/blind-ram BOPE
with a minimum working pressure rating of 2,000 psi shall be installed on the
surface casing so that the well can be shut-in at any time. The double-ram
preventer shall have a mechanical locking device.
(c) A hydraulic actuating system utilizing an
accumulator of sufficient capacity and a high pressure auxiliary back-up
system. This total system shall be equipped with dual controls: one at the
driller's station and one at least 50 feet away from the well head.
(d) Kelly cock and standpipe valve.
(e) A fill-up line installed above the
BOPE.
(f) A kill line installed
below the BOPE, leading directly to the mud pumps and fitted with a valve
through which cement could be pumped if necessary.
(g) A blow-down line fitted with two valves
installed below the BOPE. The blow-down line shall be directed in a manner to
permit containment of produced fluids and to minimize any safety hazard to
personnel.
(h) All lines and
fittings shall be steel and have a minimum working-pressure rating of at least
that required of the BOPE.
(i) The
temperature of the return mud during the drilling of the surface casing hole
shall be monitored regularly. Either a continuous temperature monitoring device
shall be installed and maintained in working condition, or the temperature
shall be read manually. In either case, return mud temperatures shall be logged
after each joint of pipe is drilled down every 30 feet.
3.3 Requirements Using Air as the Drilling
Fluid.
The following requirements are for areas where it is known
that dry steam exists at depth or formation pressures are less than
hydrostatic:
(a) A rotating-head
installed at the top of the BOPE stack.
(b) A pipe-ram/blind-ram BOPE, with a minimum
working-pressure rating of 1,000 psi, installed below the rotating-head so that
the well can be shut-in at any time.
(c) A banjo-box or mud-cross steam diversion
unit installed below the double-ram BOPE fitted with a muffler capable of
lowering sound emissions to within State standards.
(d) A blind-ram BOPE, with a minimum
working-pressure rating of 1,000 psi, installed below the banjo-box or
mud-cross so that the well can be shut-in while removing the rotating-head
during bit changes.
(e) A master
gate valve, with a minimum working-pressure rating of 600 psi, installed below
the blind-ram so that the well can be shut-in after the well has been
completed, prior to removal of the BOPE stack.
(f) All ram-type BOPE shall have a hydraulic
actuating system utilizing an accumulator of sufficient capacity and a
high-pressure backup system.
(g)
Dual control stations for hydraulic backup system: one at the driller's station
and the other at least 50 feet away from the well head.
(h) Float and standpipe valves.
(i) A kill line installed below the BOPE,
leading directly to the mud pumps and fitted with a valve through which cement
could be pumped if necessary.
(j)
All lines and fittings must be steel and have a minimum working-pressure rating
of 1,000 psi.
