30 CFR § 250.1605 - Drilling requirements.

(a) Sulphur leases. 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 Manager.

(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 BSEE–0123, Application for Permit to Drill (APD), in accordance with § 250.1617 of this subpart. After a drilling unit has been approved by a BSEE district office, the information required in this paragraph need not be resubmitted unless required by the District Manager 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 Manager. The type of information to be collected and reported will be determined by the District Manager 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 30 CFR 550.211 through 550.228 and 30 CFR 550.241 through 550.262 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 Manager may require that additional surveys and soil borings be performed and the results submitted for review and evaluation by the District Manager 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. Diesel-engine air intakes must be equipped with a device to shut down the diesel engine in the event of runaway. Diesel engines that are continuously attended must be equipped with either remote-operated manual or automatic-shutdown devices. Diesel engines that are not continuously attended must be equipped with automatic shutdown devices.