Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-52-09-.06 - TEMPORARY ABANDONMENT

(1) An operator has the opportunity to place any non-producing well into Temporary Abandonment for 5 years if all of the following requirements are fulfilled:

(a) The operator shall submit a Temporary Well Abandonment Information form (CN-1368) for each well to be placed in Temporary Abandonment. This form can be obtained from Water Resources/Oil and Gas Program.

(b) The operator shall submit a $100 fee for each well per year to be placed in Temporary Abandonment.

(c) Each well shall be capped in such a manner as to have no open casing exposed to the environment (i.e., swedge with locked ball-valve or any other viable protection). The operator shall conduct a well integrity test prior to placing a well into Temporary Abandonment, if no such test has been conducted within the prior 15 years and there has been no oil or gas production from the well in that same time period. Integrity testing shall at a minimum consist of either a Mechanical Integrity Test (MIT) on the casing, or a pressure test on the casing using tubing and and a packer to a minimum of 500 psi. Alternative well integrity confirmation methods, including annual pressure monitoring at the well head, may be accepted at the discretion of the Supervisor.

(d) Any well shown on the Annual Well Report (Form CN-1272) that indicates no production shall be placed in Temporary Abandonment status or plugged.

(e) All fees received for Temporary Abandonment shall be placed in an account that shall be set aside to be used only for funding the plugging of abandoned oil and gas wells.

(2) At the end of the five year Temporary Abandonment period, each well submitted by the operator shall be reviewed by the Department. A determination shall be made on the validity of keeping the well(s) open. This determination for validity shall be based on whether the operator has a deliverability test for each gas well or if the well is producing oil. If the staff finds there is no valid reason to keep the wells open, the operator shall then have two years to plug the non-producing well(s).

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-52-09-.06

Original rule filed March 20, 2013; effective June 18, 2013.

Authority: T.C.A §§ 60-1-201 et seq., and 4-5-201 et seq.