Alabama Administrative Code › Title 400 - STATE OIL AND GAS BOARD OF ALABAMA › GOVERNING ONSHORE LANDS OPERATIONS › Chapter 400-1-4 - DRILLING › Section 400-1-4-.14 - Plugging And Abandonment Of Wells

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
Any nonproductive well shall be plugged within thirty (30)
				  days of completion unless said well has been classified as temporarily
				  abandoned or shut in pursuant to Rule
				  400-1-4-.17. Any productive well
				  that has not produced in six (6) months or any Class II injection well or
				  underground reservoir storage well that has ceased operation for six (6) months
				  shall be plugged within thirty (30) days unless said well has been classified
				  as temporarily abandoned or shut in pursuant to Rule
				  400-1-4-.17. Before any work is
				  commenced to plug and abandon any well drilled in search of oil and gas or
				  utilized as a Class II injection well or utilized as an underground reservoir
				  storage well the operator shall provide the Supervisor with the proposed method
				  and procedure to plug and abandon such well. Such method and procedure may be
				  required in writing by the Supervisor. Also, the Supervisor may require that
				  well records, including logs, be made available to determine if the proposed
				  depths and lengths of plugs are adequate. Operations to plug and abandon a well
				  shall not begin until approval of procedures has been obtained from the
				  Supervisor. Unless otherwise allowed by the Supervisor, the operator shall
				  notify the Supervisor at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the commencement
				  of plugging operations so that said operation may be witnessed by an agent of
				  the Board. The cement in all plugs shall meet American Petroleum Institute
				  (API) standards and shall be mixed with water of adequate quality so as not to
				  degrade the setting properties. Unless specified otherwise by the Supervisor,
				  the operator shall comply with the following requirements which apply to all
				  wells drilled in search of oil and gas or utilized as Class II injection wells
				  or underground reservoir storage wells.
(1) A cement plug shall be placed across each
				hydrocarbon-bearing, abnormally pressured, or injection zone or a
				permanent-type bridge plug shall be placed at the top of each
				hydrocarbon-bearing zone or injection zone, but in either event a cement plug
				at least two hundred (200) feet in length shall be placed immediately above the
				uppermost hydrocarbon-bearing or injection zone.
(2) When the base of fresh water is
				penetrated, a cement plug at least two hundred (200) feet in length shall be
				placed at least fifty (50) feet below and shall extend to at least one hundred
				fifty (150) feet above the base of fresh water. A cement plug may be required
				in the casing-borehole annulus if fresh water is not adequately protected by
				casing and cement.
(3) A cement
				plug at least two hundred (200) feet in length shall be placed at least fifty
				(50) feet below and shall extend to at least one hundred fifty (150) feet above
				the surface casing shoe. A cement plug may be required in the annular space
				adjacent to the base of surface casing if needed to provide for increased
				protection of fresh water.
(4) A
				cement plug at least twenty-five (25) feet in length shall be placed inside the
				smallest string of casing and in all annular spaces near the surface of the
				ground in each hole plugged, and casing(s) cut in such a manner so as not to
				interfere with soil cultivation, and a steel plate at least one-quarter (1/4)
				inch in thickness shall be welded to the casing stub(s).
(5) The Supervisor may require verification
				of plugs by tagging and pressure testing.
(6) The interval between plugs shall be
				filled with an approved fluid.
(7)
				Other plugging methods and procedures may be required by the
				Supervisor.
(8) Restoration of
				location shall be done in accordance with Rule
				400-1-4-.16.
Author:
State Oil and Gas Board
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
					 1975
, §§
											9-17-1,
et
seq
.