Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XVII - Office of Conservation-Injection and Mining › Subpart 6 - Statewide Order No. 29-N-6 › Chapter 6 - Class VI Injection Wells › Section XVII-631 - Plugging and Abandonment

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Well
				  Plugging and Abandonment.
1. A Class VI permit
				  shall include conditions that meet the requirements set forth in this
				  subsection and shall be incorporated into the permit as a permit condition. For
				  purposes of this subsection, temporary or intermittent cessation of injection
				  operations is not abandonment.
2.
				  Before well plugging, the owner or operator must flush each Class VI well with
				  a buffer fluid, determine bottomhole reservoir pressure, and perform a final
				  external mechanical integrity test.
3. Well Plugging Plan. The owner or operator
				  of a Class VI well must prepare, maintain, and comply with a plan acceptable to
				  the commissioner. The requirement to maintain and implement an approved plan is
				  directly enforceable regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of
				  the permit. The well plugging plan must be submitted as part of the permit
				  application, must be designed in a way that will prevent the movement of fluids
				  into or between USDWs or outside the injection zone, and must include the
				  following minimum information:
a. appropriate
				  tests or measures for determining bottomhole reservoir pressure;
b. appropriate testing methods to ensure
				  external mechanical integrity as specified in §627;
c. a description of the size and amount of
				  casing, tubing, or any other well construction materials to be removed from the
				  well before well closure;
d. that
				  prior to the placement of plugs, the well shall be in a state of static
				  equilibrium with the mud weight equalized top to bottom, either by circulating
				  the mud in the well at least once or by a comparable method;
e. the type and number of plugs to be
				  used;
f. the placement of each
				  plug, including the elevation of the top and bottom of each plug;
g. the type, grade, yield, and quantity of
				  material, such as cement, to be used in plugging. The material must be
				  compatible with the carbon dioxide stream;
h. the method of placement of the
				  plugs;
i. pre-closure and proposed
				  post-closure well schematics;
j.
				  that each plug shall be appropriately tagged and tested for seal and
				  stability;
k. that the well casings
				  shall be cut at least five feet below ground surface for land-based wells, and
				  at least 15 feet below the mud line for wells at a water location.
l. that upon successful completion of well
				  closure of a land-based well, a one-half (1/2) inch steel plate shall be welded
				  across all casings and inscribed with the wells state serial number and date
				  plugged and abandoned, and
m. any
				  addition information that the commissioner may require.
4. Notice of Intent to Plug. The owner or
				  operator must submit the Form UIC-17, or successor form, to the commissioner
				  and receive written approval from the commissioner before beginning actual well
				  plugging operations. The form must contain information on the procedures to be
				  used in the field to plug and abandon the well.
5. Well Closure Report. The owner or operator
				  shall submit a closure report to the commissioner within 30 days after well
				  plug and abandonment. The report shall be certified as accurate by the owner or
				  operator and by the person charged with overseeing the closure operation (if
				  other than the owner or operator). The owner or operator shall retain the well
				  closure report at least 10 years following site closure. The report shall
				  contain the following information:
a. detailed
				  procedures of the closure operation. Where actual closure differed from the
				  approved plan, the report shall include a written statement specifying the
				  differences between the previous plan and the actual closure;
b. all state regulatory reporting forms
				  relating to the closure activity; and
c. any information pertinent to the closure
				  activity including schematics, tests, or monitoring data.