Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) are formal documents that provide clarification, description, or interpretation of a regulation or OCS standard; provide guidelines on the implementation of a special lease stipulation or regional requirement; provide a better understanding of the scope and meaning of a regulation by explaining BSEE interpretation of a requirement; or transmit administrative information such as current telephone listings and a change in BSEE personnel or office address. Letters to Lessees and Operators (LTLs) and Information to Lessees and Operators (ITLs) are also formal documents that provide additional information and clarification, or interpretation of a regulation, OCS standard, or regional requirement, or provide a better understanding of the scope and meaning of a regulation by explaining BSEE interpretation of a requirement.
To view expired or superseded NTLs, select a different NTL status and select submit.
This NTL is being issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to provide information on the marine trash and debris awareness training video and slide show, and both postal and e-mail addresses for submitting annual training reports. This NTL supersedes and replaces NTL No. 2003-G11, effective June 19, 2003, on this subject and applies to all existing and future oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico OCS.
Announces changes in prior NTL 2000-G20 to broaden scope to cover all high-density Deepwater benthic communities, defines Deepwater as 300 meters not 400 meters, increases the separation distance from muds and cuttings discharge from 1500 to 2000 feet and clarifies conditions of approval, and provides for additional 1000-foot buffer area around benthic communities beyond maximum anchor areas. Clarifies that the NTL applies to pipe-lay vessels and chains, with option to reduce the distance requirements if no benthic communities actually exist in areas of impact.
Provides and consolidates guidance for avoidance and protection of biologically sensitive features and areas (e.g., coral reefs) when conducting OCS operations in water depths of less than 300 meters (984 feet). Clarifies requirements to review existing and future EPs and DOCDs for "bottom disturbances" caused by use of anchors, chains, cables, wire ropes and pipelines, and to observe "no activity zones" identified by NOAA Fisheries. The NTL is more protective because it changes the applicable water depth for protective measures from 400 meters to 300 meters.
Notice to industry that USAF communication seven GOM towers require clear lines of sight from one to another, and be kept free of electromagnetic interference. To accomplish these goals, no activities will be allowed within a 500-radius of towers sites, or within 100 feet of the centerline of a line of sight between the towers.
Provides guidance and instructions on disposal of E&P waste, worker safety when handling waste, and contents of applications to dispose of or store E&P wastes. Includes worker safety guidelines for handling NORM waste when above background levels, and requires written disclosure of the lease number, area, block, and well number of any disposal wells.
Provides clarification on procedures for conducting ancillary activity, including at least 15 days' written notice to the regional office before initiating ancillary activity such as deploying air guns or seismic arrays in water depths of 200 meters or greater; creating bottom disturbances, independent of water depth, including ocean bottom cable surveys, and time lapse (4D) surveys; and geotechnical evaluation involving piston/gravity-coring or the recovery of sediment specimens by grab-sampling or other similar technique, and dredging of the seafloor.
Clarifies definitions of sidetrack and bypass and provides instructions, exhibits, and guidance for naming subsea wells, completions, and wellbores. Makes administrative and formatting changes to prior NTL.
Updates policy on platform inspection intervals, including guidance on conducting corrosion assessments, regulatory and document references and revises contact information for Gulf Regional office of Structural and Technical Support.
Describes inspections to conduct and reports to prepare to address known and potential damages to OCS platforms and other floating structures (above and below waterline), disruption to and resumption of production operations, MODUs, subsea production safety systems, and pipelines caused by future Hurricanes or major storms.
Active
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Effects Reports, Oil & Gas Production Safety Systems, Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way, Platforms and Structures
Provides guidance on submitting alternate procedure and equipment departure requests from regulations at 30 CFR 250 Subpart J, focusing on pipeline pre-testing applications for valves, pumps, and redundant pressure safety devices associated with subsea tiebacks.
Active
General Requirements, Pipelines and Pipeline Rights-of-Way
Clarifies policy for lessees and operators that revise EPs and DOCDs to change approved anchor patterns or anchor areas, and provides guidance for sidetrack wells. Sets forth information to be submitted with change requests, including types of drilling rigs, vessels, or platforms, the surface location, whether the mineral is oil or gas, and emission of air pollutants during drilling and production. Changes of anchor locations of 500 feet or more require advance approval of anchor array patterns.
Provides guidance on use of SCADA systems for electronic monitoring of facilities and operating conditions, including wind speeds and downstream components (flowlines, pipelines, and separators located between the hydrocarbon sources and sensing points). Sets forth approval conditions for when a SCADA system will be permitted to shut-in and restart essential operations.
Guidance on how to avoid compromising the structural integrity of platforms prior to relocation; applies to both fixed and floating platform rigs. If the platform rig trips any of the platform assessment initiators listed API RP 2A-WSD, the operator must perform a platform assessment in accordance with 30 CFR 250.920(s).
Updates regulatory citations; adds guidance for level safety high (LSH) sensors on atmospheric vessels, including design and maintenance criteria for the sensor bridle to prevent fluids of different densities from impacting sensor functionality.
Provides guidance on how to install pressure safety high sensors or provide over-pressure and under-pressure protection to vessels in accord with API Recommended Practice 14C. Defines the term production train to include vessels not separated by pressure control valves or extensive piping that would cause a drop across a system of more than 10% or 50 psi, whichever is greater.
Clarifies the process for establishing a designated safe welding area for each particular rig as part of a written Welding Plan; updates terminology for "welding" and contact information for submitting welding plans to District Supervisors of MMS.
Updates prior NTL to specify requirement to submit pipeline location data on compact disks, and revokes aspects of NTL No. 98-09 that facilitated submission of "as-Built" location data before the construction report.
Guidance on evaluation of tie-downs on OCS production platforms to secure drilling and workover rigs, permanent equipment, and facilities during Hurricane season. This NTL is based on industry document API Recommended Practice 2TD, and efforts to reduce tie-down failures during heavy storms.
Active
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Effects Reports, Platforms and Structures, Pollution Prevention and Control
Updates regulatory citations pertaining to operations on floating drilling rigs, and the disconnect of marine risers during routine function test of blind-shear rams, based on recent 'near miss' event that could have threatened loss of well control. Requires changes to control panel to ensure that LMRP disconnect process occurs only in response to deliberate acts.
Notice to specify the location of the choke and kill lines serving blowout preventer (BOP) stacks. Only those regulations pertaining to Oil & Gas Drilling Operations currently specify the exact location of choke lines as above the bottom ram in the stack. MMS reiterates that no approvals of APMs will be made for any type of oil and gas drilling or well operations. States District offices may approve installations of kill lines only below the bottom ram, upon submission of schematic drawing of BOP stack and MMS design evaluation.
Active
Oil and Gas Drilling Operations, Oil and Gas Well Completion Operations, Oil and Gas Well Workover Operations, Sulfur Production Operations
Updates terminology and contact information, identifies permissible well-workover operations with tree installed that are defined as 'routine'. Reiterates that all 'non-routine' well-workover operations may not be performed without MMS approval, including acidizing, while clarifying that acidizing operations using the 'bulkheading' method is considered routine where no change occurs in the wellbore configuration. Acidizing operations using a Coiled Tubing unit are considered non-routine.
Notice to operators and pipeline right-of-way holders regarding the goals of coastal restoration, beach nourishment, and levee construction to mitigate erosion, flooding, and land loss in coastal Louisiana. Adopts safeguards of OCS sediment policy as authorized by Marine Minerals Program. States that future requests for decommissioning-in-place (DIP) of pipelines in such designated sediment reserves are discouraged.
Guidance on provision of synthetic mooring systems in DWOPs, considered a non-conventional technology regardless of water depth. The design should conform to API Recommended Practice 2SM and operators must comply with 30 CFR 250.292(c) for design, fabrication, and installation information on the mooring system.
Active
Oil and Gas Drilling Operations, Plans and Information
Clarifies information requirements for EPs, DPPs, and DOCDs across all OCS areas and in both shallow water (less than 500 feet) and Deepwater (over 500 feet). Authorizes performance of rig-related workovers and certain drilling activity for which an APD is already approved, without submitting additional information. Provides examples of new information required by BOEMRE in six attachments.
Active
Plans and Information, Pollution Prevention and Control
Describes data elements, parameters and reports, and computer modeling or spreadsheets that are required in a complete application for project royalty relief in conjunction with notice issued in November 2008 (73 FR 69490). Supplements original guidelines in Deep Water Royalty Relief Act of 1996.
Notice that failure to maintain lease holding operations may result in termination of a lease or unit by operation of law. A suspension of production that is not resumed within 180 days and in "paying quantities" or in approved drilling or workover operations will result in legal forfeiture of the lease. Clarifies terms "paying quantities" and provides for lease holding reviews by GOMR.
Clarifies the policy on availability and inspection of electronically stored records for tests of installed surface and subsurface safety devices "at the lessee's field office nearest to the OCS facility or other locations convenient to the District Manager" within the meaning of 30 CFR 804(b) and 1630(b). Encourages use of electronic record systems to manage inspections and follow-up activity via request for alternate compliance procedure under 30 CFR 250.141.
Guidance on required information to submit with Form MMS-123 and APDs to demonstrate the fitness of moored drilling rigs to conduct operations in the GOM OCS during hurricane season. States MMS will use API Recommended Practice 2SK, Appendix K, 3rd edition.
Active
Hurricane and Tropical Storm Effects Reports, Oil and Gas Drilling Operations
Guidance on how to maintain equipment and materials necessary to ensure the protection of personnel, equipment, natural resources and the environment. Defines managed pressure drilling consistent with IADC and UBO Committees; states the NTL will be "reviewed for revision when the IADC completes its recommended practice for MPD, surface BOPs and subsea BOPs."
Describes information requirements for shallow water hazards reports and how these hazards apply to lift and jack-up boats, specifies group intervals for acquiring medium penetration seismic profiler information, and allows MODU or other vessels. to depart a location without fully raising its legs where no contact with pipelines may occur.
Active
Oil and Gas Drilling Operations, Plans and Information, Platforms and Structures
Authority The Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) hereby directs lessees and operators of each affected OCS lease in the Gulf of Mexico to collect and report facility, equipment, fuel usage, and other activity information during the period January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2005. The authorities for these requirements include, but are not limited to, 30 CFR 250.303(k), 30 CFR 250.304(g), 30 CFR 250.203(o), and 30 CFR 250.204(s). Purpose and Need for NTL The MMS and Gulf Coast States need information for the year 2005 on OCS production activities in the Western Gulf of Mexico (that portion of the OCS west of 87o 30' West longitude), which will coincide with the 2005 State emission inventories, for input into ozone and regional haze models.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators is a reminder that, pursuant to 30 CFR 203.48, lessees of shallow-water leases issued with deep gas royalty relief provisions may exercise an option to replace these provisions with the deep gas royalty relief provisions in 30 CFR 203.0 and 30 CFR 203.40 through 203.47. Pursuant to 30 CFR 203.48(b), a written notification of your decision must be sent to the Regional Supervisor for Production and Development before September 1, 2004, or 180 days after your lease is issued, whichever is later.
For shallow-water leases issued from 2001 through 2003, the royalty suspension provisions in the lease instrument define deep gas as any gas production from a completion in a new gas reservoir (one not previously produced on any current lease) with the top of the perforated interval 15,000 feet or greater subsea. The reference to “completion” in this definition includes completions in both new and sidetrack wells. Accordingly, the lease instrument grants a 20 BCF royalty suspension volume (RSV) not only to new wells, but also to sidetrack wells.
Beginning in 2001, shallow-water (less than 200 meters) leases in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico were issued with royalty suspension provisions for deep gas production. For a lease to earn a royalty suspension volume of 20 BCF of deep gas production, a well must be drilled to and completed in a new deep gas reservoir with production commencing within the first 5 years of the life of the lease. Deep gas is defined as any gas production from a completion with the top of the perforated interval 15,000 feet or greater TVD subsea.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and provides links to the addresses and telephone numbers of the individual command headquarters for the military warning and water test areas in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued NTL No. 2003-G08, effective June 5, 2003, pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103, to explain how you implement seismic survey mitigation measures, including special ramp-up procedures and protected species observation and reporting. That NTL applied to all seismic operations throughout the Gulf of Mexico OCS in waters greater than 200 m (656 ft) in depth. The measures contained therein apply to all on-lease seismic surveys you conduct under 30 CFR 250.201 and all off-lease seismic surveys you conduct under 30 CFR 251.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is issuing this NTL to update the criteria MMS uses to determine when a supplemental bond is required to cover potential lease abandonment liability. The NTL has been revised to: 1) increase the allowable cumulative lease abandonment liability amount of a lessee as a percentage of its net worth provided other financial criteria are met; 2) remove the current ratio from the criteria used to determine the financial strength of a lessee; 3) allow a lessee to request the MMS to consider a percentage of a lessee’s proved producing reserves in the calculation of its net worth; 4) reduce the initial payment amount a lessee is required to contribute to a lease-specific abandonment escrow account; and 5) extend the time for a lessee to meet supplemental bond requirements after notice from the MMS.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO REGION NTL No. 2007-G22 Effective Date: June 25, 2007 NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS (NTL) OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASES ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF (OCS), GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION Suspensions of Operations for Subsalt and Ultradee
This Notice to Pipeline Right-of-way (ROW) Holders (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.101(a) and 30 CFR 250.103 and in accordance with 15 CFR 930.53(d) to provide notice and assistance regarding your compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) Federal consistency regulations when submitting OCS ROW pipeline applications to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR). This NTL supersedes NTL No. 2002-G15, effective December 20, 2002.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators and Pipeline Right-of-way Holders (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to provide clarification and guidance for pipeline riser design, fabrication, and installation under the platform verification program specified in 30 CFR 250.909 through 918.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is being issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to update the marine trash and debris awareness training, recordkeeping and certification requirements. This NTL supersedes and replaces NTL No. 2003-G06, effective February 15, 2003, on this subject and applies to all existing and future oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico OCS.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION NTL No. 2007-G08 Effective Date: April 2, 2007 NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASES IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION Using a Motion Compensator when Conducting Coiled Tubing O
The purpose of this Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is to provide information concerning new filing procedures in obtaining a determination of well producibility (effective with the date of the determination). This necessitates the replacement of NTL No. 2000-G04 Effective Date January 28, 2000. Changes in the lease addendums beginning with lease OCS G-22500 (Lease Sale 178) no longer transfer a lease into minimum royalty status when a well qualifies in accordance with 30 CFR 250.115 or 30 CFR 250.116. These leases remain in rental status and the annual rental payments for future lease years become payable at the end of the lease year, until the start of royalty bearing production. In the lease year that royalty bearing production begins, royalties become payable in accordance with the lease instrument which specifies the royalty rate and minimum royalty requirements.
Archaeological resources are any material remains of human life or activities that are at least 50 years of age and that are of archaeological interest. Material remains include physical evidence of human habitation, occupation, use or activity including the site, location, or context in which such evidence is situated. Items of archaeological interest are those that may provide scientific or humanistic understanding of past human behavior, cultural adaptation, and related topics through the application of scientific or scholarly techniques.
This NTL is issued to clarify the timing for submitting a request tor a lease or unit suspension. Authority and Background Pursuant to 30 CFR 250.171, "You must submit your request tor a suspension to the Regional Supervisor, and MMS must receive the request before the end of the lease tenn (i.e., end of primary term, end of the 180-day period following the last leaseholding operation, and end of a current suspension)."
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103. It establishes guidelines for new mudline suspension wells drilled and completed as dry tree tiebacks to the surface or converted to subsea wells after October 25, 2006. This NTL only applies to wells drilled from bottom-supported drilling rigs on the Gulf of Mexico shelf.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and supersedes NTL No. 2000-G15, effective September 6, 2000, on this subject. It provides a backup method for you to provide hurricane evacuation and production curtailment statistics if the primary method is not functioning.
