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To view expired or superseded NTLs, select a different NTL status and select submit.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 Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and notifies you of a change in address of the contractor receiving certain well records on behalf of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) subsequent to Hurricane Katrina. Effective as of September 15, 2005, well records should be sent to A2D Technologies at the following address until further notice:
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and rescinds NTL No. 2005-G11. It provides a description and information regarding the status of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico Regional and New Orleans District Offices subsequent to Hurricane Katrina.
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.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION NTL No. 2005-G09 Effective Date: June 1, 2005 NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASES IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION Static Casing Pressures Less than 100 psig This Notice to L
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2003-G15, effective August 13, 2003. It replaces the emergency beeper numbers with cellular telephone numbers for all Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) District offices and the Pipeline Section; deletes one of the telephone numbers for the Houma District office; deletes references to the Corpus Christi Subdistrict office (both in the NTL and in the Attachment to the NTL), since that office was closed on October 1, 2003; and changes the procedures for notification of pipeline repairs.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2005-G02, issued January 6, 2005. It specifies that you will report ocean current data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Internet website. The NDBC has agreed to receive, store, and redistribute the ocean current data for the Minerals Management Service (MMS). It provides information on obtaining a user ID and password for the NDBC Internet website and specifies the criteria for data submittal. It delays the implementation data of the NTL one month to April 30, 2005, and makes other technical changes.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators conveys and clarifies Minerals Management Service (MMS) policy regarding the continuous flaring or venting of small volumes of oil-well gas or gas-well gas.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued to provide a reminder of your obligations to maintain production in paying quantities or other operations on your lease beyond the primary term if such activity was affected by Hurricane Ivan, which struck land on September 16, 2004. Failure to maintain operations or receive a suspension may result in your lease terminating by operation of law.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2004-G21, issued November 24, 2004. It provides for the submittal of oceanographic data and current monitoring information to MMS via a single publicly available Internet website. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulation at 30 CFR 250.904(c) requires you to make a thorough assessment of all design and operating environmental conditions expected to occur at the platform site over the life of the platform. The regulations at 30 CFR 250.107(c) and (d) require you to use the best available and safest technology whenever practical during all exploration, development, and production operations to avoid the failure of equipment that would have a significant effect on safety, health, or the environment. The MMS regulation at 30 CFR 250.300(a) requires you to take measures to prevent unauthorized discharge of pollutants into the offshore waters.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2005 G-13, issued September 15, 2005. It is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and notifies you to resume the submission of Well Records as described in NTL No. 2004 G-07 and NTL No. 2004 G-07
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.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION NTL No. 2008-G12 Effective Date: June 1, 2008 Expiration Date: December 1, 2009 NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS OF FEDERAL OIL AND GAS LEASES IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION Drilling Windows, Eastern
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.
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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.
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Oil and Gas Drilling Operations, Plans and Information, Platforms and Structures
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2000-G11, dated May 12, 2000. It clarifies current policy by specifying that some of the pollution inspections for unmanned facilities are to be accomplished by physically boarding the facility.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2003-G19, effective September 1, 2003. It provides a new schedule for the drilling window program.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to establish and implement a current monitoring and oceanographic data sharing program for deepwater operations
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) is issuing this Notice to Lessees and Operators and Pipeline Right-of-way Holders (NTL) pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and 30 CFR 250.106(b) and (c) to provide further guidance on the inspections you need to conduct on OCS pipelines and related facilities because of the potential damage caused by Hurricane Ivan.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) is issuing this Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and 30 CFR 250.106(b) and (c) to describe the plans and reports you need to prepare because of the known and potential damage to OCS platforms and other structures caused by Hurricane Ivan.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) is issuing this Notice to Operators and Pipeline Right-of-way Holders (NTL) pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and 30 CFR 250.106(b) and (c) to describe the inspections you need to conduct and the plans and reports you need to prepare because of the known and potential damage to OCS facilities caused by Hurricane Ivan when it struck land on September 16, 2004.
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 (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and supersedes NTL No. 2003-G12, effective July 23, 2003, on this subject. It clarifies the procedures for you to provide evacuation statistics and deletes one of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) contacts.
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.
The final rule (30 CFR 203.0 and 30 CFR 203.40-47) suspends royalty on deep gas production volumes, including gas associated with oil production, reported on the Oil and Gas Operations Report, Part A (OGOR-A). Section 203.42(f) of the rule indicates that the suspension does not apply to oil and condensate volumes.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103. It provides guidance to ensure that certain existing OCS platforms and related structures are assessed to ensure their structural integrity by considering the specific environmental conditions at the platform location as required by 30 CFR 250.900(a).
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to establish and implement the eWell Permitting and Reporting System. Various Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulations require you to submit the following forms to request approval to conduct well activities and to notify the MMS about well activities you have already completed.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to provide guidance and clarification on when you must shut in producible wells during rig moves. The regulation at 30 CFR 250.406(b) requires you to shut in all producible wells located in the affected wellbay below the surface and at the wellhead when you (1) move a drilling rig or related equipment on or off a platform, (2) move or skid a drilling unit between wells on a platform, or (3) move a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) within 500 feet of a platform.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2003-G13 dated July 28, 2003. It provides guidelines for flaring and venting approvals and updated personnel contacts.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE GULF OF MEXICO OCS REGION NTL No. 2004-G-07 (Addendum 1) Effective Date: April 20, 2004
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes N1L Nos. 97-06, 98-18 and restates addresses in 98-18 (Addendum 1). In this NTL, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) defines the new procedures on how lessees/operators submit well records required by 30 CFR §§ 250.468 and 469, specifying the well records you must submit; the delinquent dates of the various well records; and the correct locations where you must send these well records.
1The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) is issuing this Notice to Lessees and Operators and Pipeline Right-of-way Holders (NTL) pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 to provide and consolidate guidance for the avoidance and protection of biologically sensitive features and areas (i.e., topographic features, pinnacles, live bottoms (low-relief features), and other potentially sensitive biological features) when conducting Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) operations in water depths less than 400 meters (1,312 feet) in the Gulf of Mexico. This NTL supersedes and replaces NTL No. 98-12, Implementation of Consistent Biological Stipulation Measures in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico, effective August 10, 1998, and NTL No. 99-G16, Live-Bottom Surveys and Reports, effective July 8, 1999. For guidance on avoiding biologically sensitive areas in water depths 400 meters (1,312 feet) or greater, refer to NTL No. 2000-G20, Deepwater Chemosynthetic Communities, effective December 6, 2000.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and standardizes the weekly reporting period for submitting Form MMS-133, Well Activity Report (WAR) for well operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Pursuant to 30 CFR 250.468(b), you must submit a WAR to report ongoing well operations to the appropriate District Supervisor on a weekly basis.
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.
The purpose of this notice is to provide updated information on the OCS Civil Penalties Program. This NTL supersedes the assessment matrix provided in NTL No. 97-5N. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) requires the Secretary of the Interior to adjust the maximum civil penalty to reflect any increases in the Consumer Price Index
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) explains your obligation to maintain production in paying quantities or other operations on your lease beyond the primary term. Failure to maintain operations may result in your lease terminating by operation of law.
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 Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2002-G06, effective July 1, 2002. It provides a new schedule for the Eastern Gulf of Mexico drilling window program. Drilling Window Program The Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR), after consultation with the U.S. Air Force, established a drilling window program in 1991 for exploratory activities on oil and gas leases that were obtained through Lease Sales Nos. 79, 94, and 116 and that contain Lease Stipulation No. 5.
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 (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2002-G08, effective August 29, 2002. The table below summarizes the changes. The purpose of this NTL is to provide guidance on preparing Exploration Plans (EP’s) and Development Operations Coordination Documents (DOCD’s) that are required by current 30 CFR 250, Subpart B.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulations at 30 CFR 250.900(g) require that all OCS platforms be designed, fabricated, and installed in accordance with the provisions of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice for Planning, Designing, and Constructing Fixed Offshore Platforms – Working Stress Design, Twenty-First Edition, December 2000 (API RP 2AWSD). Section 17.2 of API RP 2A-WSD states that an existing platform should undergo an assessment process if one or more of the conditions noted in sections 17.2.1 through 17.2.5 exist.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and supersedes NTL No. 2004-G10, effective June 1, 2004. This NTL updates the information and guidance on obtaining access to the eWell Permitting and Reporting System (eWell) outlined in the attached Application Manual. It also announces the availability of additional electronic reporting features in Ewell.
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) supersedes NTL No. 2000-G14, effective August 29, 2000. It revises the Lake Charles District emergency beeper number and the Pipeline Section office number.
