NTL 2007-G19 - Interim Guidelines for Moored Drilling Rig Fitness Requirements for the 2007 Hurricane Season - May 25, 2007

This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) is issued pursuant to 30 CFR 250.103 and provides guidance on the information you must submit with your Form MMS-123, Application for Permit to Drill (APD), to demonstrate the fitness of any moored drilling rig you will use to conduct operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) OCS during the 2007 hurricane season. As required by 30 CFR 250.417(a), this information must demonstrate that the associated moored drilling rig is capable of performing at the proposed drilling location. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR) will use the recommendations in the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) newly developed Recommended Practice 95F, 2nd Edition, Interim Guidance for Gulf of Mexico MODU Mooring Practices – 2007 Hurricane Season (API RP 95F, 2nd Edition), to guide our review and evaluation of the information and data that demonstrate the moored rig’s capability to perform at the proposed location. The MMS GOMR highly recommends that you follow the recommendations in API RP 95F, 2nd Edition as you prepare APD’s to conduct drilling operations during the 2007 hurricane season. Failure to follow the recommendations in API RP 95F, 2nd Edition, may delay the approval of an APD or result in disapproval. This guidance also applies to moored drilling rig operations you conduct under Form MMS-124, Application for Permit to Modify (APM).