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30 C.F.R. § 250.1727   What information must I include in my final application to remove a platform or other facility?

Title 30 - Mineral Resources

Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
Subpart Q—Decommissioning Activities
Removing Platforms and Other Facilities

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§ 250.1727   What information must I include in my final application to remove a platform or other facility?

Link to an amendment published at 71 FR 40913, July 19, 2006.

You must submit a final application to remove a platform or other facility to the Regional Supervisor for approval. This requirement applies to leases in all MMS Regions. If you are proposing to use explosives, provide three copies of the application. If you are not proposing to use explosives, provide two copies of the application. Include the following information in the final removal application, as applicable:

(a) Identification of the applicant including:

(1) Lease operator/pipeline right-of-way holder;

(2) Address;

(3) Contact person and telephone number; and

(4) Shore base.

(b) Identification of the structure you are removing including:

(1) Platform Name/MMS Complex ID Number;

(2) Location (lease/right-of-way, area, block, and block coordinates);

(3) Date installed (year);

(4) Proposed date of removal (Month/Year); and

(5) Water depth.

(c) Description of the structure you are removing including:

(1) Configuration (attach a photograph or a diagram);

(2) Size;

(3) Number of legs/casings/pilings;

(4) Diameter and wall thickness of legs/casings/pilings;

(5) Whether piles are grouted inside or outside;

(6) Brief description of soil composition and condition;

(7) The sizes and weights of the jacket, topsides (by module), conductors, and pilings; and

(8) The maximum removal lift weight and estimated number of main lifts to remove the structure.

(d) A description, including anchor pattern, of the vessel(s) you will use to remove the structure.

(e) Identification of the purpose, including:

(1) Lease expiration/right-of-way relinquishment date; and

(2) Reason for removing the structure.

(f) A description of the removal method, including:

(1) A brief description of the method you will use;

(2) If you are using explosives, the following:

(i) Type of explosives;

(ii) Number and sizes of charges;

(iii) Whether you are using single shot or multiple shots;

(iv) If multiple shots, the sequence and timing of detonations;

(v) Whether you are using a bulk or shaped charge;

(vi) Depth of detonation below the mud line; and

(vii) Whether you are placing the explosives inside or outside of the pilings;

(3) If you will use divers or acoustic devices to conduct a pre-removal survey to detect the presence of turtles and marine mammals, a description of the proposed detection method; and

(4) A statement whether or not you will use transducers to measure the pressure and impulse of the detonations.

(g) Your plans for transportation and disposal (including as an artificial reef) or salvage of the removed platform.

(h) If available, the results of any recent biological surveys conducted in the vicinity of the structure and recent observations of turtles or marine mammals at the structure site.

(i) Your plans to protect archaeological and sensitive biological features during removal operations, including a brief assessment of the environmental impacts of the removal operations and procedures and mitigation measures you will take to minimize such impacts.

(j) A statement whether or not you will use divers to survey the area after removal to determine any effects on marine life.

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