30 C.F.R. § 250.615   Blowout prevention equipment.


Title 30 - Mineral Resources


Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 250—OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
Subpart F—Oil and Gas Well-Workover Operations

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§ 250.615   Blowout prevention equipment.

(a) The BOP system, system components and related well-control equipment shall be designed, used, maintained, and tested in a manner necessary to assure well control in foreseeable conditions and circumstances, including subfreezing conditions. The working pressure rating of the BOP system and system components shall exceed the expected surface pressure to which they may be subjected. If the expected surface pressure exceeds the rated working pressure of the annular preventer, the lessee shall submit with Form MMS–124, requesting approval of the well-workover operation, a well-control procedure that indicates how the annular preventer will be utilized, and the pressure limitations that will be applied during each mode of pressure control.

(b) The minimum BOP system for well-workover operations with the tree removed must meet the appropriate standards from the following table:

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------                                           The minimum BOP stack must                 When                               include------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) The expected pressure is less      Three BOPs consisting of an than 5,000 psi.                        annular, one set of pipe rams,                                        and one set of blind or blind-                                        shear rams.(2) The expected pressure is 5,000     Four BOPs consisting of an psi or greater or you use multiple     annular, two sets of pipe rams, tubing strings.                        and one set of blind or blind-                                        shear rams.(3) You handle multiple tubing         Four BOPs consisting of an strings simultaneously.                annular, one set of pipe rams,                                        one set of dual pipe rams, and                                        one set of blind or blind-shear                                        rams.(4) You use a tapered drill string...  At least one set of pipe rams                                        that are capable of sealing                                        around each size of drill                                        string. If the expected pressure                                        is greater than 5,000 psi, then                                        you must have at least two sets                                        of pipe rams that are capable of                                        sealing around the larger size                                        drill string. You may substitute                                        one set of variable bore rams                                        for two sets of pipe rams.(5) It is after February 21, 2006....  At least one set of blind-shear                                        rams. The blind-shear rams must                                        be capable of shearing the drill                                        pipe or tubing in the hole.------------------------------------------------------------------------

(c) The BOP systems for well-workover operations with the tree removed shall be equipped with the following:

(1) A hydraulic-actuating system that provides sufficient accumulator capacity to supply 1.5 times the volume necessary to close all BOP equipment units with a minimum pressure of 200 psi above the precharge pressure without assistance from a charging system. No later than December 1, 1988, accumulator regulators supplied by rig air and without a secondary source of pneumatic supply, shall be equipped with manual overrides, or alternately, other devices provided to ensure capability of hydraulic operations if rig air is lost;

(2) A secondary power source, independent from the primary power source, with sufficient capacity to close all BOP system components and hold them closed;

(3) Locking devices for the pipe-ram preventers;

(4) At least one remote BOP-control station and one BOP-control station on the rig floor; and

(5) A choke line and a kill line each equipped with two full opening valves and a choke manifold. At least one of the valves on the choke-line shall be remotely controlled. At least one of the valves on the kill line shall be remotely controlled, except that a check valve on the kill line in lieu of the remotely controlled valve may be installed provided two readily accessible manual valves are in place and the check valve is placed between the manual valves and the pump. This equipment shall have a pressure rating at least equivalent to the ram preventers.

(d) The minimum BOP-system components for well-workover operations with the tree in place and performed through the wellhead inside of conventional tubing using small-diameter jointed pipe (usually 3/4 inch to 11/4 inch) as a work string, i.e., small-tubing operations, shall include the following:

(1) Two sets of pipe rams, and

(2) One set of blind rams.

(e) For coiled tubing operations with the production tree in place, you must meet the following minimum requirements for the BOP system:

(1) BOP system components must be in the following order from the top down:

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------                                    BOP system when     BOP system forBOP system when expected surface   expected surface   wells with returnspressures are less than or equal     pressures are     taken through an          to 3,500 psi            greater than 3,500   outlet on the BOP                                          psi                stack------------------------------------------------------------------------Stripper or annular-type well     Stripper or         Stripper or control component.                annular-type well   annular-type well                                   control component.  control                                                       component.Hydraulically-operated blind      Hydraulically-      Hydraulically- rams.                             operated blind      operated blind                                   rams.               rams.Hydraulically-operated shear      Hydraulically-      Hydraulically- rams.                             operated shear      operated shear                                   rams.               rams.Kill line inlet.................  Kill line inlet...  Kill line inlet.Hydraulically-operated two-way    Hydraulically-      Hydraulically- slip rams.                        operated two-way    operated two-way                                   slip rams.          slip rams.                                                      Hydraulically-                                                       operated pipe                                                       rams.Hydraulically-operated pipe rams  Hydraulically-      A flow tee or                                   operated pipe       cross.                                   rams..             Hydraulically-                                  Hydraulically-       operated pipe                                   operated blind-     rams.                                   shear rams. These  Hydraulically-                                   rams should be      operated blind-                                   located as close    shear rams on                                   to the tree as      wells with                                   practical.          surface pressures                                                       >3,500 psi. As                                                       an option, the                                                       pipe rams can be                                                       placed below the                                                       blind-shear rams.                                                       The blind-shear                                                       rams should be                                                       located as close                                                       to the tree as                                                       practical.------------------------------------------------------------------------

(2) You may use a set of hydraulically-operated combination rams for the blind rams and shear rams.

(3) You may use a set of hydraulically-operated combination rams for the hydraulic two-way slip rams and the hydraulically-operated pipe rams.

(4) You must attach a dual check valve assembly to the coiled tubing connector at the downhole end of the coiled tubing string for all coiled tubing well-workover operations. If you plan to conduct operations without downhole check valves, you must describe alternate procedures and equipment in Form MMS–124, Application for Permit to Modify and have it approved by the District Manager.

(5) You must have a kill line and a separate choke line. You must equip each line with two full-opening valves and at least one of the valves must be remotely controlled. You may use a manual valve instead of the remotely controlled valve on the kill line if you install a check valve between the two full-opening manual valves and the pump or manifold. The valves must have a working pressure rating equal to or greater than the working pressure rating of the connection to which they are attached, and you must install them between the well control stack and the choke or kill line. For operations with expected surface pressures greater than 3,500 psi, the kill line must be connected to a pump or manifold. You must not use the kill line inlet on the BOP stack for taking fluid returns from the wellbore.

(6) You must have a hydraulic-actuating system that provides sufficient accumulator capacity to close-open-close each component in the BOP stack. This cycle must be completed with at least 200 psi above the pre-charge pressure, without assistance from a charging system.

(7) All connections used in the surface BOP system from the tree to the uppermost required ram must be flanged, including the connections between the well control stack and the first full-opening valve on the choke line and the kill line.

(f) The minimum BOP-system components for well-workover operations with the tree in place and performed by moving tubing or drill pipe in or out of a well under pressure utilizing equipment specifically designed for that purpose, i.e., snubbing operations, shall include the following:

(1) One set of pipe rams hydraulically operated, and

(2) Two sets of stripper-type pipe rams hydraulically operated with spacer spool.

(g) An inside BOP or a spring-loaded, back-pressure safety valve and an essentially full-opening, work-string safety valve in the open position shall be maintained on the rig floor at all times during well-workover operations when the tree is removed or during well-workover operations with the tree installed and using small tubing as the work string. A wrench to fit the work-string safety valve shall be readily available. Proper connections shall be readily available for inserting valves in the work string. The full-opening safety valve is not required for coiled tubing or snubbing operations.

[53 FR 10690, Apr. 1, 1988, as amended at 54 FR 50616, Dec. 8, 1989; 58 FR 49928, Sept. 24, 1993. Redesignated at 63 FR 29479, May 29, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 8435, Feb. 20, 2003; 71 FR 11313, Mar. 7, 2006; 71 FR 29710, May 23, 2006]

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