Approval for spudding and abandoning
wells
Consents for spudding wells
To obtain consent for a
planned well, licencees must complete a PON 4 (Petroleum Operating
Notice), which can now be submitted online with BERR via the Well
Operations and Notifications System (WONS,
click here for more information).
Applications to drill wells are considered with the licence
obligations in mind including any possible impacts on third parties
(e.g. fishermen) and upon the environment under the Offshore
Petroleum Production and Pipeline (Assessment of Environmental
effects) Regulations 1999. These regulations can be accessed by
following this
link and
the procedure by which applications are processed is described
here. A full
environmental statement may be necessary depending on the location,
size and estimated impact of the proposed well.
Once a well has been spudded,
the operator is obliged to notify BERR with a ‘spud fax’.
BERR responds with an official well identification number via
a PON12 which must be used in all subsequent record keeping.
For further information,
please visit the well consents section on the BERR website
here.
Consents for suspending or abandoning wells
In the same way as
submitting an application for consent to drill a well, operators
must also follow a procedure for abandonment (further details can be
found
here).
There are also rules for temporarily suspending wells.
Suspending
a well
The intention to suspend a
well should be declared soon after the result of drilling is known.
A summary of the well information should be faxed to BERR
which states the rationale for suspension alongside the application
via the WONS portal.
Suspended wells must be listed by annual return to the Well Consents
Team, accompanied with reasons for continued suspension.
If a licence expires or is divested, and the area contains a
suspended well, then the licencee requires the agreement of the
Secretary of State that the well is in
‘good order and fit for
further working again with all casings and any well head fixtures
whose removal would cause damage to the well’.
This does not apply to wells for which consent has been
obtained to plug and seal.
bandoning
a well
The process for notifying
BERR of the intention to abandon a well is the same as that
described above for suspending a well.
The well consents team do not require details of the plugging
method or condition of the well, however, the licence operator must
comply with sections 13 and 15 of the
Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction etc)
Regulations 1996.
Marking
subsea wellheads with buoys
There are guidelines
referring to the marking of subsea wellheads with buoys for safety
of the other users of the sea.
Visit the
BERR
website for further details.
Operations Index
