NTL Well Producibility Determination

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT
GULF OF MEXICO REGION
BOEM NTL No. 2013-GOl

Effective Date: March l , 2013

NOTICE TO LESSEES AND OPERATORS
OF FEDERAL OIL. GAS, AND SULPHUR LEASES
IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF, GULF OF MEXICO REGION
Well Producibility Determinations
This Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) provides information on requests for determination
of well producibility for wells drilled on leases in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), Gulf of
Mexico Region (GOMR). This NTL replaces NTL No. 2007-G05.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) does not require you to request a
determination of well producibility; a request is optional. If you choose to submit a request for a
determination of well producibility, you must follow the procedures set out in either 30 CFR
550.115 or 550.116.
There are benefits to receiving BOEM's positive determination of well producibility. BOEM's
determination of well producibility is required by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement (BSEE) if you apply to BSEE for a suspension under 30 CFR 250.171 . Also, for
any lease issued before lease OCS G-22500 (Lease Sale I 78), a determination of well
producibility changes the status of a lease from rental to minimum royalty. For lease OCS G22500 and all leases subsequently issued, a determination of well producibility does not change
the status of the lease from rental to minimum royalty, but the due date for rentals is moved from
the beginning to the end of the lease year.
To obtain a determination of well producibility, submit your written request at least 30 days prior
to lease expiration.
Once BOEM makes a determination that one well on a lease is producible, it will not make further
determinations of well producibility for other wells on the lease.

Determination of Well Producibility Based on a Well Test Under 30 CFR 550.115
30 CFR 550.115 explains the procedures for determining well producibility based on a well test.
If you submitted timely, accurate, and complete data to BSEE under 30 CFR 250.1151 prior to
submitting your request for determination of well producibility under 30 CFR 550.115, BOEM will use
the data submitted to BSEE in making its determination of well producibility and you need not resubmit
the same data to BOEM. You need on I y submit to BOEM the data identified below under "Data to
be Included with Every Request for a Well Producibility Determination." However, if you choose
to, you may submit additional supporting documentation.

Determination of Well Producibility Based on Petrophysical Data Under 30 CFR 550.116
A. 30 CFR 550.116 explains the procedures for determining well producibility based on
petrophysical data. If you submit timely, accurate, and complete data to BSEE under 30 CFR
250.468 and 30 CFR 250.469 prior to submitting your request for a determination of well
producibility under 30 CFR 550.116, BOEM will use the data submitted to BSEE in making its
determination and you need not resubmit the same data with your request. You need only submit
to BOEM the data identified below under "Data to be Included with Every Request for a Well
Producibility Determination." However, if you choose to, you may submit additional supporting
documentation.
B. The criteria of 30 CFR 550.116(b), (c), and (d) determine whether a well is producible.
However, the GOMR recognizes that all geologic formations in the Gulf of Mexico do not
possess the same physical properties (e.g., low resistivity, low contrast pays, hydrates, carbonate
reservoirs, and Jurassic sandstone reservoirs) and, consequently, do not lend themselves to one
single method of log analysis. Therefore, you may request either permission to use alternative
procedures or equipment, pursuant to 30 CFR 550.141, or a departure, pursuant to 30 CFR
550.142, which may enable the GOMR to accept sound well log interpretation techniques that
demonstrate that a well would produce hydrocarbons in a particular area, even though the well
may not otherwise qualify as producible under 30 CFR 250.116(b), (c), and (d).

Data to be Included with Every Request for a Well Producibility Determination
Include the following data with every request for a determination of well producibility:
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Active lease number
Area and block number
Well name and number (and lease number if different from active lease number)
Operator name
Date total depth (TD) was reached or date of final log run for the well
TD of well in feet, i.e., measured depth (MD) and true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS)
Expiration date of primary term of the active lease
API number of well
Requested qualification type (wireline test or petrophysical)
Hydrocarbon type: oil, gas, or condensate
Depth to top of pay in feet (MD and TVDSS)
Depth to base of pay in feet (MD and TVDSS)
Net thickness of continuous pay section in feet (MD and TVDSS)
For a qualification based on a wireline well test and/or drill stem test, the depth of the
tested interval (MD and TVDSS), date of test, test number (if more than one test in the
well), and results.

Transmitting Your Request for a Well Producibility Determination
You may submit a request for determination of well producibility by mail, e-mail, or telefax.
Send your mail request to:
U. S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, Office of Resource Evaluation
Supervisor Petrophysical Analysis Unit, MS GM881A
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123
Send your e-mail request to: pau @hoem.go\'
Send your telefax request to: (504) 736-2905
If you submit your request by e-mail , the Petrophysical Analysis Unit of BOEM's Gulf of
Mexico Regional Office will confirm receipt of your request by replying to your e-mail.
BOEM Determination of Well Producibility
The Supervisor of BOEM's Gulf of Mexico Petrophysical Analysis Unit will send BOEM' s
determination of your well's producibility by postal mail, unless you request the results be sent
by e-mail, in which case the results will be sent by e-mail. Please include your e-mail address if
you request that the results be sent to you by e-mail.
If BOEM determines that your well is producible, it will place the lease in minimum royalty
status if the lease was issued before lease OCS G-22500 (Lease Sale 178). If the lease was issued
in or after Lease Sale 178, the lease will remain in rental status, but the due date for rentals will
be moved from the beginning to the end of the lease year.
Determinations of well producibility are effective as of the date of the determination.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Statement
The information collection referred to in this NTL provides clarification, description, or
interpretation of requirements contained in 30 CFR 550, Subpart A and references requirements
contained in 30 CFR 250, Subparts A, D. and K. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
approved the information collection requirements in these regulations under OMB control
numbers 1010-0 114, 1014-0022, 10 14-0018, and 1014-0019, respectively. This NTL does not
impose additional information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.