eCFR for 30 CFR 250, Subpart F

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
Contents
§250.600 General requirements.
§250.601 Definitions.
§250.602 [Reserved]
§250.603 Emergency shutdown system.
§250.604 Hydrogen sulfide.
§250.605 Subsea workovers.
§§250.606-250.608 [Reserved]
§250.609 Well-workover structures on fixed platforms.
§250.610 Diesel engine air intakes.
§250.611 Traveling-block safety device.
§250.612 Field well-workover rules.
§250.613 Approval and reporting for well-workover operations.
§250.614 Well-control fluids, equipment, and operations.
§§250.615-250.618 [Reserved]
§250.619 Tubing and wellhead equipment.
§250.620 Wireline operations.

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§250.600 General requirements.
Well-workover operations must be conducted in a manner to protect against harm or damage to
life (including fish and other aquatic life), property, natural resources of the Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) including any mineral deposits (in areas leased and not leased), the National security or
defense, or the marine, coastal, or human environment. In addition to the requirements of this
subpart, you must also follow the applicable requirements of subpart G of this part.
[81 FR 26021, Apr. 29, 2016]

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§250.601 Definitions.
When used in this subpart, the following terms shall have the meanings given below:
Expected surface pressure means the highest pressure predicted to be exerted upon the
surface of a well. In calculating expected surface pressure, you must consider reservoir pressure as
well as applied surface pressure.
Routine operations mean any of the following operations conducted on a well with the tree
installed:

(a) Cutting paraffin;
(b) Removing and setting pump-through-type tubing plugs, gas-lift valves, and subsurface
safety valves which can be removed by wireline operations;
(c) Bailing sand;
(d) Pressure surveys;
(e) Swabbing;
(f) Scale or corrosion treatment;
(g) Caliper and gauge surveys;
(h) Corrosion inhibitor treatment;
(i) Removing or replacing subsurface pumps;
(j) Through-tubing logging (diagnostics);
(k) Wireline fishing; and
(l) Setting and retrieving other subsurface flow-control devices.
(m) Acid treatments.
Workover operations mean the work conducted on wells after the initial completion for the
purpose of maintaining or restoring the productivity of a well.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 84 FR 21976, May 15, 2019]

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§250.602 [Reserved]
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§250.603 Emergency shutdown system.
When well-workover operations are conducted on a well with the tree removed, an emergency
shutdown system (ESD) manually controlled station shall be installed near the driller's console or
well-servicing unit operator's work station, except when there is no other hydrocarbon-producing well
or other hydrocarbon flow on the platform.
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§250.604 Hydrogen sulfide.

When a well-workover operation is conducted in zones known to contain hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
or in zones where the presence of H2S is unknown (as defined in §250.490 of this part), the lessee
shall take appropriate precautions to protect life and property on the platform or rig, including but not
limited to operations such as blowing the well down, dismantling wellhead equipment and flow lines,
circulating the well, swabbing, and pulling tubing, pumps and packers. The lessee shall comply with
the requirements in §250.490 of this part as well as the appropriate requirements of this subpart.
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§250.605 Subsea workovers.
No subsea well-workover operation including routine operations shall be commenced until the
lessee obtains written approval from the District Manager in accordance with §250.613 of this part.
That approval shall be based upon a case-by-case determination that the proposed equipment and
procedures will maintain adequate control of the well and permit continued safe production
operations.
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§§250.606-250.608 [Reserved]
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§250.609 Well-workover structures on fixed platforms.
Derricks, masts, substructures, and related equipment shall be selected, designed, installed,
used, and maintained so as to be adequate for the potential loads and conditions of loading that may
be encountered during the operations proposed. Prior to moving a well-workover rig or well-servicing
equipment onto a platform, the lessee shall determine the structural capability of the platform to
safely support the equipment and proposed operations, taking into consideration the corrosion
protection, age of the platform, and previous stresses to the platform.
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§250.610 Diesel engine air intakes.
You must equip diesel engine air intakes with a device to shut down the diesel engine in the
event of runaway. Diesel engines that are continuously attended must be equipped with remotely
operated, manual, or automatic shutdown devices. Diesel engines that are not continuously attended
must be equipped with automatic shutdown devices.
[81 FR 36149, June 6, 2016]

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§250.611 Traveling-block safety device.
You must equip all units being used for well-workover operations that have both a traveling
block and a crown block with a safety device that is designed to prevent the traveling block from

striking the crown block. You must check the device for proper operation weekly and after each drillline slipping operation. You must enter the results of the operational check in the operations log.
[81 FR 36149, June 6, 2016]

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§250.612 Field well-workover rules.
When geological and engineering information available in a field enables the District Manager
to determine specific operating requirements, field well-workover rules may be established on the
District Manager's initiative or in response to a request from a lessee. Such rules may modify the
specific requirements of this subpart. After field well-workover rules have been established, wellworkover operations in the field shall be conducted in accordance with such rules and other
requirements of this subpart. Field well-workover rules may be amended or canceled for cause at
any time upon the initiative of the District Manager or upon the request of a lessee.
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§250.613 Approval and reporting for well-workover operations.
(a) No well-workover operation except routine ones, as defined in §250.601 of this part, shall
begin until the lessee receives written approval from the District Manager. Approval for these
operations must be requested on Form BSEE-0124, Application for Permit to Modify.
(b) You must submit the following with Form BSEE-0124:
(1) A brief description of the well-workover procedures to be followed, a statement of the
expected surface pressure, and type and weight of workover fluids;
(2) When changes in existing subsurface equipment are proposed, a schematic drawing of the
well showing the zone proposed for workover and the workover equipment to be used;
(3) All information required in §250.731.
(4) Where the well-workover is in a zone known to contain H2S or a zone where the presence of
H2S is unknown, information pursuant to §250.490 of this part; and
(5) Payment of the service fee listed in §250.125.
(c) The following additional information shall be submitted with Form BSEE-0124 if completing
to a new zone is proposed:
(1) Reason for abandonment of present producing zone including supportive well test data, and
(2) A statement of anticipated or known pressure data for the new zone.
(d) Within 30 days after completing the well-workover operation, except routine operations,
Form BSEE-0124, Application for Permit to Modify, shall be submitted to the District Manager,
showing the work as performed. In the case of a well-workover operation resulting in the initial

recompletion of a well into a new zone, a Form BSEE-0125, End of Operations Report, shall be
submitted to the District Manager and shall include a new schematic of the tubing subsurface
equipment if any subsurface equipment has been changed.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 77 FR 50895, Aug. 22, 2012; 81 FR 26021, Apr. 29, 2016]

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§250.614 Well-control fluids, equipment, and operations.
The following requirements apply during all well-workover operations with the tree removed:
(a) Well-control fluids, equipment, and operations shall be designed, utilized, maintained,
and/or tested as necessary to control the well in foreseeable conditions and circumstances, including
subfreezing conditions. The well shall be continuously monitored during well-workover operations
and shall not be left unattended at anytime unless the well is shut in and secured.
(b) When coming out of the hole with drill pipe or a workover string, the annulus shall be filled
with well-control fluid before the change in such fluid level decreases the hydrostatic pressure 75
pounds per square inch (psi) or every five stands of drill pipe or workover string, whichever gives a
lower decrease in hydrostatic pressure. The number of stands of drill pipe or workover string and drill
collars that may be pulled prior to filling the hole and the equivalent well-control fluid volume shall be
calculated and posted near the operator's station. A mechanical, volumetric, or electronic device for
measuring the amount of well-control fluid required to fill the hold shall be utilized.
(c) The following well-control-fluid equipment shall be installed, maintained, and utilized:
(1) A fill-up line above the uppermost BOP;
(2) A well-control, fluid-volume measuring device for determining fluid volumes when filling the
hole on trips; and
(3) A recording mud-pit-level indicator to determine mud-pit-volume gains and losses. This
indicator shall include both a visual and an audible warning device.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 77 FR 50895, Aug. 22, 2012; 81 FR 26021, Apr. 29, 2016]

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§§250.615-250.618 [Reserved]
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§250.619 Tubing and wellhead equipment.
The lessee shall comply with the following requirements during well-workover operations with
the tree removed:
(a) No tubing string shall be placed in service or continue to be used unless such tubing string
has the necessary strength and pressure integrity and is otherwise suitable for its intended use.

(b) When reinstalling the tree, you must:
(1) Equip wells to monitor for casing pressure according to the following chart:

If you
you must
have . . . equip . . .
(i) fixed
platform
wells,

the
wellhead,

so you can monitor . . .
all annuli (A, B, C, D, etc., annuli).

(ii) subsea the tubing the production casing annulus (A annulus).
wells,
head,
(iii)
hybrid*
wells,

the surface all annuli at the surface (A and B riser annuli). If the production casing
wellhead, below the mudline and the production casing riser above the mudline
are pressure isolated from each other, provisions must be made to
monitor the production casing below the mudline for casing pressure.

*Characterized as a well drilled with a subsea wellhead and completed with a surface casing
head, a surface tubing head, a surface tubing hanger, and a surface christmas tree.
(2) Follow the casing pressure management requirements in subpart E of this part.
(c) Wellhead, tree, and related equipment shall have a pressure rating greater than the shut-in
tubing pressure and shall be designed, installed, used, maintained, and tested so as to achieve and
maintain pressure control. The tree shall be equipped with a minimum of one master valve and one
surface safety valve in the vertical run of the tree when it is reinstalled.
(d) Subsurface safety equipment must be installed, maintained, and tested in compliance with
the applicable sections in §§250.810 through 250.839.
(e) If you pull and reinstall packers and bridge plugs, you must meet the following requirements:
(1) The uppermost permanently installed packer and all permanently installed bridge plugs
qualified as mechanical barriers must comply with ANSI/API Spec. 11D1 (as incorporated by
reference in §250.198).
(2) The production packer must be set at a depth that will allow for a column of weighted fluids
to be placed above the packer that will exert a hydrostatic force greater than or equal to the force
created by the reservoir pressure below the packer;
(3) The production packer must be set as close as practically possible to the perforated interval;
and
(4) The production packer must be set at a depth that is within the cemented interval of the
selected casing section.
(f) Your APM must include a description and calculations for how you determined the
production packer setting depth.

(g) You must have two independent barriers, one being mechanical, in the exposed center
wellbore prior to removing the tree and/or well control equipment.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011. Redesignated at 77 FR 50895, Aug. 22, 2012, as amended at 81 FR 26021, Apr. 29,
2016; 81 FR 61918, Sept. 7, 2016; 84 FR 21976, May 15, 2019]

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§250.620 Wireline operations.
The lessee shall comply with the following requirements during routine, as defined in §250.601
of this part, and nonroutine wireline workover operations:
(a) Wireline operations shall be conducted so as to minimize leakage of well fluids. Any leakage
that does occur shall be contained to prevent pollution.
(b) All wireline perforating operations and all other wireline operations where communication
exists between the completed hydrocarbon-bearing zone(s) and the wellbore shall use a lubricator
assembly containing at least one wireline valve.
(c) When the lubricator is initially installed on the well, it shall be successfully pressure tested to
the expected shut-in surface pressure.
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011. Redesignated at 77 FR 50895, Aug. 22, 2012]

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